AN UNEXPLODED hand grenade found in Bendigo on Tuesday morning has been declared safe.
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A man found the ordnance in a Long Gully property while clearing out a relative's house.
Serial numbers suggested the grenade dated from 1941.
Bendigo Sergeant Paul Stubbs said the man went to the police station to notify police.
Officers closed a Long Gully street about 10.10am, evacuated a number of businesses, and cordoned off the area for safety.
The bomb response unit was notified.
Police sent photos to the Australian Defence Force to find out if the grenade was a hazard.
The defence force confirmed it was safe and later collected the device. It was afterwards found to be live.
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The device had been moved a couple of times in the days before it was discovered.
The street was closed for about half an hour.
A defence spokesperson said Joint Explosive Ordnance Services Victoria identified the item as a World War II vintage 36M Fragmentation Grenade.
It was assessed as safe to transport and removed for later disposal.
The spokesperson urged people not to touch an item that could be an unexploded ordnance.
"Local police should be contacted immediately and they will arrange for military experts to attend and dispose of the item," the spokesperson said.
"Members of the public should leave the item where it is found."
Bendigo District Returned Soldiers League president Peter Swandale said lots of souvenirs were brought back from the first and second world wars.
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Mr Swandale said it was surprising what was brought home: anything from hats to weapons.
He said it wasn't until the Vietnam War that the army clamped down on souveniring.
Mr Swandale said it was hard to know where a hand grenade like that was from if the person had died.
"A lot of the time it's actually family members going through old homes [who find unexploded ordnances]," he said.
"Their Grandma or Granddad has been deceased, and all of a sudden they find these items in a trunk, and they've been there for year and years."
Mr Swandale urged anyone who found an item from war or conflict to immediately contact police, to make sure it was safe.
The Australian Defence Force warns anyone who finds unexploded ammunition not to touch it.
A finder should then mark the location so it can be found later.
They should then inform the person responsible for the property, and contact triple zero.
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