Lost Wollongong celebrate a decade of reconnection and reminiscing.

Words Geoff Failes

Images From the collections of Wollongong City Libraries and the Illawarra Historical Society

Wollongong’s “Losties” have spent the last 10 years reconnecting with family members, old work colleagues and even lost loves thanks to the popular Facebook group, Lost Wollongong

The group has attracted widespread interest from residents, regional librarians and historians because of the amazing number of old photographs people have discovered and posted for other Facebook users to see.

With some 52,000 followers on Facebook and 20,000 on Instagram, much of the credit for the site must go to David and his friend Brendan Brain.

“We started the group in May 2013 one evening on a bit of a whim in the early days of social media,” David said.

“I was looking around at history groups. There were history groups for most major cities in Australia, including Newcastle, but none for the Illawarra.

“We decided to start the group and posted photos from Wollongong City Council’s fantastic collection and within a week, we had 1000 members. It shocked me because I didn’t think we had 1000 people on social media at that time!

“I knew there were people out there who would enjoy it. I grew up in the Illawarra and I’m a history buff, and especially interested in industrial history, but I did not expect it to grow as quickly as it did,” said David.

The group grew rapidly and within a year had nearly 8000 members. With similar Facebook groups such as the Shellharbour history in photos” and Dapto history in photos, the interest in Wollongong’s history continues to expand.

David, who grew up in Towradgi but now lives in Mt Keira, says the most popular images are those taken within people’s lifetimes – many between the 1940s and 1990s – that are fresh in their minds.

“People are shocked how things have changed over the years, for better or worse,” David said.

“We also have people that have moved away from the region over the years, and they want to reconnect and find old friends.

“A lot of the reconnections are people who grew up together. With kids and over the years, through marriage and wherever life takes you, they have become separated. Sometimes they’re not even looking.

“People will start commenting on a photo and then say ‘hey, you’re not so and so from so and so are you?’ and then you have a reconnection.

“We’ve had many school and work reunions as well. For example, a reunion of Isaac Clothing company workers in Gladstone Ave,” David said.

“People have shared reunions with us, including photos, and thanked Lost Wollongong for bringing them back together again.”

For one Lost Wollongong member, Janet, said she couldn’t believe it when she saw a school photograph of her father when he was just 13 years old. Many members have similar stories of reconnection and enjoyed the opportunity to reminisce, with some reports of men and women even reuniting with ‘old flames’.

David, who has a strong interest in railway history and does marketing for the popular Picnic Train to Kiama says one of the proudest things the group has done is to reconnect people who haven’t spoken in years or decades.

The Lost Wollongong team decided to use the reach that their site has in the Illawarra to help promote local museums and history more broadly. David, Lost Wollongong and Destination Wollongong created the Wollongong Museum Trail with local museums to help better promote the region as a heritage tourism venture which was never focused on before.

Local historian Dr Glenn Mitchell from the University of Wollongong and a Fellow of the Wollongong Academy of Tertiary Teaching and Learning Experience says David and the Lost Wollongong team has done a wonderful job in uncovering Wollongong’s history.

“I admire his energy and commitment – he not only set it up but has kept it going. I don’t think 52,000 people have read any of my work or any other academic historian’s work!

The fact that he has 52,000+ followers tell us [there is] a significant number of people who, like him, have a serious interest in Wollongong’s past,” Dr Mitchell said.

Wollongong City Library’s Service Team leader, Local Studies Hilary Powell agrees,

“The number of conversations generated from images shared on the Lost Wollongong Facebook page shows there is a strong interest in Wollongong’s past and highlights the importance of acknowledging the source of images shared.

We encourage Lost Wollongong members to consider donating a copy of the personal images they post to Wollongong City Libraries to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of local images to the community.”

“History does not just belong in the academy,” said Dr Mitchell. “It is a serious interest for many who, in their own way, are significant historians!”