Arabic version: تسمانيا تسعى لاستضافة حلقة من «أنتيكس رودشو» على بي بي سي

According to ABC News, the National Trust of Tasmania and Destination Southern Tasmania have launched a campaign to bring the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow to the state. The trust has described Tasmania as the nation’s “capital for heritage”, pointing to its Aboriginal history, historic villages and objects kept in local homes.

Antiques Roadshow is a long-running BBC program in which appraisers visit towns to examine and value family heirlooms and other historical items brought in by residents. The BBC has issued a casting call asking Australians to submit photographs and a short video about remarkable objects in their homes. A pilot hosted by Issa Schultz from The Chase Australia was filmed in the Blue Mountains last year and uploaded to YouTube in July.

Huon Valley resident Chris Gooley hopes experts could examine a dark stone carving showing the profile of a bearded man. He bought the piece at a Tasmanian op shop last year. The carving bears the initials H.L. and the date 1910, but Mr Gooley said he has no provenance and remains uncertain about its origin.

Claremont resident Kathleen Moore would like two tiny porcelain dolls appraised. Her father received them from an elderly woman whose lawn he mowed, then gave them to Ms Moore before his death. She believes the dolls could be at least 100 years old and keeps them wrapped in cotton wool and tea towels in a plastic container.

The campaign was launched at Runnymede House, where Tasmanians were invited to have heirlooms and op-shop finds assessed by local historian Warwick Oakman. Destination Southern Tasmania chief executive Alex Heroys said filming could take place in the gardens of Government House, at Runnymede and in historical villages. Trust chief executive Jen Fry said the stories attached to objects, rather than only their value, help make the program compelling.