Rotary Club of Kojonup sinks time capsule at The Kodja Place to be unearthed in 2050 after opening last year

It could have been described as history in the making in Kojonup, as hundreds of items were buried in a time capsule to be dug up in 2050. Older members of the Kojonup community joined students from Kojonup District High School and St Bernard’s Primary School on Friday for the sinking of the time capsule. The capsule was buried in the Rose Maze at The Kodja Place and contains various items contributed by local families, community groups and schools. It is the second the time the capsule has gone underground, after the modified gas cylinder was buried at Kojonup Town Oval by the Rotary Club of Kojonup in 1978. Club community liaison officer Malcolm McDonald said it was dug up in February 2021 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Shire. “It was to go back in last year but it was so wet up at the oval that it didn’t and now we have chosen to move it to here,” he said. The club sold and distributed 130 A4-sized envelopes, which could then be filled by the community. Asked what is in the envelopes, Mr McDonald said the contents varied. “There is actually a hard drive in one and a lot of thumb drives because when it was originally put down, computers hadn’t happened so it was all different this time,” he said. “Some families have put stuff back in from last time. There are the old Rotary badges and there is a shirt from Rotary with all the names of the current members on.” When the capsule was unearthed last year, it packed some interesting surprises. “There was one family who have put an envelope back in this time who found out things about their maternal grandparents they didn’t even know because it was all written in there,” Mr McDonald said. A plaque and a bench will be installed to mark the capsule burial site.