Lost Property- Sydney Airport
Airing Date: Sep 22nd, 2007
What happens to lost property when it isn't claimed? At Central Station, it ends up in the Auction house where its fate is determined is it trash or treasure? Every 6-8 months (since WW2!) the Central Station Auction is held to sell off items that have been left on platforms, from the ordinary to the bizarre!
RailCorp's Lost Property Office handles hundreds of items found on trains and stations every week. They deal with enquiries regarding lost items and endeavour to identify and return items to their owners. A recovery fee of $4.40 is payable when you reclaim your item.
After being handed in, items remain at the particular station for seven days before they are moved to their Lost Property Office at Central Station. Lost property is held there for four weeks before being stored and sorted for our regular lost property sales. In the past they've auctioned a bobcat as well as large studio filming equipment!
At Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport over 10 million passengers pass through Sydney International Terminal 1 every year. This does not include family & friends of the passengers - so there's a lot of opportunity for things to get lost!
Lost passports are handed straight to the Department of Immigration. Other items are kept for up to 2 months. If an item cannot be claimed within 2 months, (because the owner is travelling) they are happy to hold it until the owner can collect it, as long as the owner keeps in contact with them!
After 2 months, the items are sent off as follows:Optical glasses: All glasses are sent to Foresight Australia - Australian Overseas Aid and Prevention of Blindness Limited, Sydney Eye Hospital campus, who send glasses to countries where they can be used again.
Clothing and blankets: Clothing and blankets go to the Salvation Army along with shoes, toys, belts, hats etc.
Auction items: Items of higher monetary value are sent to auction every month. Items include laptops, cameras, electronics, new clothes and sunglasses. Memory sticks/film are taken out and destroyed to protect the privacy of the owner. USB sticks are also destroyed. Proceeds from auctioned items are donated to charity.
To claim an item, the owner must be able to prove ownership of the item - state when and where it was lost, describe the item, provide any descriptive information (for example name contacts on mobile lists or laptop logins).
Once criteria is met, the owner must provide photo ID, a photocopy is kept on file for verification purposed then disposed of securely after a certain time period.
For more information, check out www.sydneyairport.com
FURTHER INFORMATION-
Viewing day: Monday 24/9/07
Auction day: Tuesday 25/9/07
For more information visit:
www.cityrail.info
