One man’s junk is this man’s treasure

He may consider Benoni a junk yard, but metal detecting hobbyist Tony Curnick is unearthing the town’s history one piece of “junk” at a time.

January 23, 2017

Kevin van der List 2 minutes read

Tony Curnick has found many hidden treasures on beaches.

The Morehill resident has accumulated hordes of items over his four-year span as metal detector.

Some of these include what he believes to be an old cigar tray from the early 1900s, a printing plate of a New Indian motorcycle, a Pullsometer brass disc, miners’ safety tags, dog and bicycle licence tags, a Lucus Bicycle bell and a zinc claim marker used on the mines, to name a few.

Curnick was on holiday on the South Coast four years ago when he purchased a metal detector out of boredom.

The day he bought it, he put it to use on the beach and unearthed “one million bottle top pull rings and tent pegs”.

The bug had bitten, and he now finds himself going on a “hunt” at least twice a week.

“There is a lot of romanticism about metal detecting,” he said.

“People think everything you dig out will be valuable, but there’s a lot of junk.

“But, when you do better research you do get better finds.”

He said he has spent 90 per cent of his time researching locations in Benoni to sweep and 10 per cent searching for hidden gems.

Curnick acquired maps of Benoni which indicate areas before and after mining activity took place.

He has grown to appreciate the town he has lived in all his life, although he said there is a lot of junk in the form of illegal dumping.

“I enjoyed history at school and now I have a renewed interest in it,” he said,

“Everyone who starts this becomes a history buff because you start researching your finds.”

He said he won’t sell the treasures he has found, but enjoys the “kick” of the find.

Curnick’s metal detecting is not confined to Benoni.

He put his skills to good work at the resort of San Lameer, on the South Coast, earlier this month.

A man on the beach approached him while he was detecting and told him that he had lost his wedding ring.

Some 45 minutes later, Curnick found the ring and handed it back to its very grateful owner. The ring, he told Curnick, cost him R20 000.

Curnick says he has, over the years, found countless jewellery items on beaches, which are published on metal detecting forums in the hope of returning the items to their rightful owners.

The metal-mad hobby has rubbed off on one of Curnick’s colleagues, Dane Fourie, who is now also metal detecting.

“He (Curnick) digs it big time,” said Fourie.