An 1800s family Bible has been returned to its rightful owners after being donated to the Greater Bendigo Lions Book Club and restored by volunteers.
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Club secretary Sandie Morris said the historic book was donated by a woman in Guildford, who couldn't recall how it came in to her possession.
"This old Bible was falling apart and held together with string, and we thought we can't sell it, it's a family Bible that's not ours to sell; it wouldn't be right," she said.
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Ms Morris' husband and fellow club member Wayne Morris did the restoration work over four weeks, replacing the spine and repairing torn pages.
The pair said it was the Lions club's most significant discovery.
The Bible contained records of the births, deaths and marriages of the family, which gave Ms Morris enough to use online sites and old newspapers to eventually track down and email the great-great granddaughter of the book's original owner James Penrose.
On Sunday, August 20, Nicole Penrose travelled from Melbourne to pick up the book, overwhelmed by the amount of work the Lions club had put in.
"[When I got the email] I really thought it was a scam," she said. "I told my family about it and we all laughed and went away.
"Sandie was persistent luckily and sent through the next one and promised she wasn't a scammer.
"It's just totally awe inspiring. The dedication shown by Sandy and Wayne just to get the Bible back to us, it's really wonderful."
Ms Penrose said she her ancestor James Penrose settled in Maldon after moving from Cornwall with his brother in 1865.
They worked as tin miners and were well respected in the small community, being a Sunday school teacher and involved with the Methodist Church.
Mr Penrose's death was reported in an article published in the Bendigo Advertiser in 1903.
According to the article, "the news of his death was received with regret throughout the district".
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The book will most likely find a home with Ms Penrose, who said she would look after it.
She has also been inspired to see how far back she can track her family.
"This was the way they documented things... but I will be going further," she said.
"We will be tracing it and seeing how far back we go, I think the Penroses go back to the seventh century."
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Jonathon Magrath
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
