A 50-year-old telegram found inside a brick wall at the Distinction Dunedin hotel is mystifying staff. The message was found in the wall of the old sorting room of the former chief post office building in Princes St when it was dismantled to make way for a new door.
The telegram reads, “To the wrecker of this wall in the year… Greetings from the staff of the delivery section of the telegraph branch chief post office Dunedin.”
Hotel general manager Andrew Duncan said he was looking forward to solving the mystery of the telegram’s origin.
“It’s to the wrecker of this wall, so that’s great,” Duncan said.
“Whoever did this predicted the future. It’s like a time capsule. It’s a moment in time.
“I guess the question is who wrote the note?”
The telegram was dated July 28, 1966, presumably when the wall was added to the sorting room. The builders discovered the telegram when making a wider hole for the door than originally planned.
“It could have been so easily missed. The only thing that alerted us to it was the stamp – otherwise it would just look like a piece of paper.
“It’s done pretty well for 50 years, really.”
Duncan hoped someone would claim it.
“I guess if no-one comes to claim it, we’ll have it in the restaurant, framed on the wall.”
