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Predictions in Sydney man's 1995 letter come true

A group of tradesmen made an interesting discovery when they found a letter from 1995 hidden in a Sydney home, revealing what the homeowner believed 2020 would look like.

Greg Wilkinson is the man responsible for the letter, which he wrote using a 486 laptop with a 240 megabite hard drive on Word for Windows V5.0 in his Rozelle home.

"Hello whoever you are," he wrote.

"This letter was put into this stud wall on Easter Saturday, 15th April 1995.

"I thought before I finished the last room in this house I would leave a "time capsule."

PICTURED: Greg Wilkinson with his late wife Roslyn Green. Source: Facebook
PICTURED: Greg Wilkinson with his late wife Roslyn Green. Source: Facebook

The letter was uncovered by a group of tradesmen this month, 22 years after being sealed into the wall.

It was also accompanied by a photo of Mr Wilkinson and his wife Roslyn Green on their wedding day.

One of the tradesmen, Sasha Ilic, told Fairfax Media he was at the house for a kitchen renovation.

"I was sent to the house in Rozelle for a kitchen renovation, which later also added to a full bathroom renovation because of Greg's lack of water proofing," Ilic said.

"The wall lining came off and a labourer found the letter hidden inside the bathroom stud wall. He read it and passed it around."

Mr Wilkinson not only provided his thoughts on the future but added in the cost of a number of regular items in 1995.

"Here are some facts of today which may give you some comparisons to your current way of life," he said.

"A loaf of bread is $1.25; a pint of milk is $1.25; Saturday's newspaper is $1.20; a case of beer is $24.95 Carolton Gold; one litre of fuel is $0.68."

He also added what was happening at the time he wrote the letter.

Mr Wilkinson made predictions on a number of issues. Source: Facebook
Mr Wilkinson made predictions on a number of issues. Source: Facebook

"The big deal at the moment is the internet. This is just exploding and every man and his dog wants to 'surf' the internet. Please tell me this expression has now died" he said.

"Australia is about to get cable TV. A very rich guy called Rupert Murdoch is about to change the Australian Rugby league into the Super League."

Mr Wilkinson, who is currently on holidays sailing around Croatia, said he was almost reduced to tears when he heard the letter had been found.

"At first when I saw the letter up on Facebook I felt a little violated... Then having thought about it and with the predictions it really highlighted the progress of the internet in 22 years and, without it, how would they ever have found me?" the now 61-year-old told Fairfax.

"I received a Facebook messenger request and a very nice guy asked if I was the right guy and pointed me to it... and there it was. It almost brought me to tears."

Mr Wilkinson attempted to predict what a number of things would be like around the year 2060 whereas his wife predicted the letter would be found in 2020. His wife died of breast cancer in 1997.

"Families will go back to one parent working and the other looking after the kids. This will bring about a natural controlled recession, a less materialist society with more social interaction in city suburbs," he said.

"Islam will become the next ideological problem sparking an equal and opposite reaction plunging large parts of the globe into ridiculous "holy war".

"China will semi democratise, gear up as a world economic super power and then look out!

"America will be their largest trading partner and if they decide they would like some more space I suspect Australia could become their target.

"Australia will become the envy of the world whatever happens. It is the greatest place to live and should always remain a multi-cultural single nation."

Mr Wilkinson said he hoped the letter would "stay hidden longer" but he is "so happy" it was here and he was around to see it".

"I feel quite emotional having seen it (the letter). All that water under the bridge for me and the world. My beautiful Ros looking back at me from the past," he said.

In August 1995, the pair welcomed a baby boy named Mark.

The Terry Street property was sold 18 months ago for $1,380,000.