Historical Lea & Perrins glass bottle topper found at Cable Beach goes viral

A Broome environmental Facebook page has gone viral after a local citizen scientist posted a photograph of a historical glass bottle topper, garnering millions of viewers. Sharmaine Donnelly was walking along Cable Beach collecting rubbish on the high tide mark when her husband noticed a bit of sea glass. “We had a closer look at it and we could see some embossed writing on it, so we took it home — I did a bit of Googling and found out it belonged to a Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce bottle,” she said. “I also put it on an Old Bottles Facebook page and they confirmed these bottles were in production between 1840 to the 1950s.” While there have been a few of the glass toppers found around the world at farms and under old buildings, it’s unusual for them to be washed up on the beach. “I think from the big tides and the storms, it’s unlodged from somewhere and has washed up,” Ms Donnelly said. The post on the Facebook page Broome’s Natural Environment has reached nearly 20 million people, with nearly 300 thousand likes and more than 8000 comments. “I’m just down the beach every other day walking my dog and collecting rubbish and you find all sorts of things in amongst the rubbish,” Ms Donnelly said.