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Gun amnesty unearths historical weapons

Sarah IsonBusselton Dunsborough Times

While the National Firearms Amnesty succeeded in taking thousands of weapons off the streets, it also led to a surprising variety of historic pieces landing in the hands of Dunsborough police.

Among the most novel of the firearms were two Belgian constabulary revolvers, a model 94 Winchester rifle and a Luger pistol.

First Class Constable Kelly Player told the Times the revolvers were believed to be from the 19th century and were found in the roof of a local home as its owners were renovating.

“The Luger pistol was handed in by a member of the public who apparently found it under a piece of tin when he was a kid,” she said. “He kept it and hid it from his parents and had it ever since”.

Const. Player said despite the weapons being more than 100 years old in some cases, they very likely still worked.

“They were built in a time where weapons were made to last,” she said.

“The danger is that if they’re kept in cupboards, roofs or drawers, the home could be broken into and those firearms could easily fall into the wrong hands.”

In WA, 1242 weapons were handed in during the amnesty.

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