John Timmins is a collector. The yard of his Keiraville home is dotted with scores of well-loved pushbikes. The wall of his rec room is covered in Matchbox cars, still in their original packaging. But it is a collection of a different kind that saw Mr Timmins launch his first publication, Rusty Love, yesterday.
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The coffee table book is an album of photos of old, rusted, abandoned and otherwise forgotten cars, trucks and vans Mr Timmins has stumbled across in his extensive travelling across Australia. He often trekked deep into bushland, off the beaten track into quiet corners of the countryside. Rusty Love is an ode to his attraction to old cars.
‘‘These were cars that were just left where they stopped or broke down, and were replaced with something new,’’ he said.
‘‘I see a beauty in that, to see these old and well-loved cars deteriorating in the bush.’’
With scenes from almost every state around the country, Rusty Love is a collection of more than 100 photos from the past three years. Mr Timmins said scrap dealers took whatever old cars they could find, so the ones that were left behind were often in remote, hidden or unused locations.
‘‘They are places people don’t often see, but I’ve got a bit of a knack for finding them sometimes. Scrap dealers bought up all the old cars or took them away, so all the ones around here are gone now,’’ he said.
Each picture is accompanied by a caption that gives the car an identity or personality. It is no accident – Mr Timmins said each car had a character, and it is that character he sought to bring out and highlight with the book.
‘‘To me, the cars are just sleeping,’’ he said.
‘‘They’ve all got characters. For older people especially, looking at one of these old cars brings back so many memories.’’
Rusty Love is currently available through Mr Timmins’ Keiraville newsagency.