When it comes to compiling television memorabilia, Michael R has a simple rule: "You can't have too many wedding dresses," he says with a laugh, flicking through a clothes rack in the overcrowded room of his Melbourne home. Wedged behind an '80s number dominated by shoulder pads that was worn by Krystal in the super soap Dynasty, is the traditional white gown the 39-year-old collector was looking for. "Sigrid Thornton's wedding dress from All The Rivers Run," he says.

Michael has good cause to appreciate the key prop from the staple of TV events. While serving in an entry-level position at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart, he spiced up an exhibition by contacting Grundy, the production house behind Neighbours, and enquiring about the wedding dress recently worn by Kylie Minogue's spunky mechanic, Charlene.

The dress was in storage and the producers simply gave it to Reason's employer, where it became one of their most popular - and widely borrowed - items. The gown features in On the Box: Great Moments in Australian Television, a comprehensive exhibition that documents 50 years of Australian broadcasting in this country just opened at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum.

Of the approximately 700 items on display, about 120 come from the private collection Michael has gathered in the years since he made that first tentative inquiry. He isn't sure how big his stash is, but one look at his bedroom, where boxes are stacked floor to ceiling along one wall and various shelves overflow, along with the knowledge that he has a storage facility brimming with more, suggests it's distinctly hefty. He's also loaning a number of items to the TV50 exhibition at ACMI in Melbourne, including Sigrid's drees, but will still have plenty of other pieces of TV history on hand.

"I don't consider myself obsessive. I like to think of it as putting together a jigsaw puzzle with unlimited pieces - it's best not to get crazy about it. You're always discovering new stuff, because it's never clear what's actually out there."

The sheer breadth of Michael's accumulation, stretching from the B&W to the plasma era, is impressive. He's the only person, aside from Eddie McGuire, who can put Sam Newman's head on the table (albeit a life-size plastic version, made for the AFL Footy Show in 1997), sitting it alongside a Graham Kennedy fanclub badge and the warm-up jacket worn by Fury in Gladiators.

Not surprisingly, Michael is a master of internet trading site eBay (he's been registered since 1997). Recently, for example, there's been an upsurge of Young Talent Time memorabilia going up for sale - he's already acquired a yoyo, among other items - as DVD releases remind former fans to dig out youthful passions. As well as eBay, charity auctions are a prime source. That's where Reason secured the Diary Room chair from the first series ofBig Brother and the door from Dr Karl's house in Neighbours.

With so much available, Michael is sanguine about financial limitations. "As a friend of mine says, 'Sometimes you have a baked beans week'," he concedes. But at least it's an indication that Australia's TV history will live on. Well into the '70s, shows were being wiped from tapes, and props and costumes literally binned when a series ended.

"I see myself more as someone preserving history than as a collector," he offers. "If I see that other people have something that I'd like, it doesn't upset me. I'm just glad that it hasn't been destroyed."