One of the largest collections of Beatles memorabilia in Australia is right at home in Crookwell.
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But not for much longer, as Dallas Atkins' rare merchandise is to be housed in the new Powerhouse Museum in Parramatta.
The curator, who has begun to select exhibition pieces, has items that were produced during the The Beatles' era.
In 1964, for example: a United States company was manufacturing 35,000 Beatle wigs a day; a Liverpool UK bakery sold 100,000 Ringo dolls in two days; and a Blackpool UK company received an order for 10 million sticks of licorice with The Beatles' name on it.
There is evidence of this mass production of business in Atkins' collection.
It features a signed poster of John, Paul, George and Ringo sold at a Mobil service station in Perth; and Beatles wallpaper.
A 'Flip Your Wig' official Beatles game is stored beside a tin with Beatles shampoo from the Philippines.
Stacked on the floor are magazines from the 1960s; and stored in a box is a piece of the stage The Beatles played on in Hamburg.
Behind glass cabinets are vintage items and signatures of Peter Best, Jane Asher (Paul McCartney's girlfriend between 1963-68), Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
"I got those from a news reporter. He interviewed them in the 1960s," Atkins said.
Collectable records include My Bonnie, a 1962 album by rock n roll singer and musician Tony Sheridan with The Beatles.
Atkins can't begin to estimate how many pieces there are in the undocumented collection, but believes it is one of the biggest of its kind in the country.
Much of the memorabilia is from the United States and what Atkins collected on a tour of England.
Rare items such as these tell the stories of musicians and attract interest from across the globe.
A green cardigan worn by Kurt Cobain during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance recently sold for $334,000 at auction.
In 2009, Michael Jackson's famous white-glove sold for $350,000.
Also in 2009 a lock of what was believed to Elvis' hair, trimmed in 1958, sold for $15,000.
But Atkins doesn't care for the record prices achieved at auction houses, because "The Beatles never made money out of it."
The collection is housed in a room beside Atkins' recording studio and his digital transfer business in Crookwell.
"When I first saw The Beatles, the music got me," Atkins said. "I was fixated, I was hooked. You still had your screamers - like Elvis, Bill Haley and His Comets - and Pat Boone and the crooners.
"To me, The Beatles are the greatest band, but to history, their style of music, clothing and hairstyles were a turning point.
"The Beatles started the stadium tours ... where could you stick 20,000 kids screaming?
"If you take a Beatle away, they lose something.
"The Rolling Stones: if you take away their guitarist, you still have Mick Jagger.
"It was down to George Martin, he was an amazing producer."
Martin is popularly known as the fifth Beatle. He worked on the majority of their songs throughout their career.
Before his collection goes to the Powerhouse Museum, Atkins says he would like it to go on display in the Upper Lachlan.
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