A handwritten letter from a World War I soldier who deserted his guard post to go to battle is among a new digital collection of historic artefacts from Western Australia.
The digital platform, Collections WA, will be opened to contributions from organisations across the state such as RSL branches, historical societies, regional museums, Indigenous centres and school archives.
So far, the collection consists of 2,000 objects including a 1916 letter from Peter Loney to his father.
The letter details how he deserted his post with a garrison to enlist with the Australian Imperial Force, which was headed for its own place in Australian history — Gallipoli.
David Theodore, curator of Albany's Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum, said the digital collection would help preserve the letter and other artefacts.
"People from anywhere in the world can go online and read the letter and find out a bit more about who the person is," he said.
"The actual letter itself is very brittle, one that can't be handled too much.
"If you put it on display, there's a limitation to how long you can show it before it deteriorates even more.
"The [online] platform allows us to present objects which otherwise would be too valuable for our community to put out on display."
Insight into soldier's life
Mr Theodore said the letter gave great insight into a man who chose to risk prison to fight in the battlefields of WWI.
"The garrison men of the fortress, because they were permanent defence, weren't permitted to enlist in the AIF," he said.
"It left some wanting to go and see action in the war, [but] it broke the law to go off and fight for Australia and the freedom we have today.
"It explains that Peter Loney did end up catching a ship into Albany port and was able to elude the police officers who did the ship inspections."
Mr Loney was among thousands of troops to depart Albany for the battlefields of WWI. He was killed in Belgium in 1917.
Mr Theodore said, while the digital collection was a great asset, the experience of visiting a museum or heritage site was still worth the effort.
"To get the atmosphere of a site, or place, you're not going to experience it viewing objects online," he said.
"We're 120 years old, the fortress has that allure of bringing people to the site."
