Collecting glass bottles to raise money in North Beach

The below story was entered with this photograph into the 2018 History and Heritage Awards:

What a wonderful source of income for a generation of kids. No glass cool drink bottles were left to litter the road side, or beaches. No, they were collected and taken to the local delis. Prior to 1966 bottles were exchanged for a few pennies, then with the change in currency, for 5 cents or 10 cents depending on the type of bottle. Empties were scrounged from many sources...picnic sites, beaches and parks. The open picture gardens in North Beach Road yielded many a bottle. It was said that some enterprising boys would collect bottles from the rear of a shop and present them to the unsuspecting shopkeeper, then happily walk away with a bag of lollies. The large beer bottles, although plentiful were of no great interest, as they did not realise the same reward. Also, they could only be sold directly to the marine dealer or 'bottlo' as he was known. However, some young people took bottle collecting seriously. The need for money to finance an overseas school trip inspired this collection. During the summer 'the great bottle drive' was on. Carts were needed and space was needed. Unwittingly, parents agreed to store bottles in their back yards almost a secret operation as there were always kids on the look out to acquire the bottle of others. Over a couple of months, the piles of crates grew higher and higher, until at last, on a specified day the 'bottlo' arrived. It took many hands over many hours to relocate the bottles on to the verge in James Street. Then, before they were loaded onto the truck they were sorted by company name; Coco Cola, Schweppes, Weaver and Lock, and Fanta, and then crated. Money changed hands. And, yes the group enjoyed their trip partly funded by empties.