A piece of history has finally returned to the Kiama Library in Australia after being missing for 150 years. The book, titled Antiquities of Athens, was discovered by Ross Simmons, who found the volume inside a tea chest that had been hidden behind a boarded-up fireplace for decades.
Simmons believes the book was originally borrowed by his great-grandfather, John Simmons, an apprentice stonemason who worked on the Houses of Parliament in London before emigrating to Australia in 1857. The book served as a reference for the elder Simmons, who later became an architect and led the construction of a church in Kiama.
While the library’s original rules dictated a fine of three pence per week for late returns—which would have amounted to approximately AU$28,000 today—the Kiama Council wisely chose to waive the penalty.
The book, which was the 506th item added to the library's collection in the 1870s, will now be kept as a special item and is no longer available for public checkout.
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