Harry Easton's collection of all things Titanic

You could spend days talking to Mr Easton about this most fascinating ship and his collection.

His home in the Shoalhaven, on NSW's South Coast, is pretty much dedicated to his collection - it's almost like a museum.

Mr Easton regularly gets pieces for his Titanic from friends and family - the collection continues to build.

His interest in this most famous ship spans decades.

"It just fascinates me," he said about why he is an avid all things Titanic collector.

Just to remind you [in case you didn't know] the RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

Mr Easton said mystery still surrounds what happened that fateful night and said that it would never be solved.

"Everybody has a theory - I have over 100 books on the Titanic and I have read at least 80 of them - and they are all different," the collector said.

Harry said he also has a theory - and it's a good one [see below] but he wants to talk more about his collection - which is fair enough.

Mr Easton loves all pieces of his collection but the ones from family members, like from his granddaughter are particularly special to him.

"Of course, it makes me happy," he said about receiving another piece to add to his collection.

He then points to a piece made by a grandson and his grandson's wife.

Books, a coin, medallions, a piece of coal from the ship stamps, depictions of the Titanic big and small, jigsaw puzzles, empty bottles of stout with Titanic labels, a pocketwatch and much much more are all in the collection.

"Like I said, I collect anything Titanic. It's just an interest - that is all," he said

He has been known to pick up Titanic finds in op-shops - including a few he picked up in Nowra.

"We do find things," he said about his regular op-shop expeditions.

Harry spent seven years in the English merchant navy so he does have love of the sea.

He has no intention of stopping collecting - he loves it too much.

The Titanic stamps come from all over the world and a friend goes online to get them for him.

Oh - he also celebrated his 90th birthday this year. Guess what the theme was?

The hall of his house features his impressive jigsaw puzzles which are now framed.

It takes him about a week to do a jigsaw puzzle - he has puzzles as the ship is sailing out, one just before it hits the iceberg and one when she is sinking.

"I will tell you my theory shortly," he said, keeping us all in suspense as we venture upstairs to see more of the collection.

"The most glorious ship in the world," he said about the Titanic

He also has a nice Titanic Weekly collection [for making models] and believes a person in Ulladulla also collects them as well.

IN OTHER NEWS:

You look over towards another area of the house and see a Titanic trivia game. Anyone want to take Harry on? Good luck if you do. His knowledge of the Titanic is as impressive as his collection.

He is quick to spot mistakes in Titanic depictions. Some illustrations of the Titanic show four funnels blowing smoke - a mistake.

"Three of the funnels were from the engine room - the fourth one was from the ventilator or a ventilator shaft," he said

"The ventilator shaft should not be showing smoke - there definitely should not have smoke coming out of it."

He came to the Shoalhaven eight years ago from Sydney and come on Harry - tell me your theory.

"When I show you what is in the shed - then I will tell you," he said.

"Everybody has a theory," he said again as we headed to the shed.

And yes the shed, which Harry calls his inner sanctum, is packed full of Titanic-related material.

"All Titanic - all Titanic - even on Morgan [John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan] who owned Titanic," he says, pointing to an impressive collection of books.

"He [Morgan] was supposed to be onboard but cancelled at the last minute - that will come in with my theory."

He bulked at writing his own book.

"Nobody would be interested in what I have to say," he said

Now comes theory time - over to you Harry......

Harry thinks that Morgan [the owner], Joseph Ismay the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line and Captain Edward Smith hatched a plan that went wrong.

"Now the Titanic sailed and I think Morgan, Smith and Ismay along with Thomas Andrews who built the Titanic came up with a plan," Harry said.

"The Titanic was meant to glance an iceberg - just a glance and sail into New York Harbour damaged but everyone onboard safe and sound - living up to its title of the 'Unsinkable Titanic'," Harry said about his theory.

"Unfortunately things went wrong - very wrong. Once things started to go wrong - everything went wrong.

"That is my theory and I reckon four of them knew about what they intended to do but as I say it all went horribly wrong."

He said of all the books he has read that no one has ever been held accountable for the loss of the Titanic itself or of the tragic loss of 1500 lives, even though there have been two formal investigations into the accident.

So many questions remain unanswered.

"Why wasn't someone put up on the focsle? Why were only the two people in the crows-nest? Why not reduce speed? Nothing was done to prevent it," he said.

So the mystery remains but Harry's collection grows .......