HE’S been a collector of yarns, a collector of memorabilia and now a collector of years. As raconteur Rusty Christensen downsizes his life, he’s been looking for new homes for the treasure trove of ephemera he’s amassed.

Now bunkered down in a retirement home in Booragoon, the octogenarian is a walking encyclopedia on the history of Fremantle, where he grew up in the 1930s.

As the Herald chats to Mr Christensen, he whips out a box with gems as diverse as a history of advertising written in the early 1800s, an international magazine once held by the long-defunct Fremantle Literary Institute, some socialist poetry from a Freo wharfie and an auction catalogue from a charity night at the East Fremantle Footy Club from the ‘70s.

Anyone interested in helping him clear out the last cupboards can drop the Chook a tip on our website http://www.fremantleherald.com and we’ll let him know.