At least a dozen members of the Dubbo and District Family History Society have signed on for the long campaign that’s been funded by about $4000 in donations from Dubbo groups and individuals.

The money has been spent on a scanner, computer and software so negatives can be scanned and stored digitally.

Under the tutorship of Jess Moore, collections officer for the Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC), the volunteers are almost ready to begin rescuing the past.

The negatives of photographs taken between the 1930s and 1970s were passed on by Talbragar Street’s Vincent Studio after it closed its doors.

They reveal a rich history of events and people including those who wed, baptised children and sent sons to war.

Once the negatives have been scanned, the volunteers will “tidy up” the images and comb through the studio’s registers in a bid for information about their subjects.

But time is now of the essence, according to society president Cynthia Foley, its librarian Linda Barnes and Ms Moore, who reports that the negatives are suffering from “vinegar syndrome”.

“The chemicals they used to actually create the negatives deteriorate and break down the negatives,” the collections officer said.

“Over time they wrinkle and buckle and give off a gas..and if you leave them too long the image will completely disintegrate. At the moment it’s really time to save, save, save.”

The final of two training sessions was conducted at the society rooms in the community centre of WPCC this week .

“We will be practising during February,” said Mrs Foley, who admits that she and the other novice scanners must get faster.

By March the volunteers will be using all but the midnight hours to empty black folders of photographic treasures.

The matter of how long it will take before they can breath a sigh of relief makes Mrs Foley and her friends laugh.

What is sure is their commitment to a project that will enable the city to look back with pride and interest.

“You couldn’t possibly let them go, it’s just too valuable a collection,” Mrs Barnes said.

The major financial contributors to the project are Dubbo RSL Memorial Club, U3A Dubbo, Dubbo Macquarie Lions Club, Dubbo Macquarie Rotary Club, the society and individual members of it.