Asher, front, Ava, left, and William, McCorkindale celebrate getting to keep their surprise windfall on Monday.
Money doesn’t grow on trees, but it does – apparently – wash up on beaches.
And three months after it did so, Cambridge siblings Ava, 10, William, 8 and Asher, 5, McCorkindale received some exciting news from community liaison officer and The News columnist, senior constable Deb Hann last Friday.
Deb Hann
Because it remained unclaimed in that time frame, the siblings – all Cambridge Primary School students – were told they can keep $170 they found floating in the surf as they swam at Bowentown Beach while on a family holiday with mum, Renata, and dad, Ben, in February.
“We were all pretty shocked to suddenly see loose notes just floating in the water near us,” Renata told The News on Monday, describing the moment they all spotted the cash.
“It doesn’t happen every day, that’s for sure. Ben and I are being intentional about teaching our children about the importance of honesty, so we made sure we handed it into police on the way home.
“We told the kids, ‘…if we don’t get to keep the money, that’s okay, it’s not ours.’”
It is now though – and all three were delighted with the news they can keep it.
William said he had almost forgotten about finding about it, so hearing they could keep it now was “pretty exciting.”
Ava, whose route to school takes her past the Cambridge police station, had wondered if anyone had claimed the money.
So, what to do with the unexpected windfall then?
“Buy a Nintendo Switch,” Ava said.
William and Asher agree.
