HomeStory SeriesA Few Of My Favourite Things

A Few Of My Favourite Things

This series follows five individuals and the personal anecdotes behind their wonderful collections.

What does an actress, an illustrator, a small business owner, a former title officer and a creative director have in common? There’s more than meets the eye and these five people are no exception. From surfboards, World War II memorabilia and children’s picture books, to colonial bottles and Chinese New Year paraphernalia, these collections are as unique as the people collecting them. With each story, their worlds are brought to life, with many a laugh to be had. After all, it’s true what they say—one person’s rubbish may be another’s treasure.

These stories were collected by Centre for Stories intern, Tiffany Ko.

Thank you to our storytellers: Pepa Saunders, Trần Thị Nga, Wayne Vinten, Fiona Burrows and Terry Hawser.

Photo of a young woman holding a WWII helmet in front of a red brick wall

Pepa Saunders

"So when I bought it, I thought, 'I really don’t want to frighten my mum.' If you imagine your daughter comes home with this Nazi replica blade, you’re going to have an intervention, or—I just really didn’t want to scare her."

Photo of a woman smiling in front of Chinese New Year paraphernalia

Trần Thị Nga

"He say, ‘How long do you want me to do for?’ But I said, ‘I never give up the shop! I never give up the shop!’"

Photo of a smiling man sitting on his car

Wayne Vinten

"To tell you the truth, I’ve never actually counted them. I’ve never actually got them in a room and counted them. For a couple of reasons—one, I don’t really want to know, and two, if my wife ever found out..."

Photo of young woman with her baby and picture books in front of a red brick wall

Fiona Burrows

"I always remember my dad saying to me when I finished year twelve, ‘cause he’s a lawyer—he said, ‘Look, just go and do what you want to do. Don’t do what you think you should do. Do what you enjoy.’"

Photo of man standing in front of bottle collection

Terry Hawser

"We put it in the auction at twenty dollars as an estimate, then found out later, basically straight away, people started ringing us and saying that they’d pay seven hundred dollars for that."