Time capsule raises $33,000 for community projects

One of the local projects to benefit will be the development of a sensory garden around the time capsule’s burial site.

The 2025-2050 time capsule was interred in Gorman Park near Edward River Library on Saturday morning.

Deniliquin Rotary president Iain Goodway said it was “stuffed to the brim” with 692 envelopes purchased and filled by community members.

“As many of you know, this is the same sea mine that held the contents of our Rotary Time Capsule 2025, which we opened earlier this year across the road in our beautiful Waring Gardens (on Australia Day).

“And I don’t think any of us will forget the magic of receiving those letters and memories from the past, written by community members, school kids, families, and clubs just like ours.

“But what makes this extra special is the new home we’ve created for our capsule, right here in Gorman Park, beside the library and just across from where its last story ended.

“It’s more accessible, more visible, and soon it will be part of a vibrant new sensory garden - a space for reflection, inclusion, and community connection; a place where people will remember that something very special lies beneath their feet.

“This capsule is more than a container - it’s a bridge from today to tomorrow. It tells future generations that we were here, we cared deeply about this town, and we believed in its future.”

Mr Goodway thanked all those involved in the project, which he said “has taken a lot of heart, hard work, and community spirit”.

Special guests at Saturday’s interment included Edward River Council Mayor Ash Hall, who praised the project in his address.

Tom Druitt from Druitt Earthworks was given the honour of lifting the heavy time capsule into place with his tractor, accompanied in the cab by son Will, and with his father Craig and Lachlan Holden guiding its direction on the ground.

A small crowd gathered to witness the occasion, and were treated to a famous Rotary sausage sizzle lunch.