A 120-year-old box of chocolate has been found from the personal collection of the late poet and journalist A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson by the staff at the National Library of Australia (NLA).

Conservators at the NLA unearthed the sweet treats in a souvenir chocolate tin that was given to soldiers by Queen Victoria during the Boer War.

The discovery was made by the library staff while unpacking the contents of the poet who wrote Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River. The purpose of unpacking the box that has the poet’s papers was to digitize the contents and make them available online.

According to the National Library of Australia (NLA), the souvenir tin was commissioned by Queen Victoria and sent to South Africa during the Boer War as a gift to troops serving on the front.

It is believed that the poet had brought the chocolates from a soldier while serving as a war correspondent in South Africa for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for nearly a year starting in October 1899 before returning to Australia.

The NLA conservator told that there was quite an interesting smell when they were unpacked.

Paterson’s papers were passed on by his family after his death in 1941. However, the poet never referenced the chocolate bar in his writing.