Violins, frying pans, vacuum cleaners and lots and lots of belts.
The terminals of Australia’s busiest airports may provide a cross-section of society, but Sydney airport’s annual lost property auction gives a glimpse into the bizarre items travellers are carrying – and the traps of forgetfulness that unite us.
More than 40 million people passed through Sydney airport’s terminals last year, losing thousands of possessions. More than 7,000 of these items were reunited with their owners but about 2,000 others remained unclaimed, and are now being auctioned off in the fundraising drive for charity that the airport conducts each year.
Much of the list of lost property is unsurprising: clothing, laptops, duty-free purchases, and the vast range of objects containing metal that many had to remove when passing through security screening.
This is seen in the large range of belts on offer – more than 100, ranging from designer to others sold in bundles of threes.
There’s also plenty of tech left behind – more than 250 laptops and 200 earbuds or headphones. While there are brand new AirPods being sold in their boxes, there are other lots listing multiple pairs of the headphone, with pictures showing varying degrees of damage, questionable cleanliness, and unverified authenticity.
Residents living near the airport may be interested in several other noise-cancelling headphones on offer.
Then there’s the jewellery. More than 400 lots are up for auction, including bundles of gold bangles, diamond and pearl rings, necklaces and watches.
While all lots begin at $10, bidding on some had risen to almost $1,000 in the hours after the auction was launched on Monday.
There’s plenty of bargain potential, organisers say. Brand new perfumes and bottles of spirits and wines – likely purchased in duty-free shops – are relisted for sale, in their unopened state, starting at $10.
This year’s Sydney airportlost property auctionis aimed at raising funds to pay for swimming lessons for thousands of local children.
“This auction is more than just a chance to score a great find, it’s about giving back to our local community,” the airport’s corporate affairs general manager, Josh Clements, said.
The airport curfew reduces noise between 11pm and 6am but those struggling to sleep for other reasons could pick up a cheap CPAP sleep apnoea treatment device, among some of the more unusual finds.
Other oddities include an Electrolux vacuum cleaner, and an unrelated, and perhaps erroneously titled, “Hooverboard” – likely abandoned by a traveller unaware the self-balancing mobility devices had been banned from the air by many carriers.
Popular items on Monday morning included an 18-carat gold bracelet, with 19 bidders pushing the price up to $600. A black Gucci bag had 14 bidders willing to pay up to $320.
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The auction is being conducted by Theodore Bruce Auctioneers and Valuers. Director Casi Prischi said the auction was one of its most loved events.
“People from all over Australia log in to bid, not just for the bargains but because it supports something meaningful.”
The airport has kicked in $100,000 with hopes the auction can secure another $200,000 to fund swimming lessons for children in Sydney’s inner west, over where planes descend on approach to the airport.
Sydney airport has been auctioning off lost property for years, raising more than $1.9m since 2013.
For aGuardian feature in 2024, then airport service centre manager Katrina Lee said most of the unclaimed property the airports holds was mundane – stray toothbrushes and toiletries left behind in bathrooms. But special-edition Beatles records, a circular saw, hedge trimmer and sun lounge were among the more peculiar items auctioned off in 2023.
“There are [also] some more colourful items that we find … personal pleasure items,” Lee said.
“We had one bag that was completely full of items of that nature, and the lady who rang up about it … she had no qualms about ringing,” Lee said. “[When] they’re what floats your boat, you want them back.”
With Australian Associated Press