A Roundabout Video membership card, believed to date back to the sacred era of the mid-90s has been unearthed in a Long Gully backyard by 15-year-old amateur archaeologist Jayden McLoughlin.
The relic—a banana-yellow laminated card with bold red lettering—was uncovered in near-mint condition after Jayden accidentally struck it while attempting to dig a firepit. It had been entombed for three decades beneath the mud, compacted dog poo and aggressive Kikuyu roots.
Roundabout Video, now the site of JB Hi-Fi, is still fondly remembered by locals of a certain age as that yellow place where you could rent Wayne’s World and Super Mario Kart and buy Triple J’s Hottest 100 in the same transaction.
“Seven weeklies for nine bucks and a CD section that slapped way harder than it had any right to,” dadsplained Jayden’s father, Brian. “If you were lucky, the staff would let a twelve-year-old rent Hellraiser without blinking. But if you lost it, Boom — there went your entire Centrelink.”
Jayden’s grandmother Cheryl says she’s not surprised by the discovery.
“That’s where we buried his dad’s Microsoft Zune after it played Nickelback’s Photograph at a family BBQ.”
The find has sparked a frenzy among the region’s emerging backyard archaeologists. Teens across Eaglehawk are now scouring their lawns in search of long-lost Video Ezy lanyards, scratched Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 discs, or — in a perfect storm of nostalgia — a working VCR that doesn’t sound like it’s eating rocks.
Jayden has since listed the card on Facebook Marketplace for $700 or a slab of Monster Energy.
Jayden’s dad, Brian, admitted that seeing the card triggered a long-repressed memory: “Shit… I never returned The Matrix. I still owe them like $20 in late fees.”
