Australian WWII - Far North Queensland Metal detecting and recovery

[AT P Sweep]

Tok a girl friend for a drive around the local dam to show dramatically lower the water levels ~ now down to 35 %

Some, amazing scenery~

Historic bridge ~ now exposed ~ built heavy duty ~ dare I say to handle tank transporters ~

[AT P Sweep]

More changes as the dam waters recede ~

This 'island ' which is the base for the two WWII period chimneys ~ is now part of the nearby peninsula ~

Demonstrates just how quickly the waters are dropping, exposing the WWII camps sites ~ In the fore ground and exposed groudn there are numerous form works and foundations built during in 1943- 1945.

It was only 10- days ago that access was only possible with a boat !

[Ubique]

How long has this site been covered with water Sweep?

[AT P Sweep]

Well ~

As far as I know the dam last was at it's lowest in 2004 ~ Prior to that I have no idea ~

In 2004 it went 24% there about~

It is currently down to 34% ~

We are experiencing extensive rains as I speak, but there is no substance to the rain fall~ and I seriously doubt it will stop the decline of the water levels ~ as it drives a small power plant ~ plus also supplies Cairns some of it's drinking water ~ plus local farmers for irrigation.

The history of the dam was that the construction was complete by 1958 ~

I believe that there were contractors whose job was to bulldoze the WWII sites into deeper water ~ They did clear some sites most obviously where the 'suburbs' and recreational sites are now located, and then 'spread' out from that area/s ~

But fortunately for the MD and "archaeologists" such as my self ~ the dam filled much sooner than expected ~

Appears 1958 was very wet year and instead of filling in 18 months it took 6 months ~ The most obvious sign is that at the moment the most 'public' water sports area is now revealing extensive tree stumps which are still quite tall which says they were sawing them off as the water rose ~

The negative part of this is that there have been various reports of "tourists" visiting the chimneys for example and in a moments of outrageous ignorance and stupidity ~ lighting a fire in the Military chimney ~ ( So much for the integrity of the mortar after 70 + years)

And most recently some cretin gouging out a mortar fin cast in the form work of the chimney as an ornament when chimney was built !!!

Then we have the signs of the Drongos in the above photo that insisted on driving their 4*4 across the spit to the Island ~ and according to a witness at the time, the water had not completely completely exposed the bottom ~ the bloke/s were apparently almost ~ fortunate to have not been stranded completely ~

But worse still there is NO point in driving to the "Island" as it is only small, and too steep .. too rugged, and tree covered to even drive a 4*4 to the place.. I mean ~ WT &^*^*( !!! No brains !


The ultimate afront to the history of the Diggers, IMO !

95400

[AT P Sweep]

Have not been out for few weeeeks now but madea big effort today ~

Could have been out there around 06.30 hrs but fr the fact Ms M was camped on the lounge ~ so to keep peace I delayed the start ~ on site around 10.00 ~

Again joined the crowd at the local dam ~

Impressive stuff as the waters drop ~

Bet my sheep station that this was a signage pole for the Military camps ! as ti is bordering on the main access road ~

( I wrote a letter to the Cairns Post this last week regarding the neanderthals who have disrespected the WWII relic sites of late ~ and it was published today ~ Insisting people take more regard for the past and the sites remaining ! )

As the dam water levels continue to drop ~ This 'Island' was an Island and now it is high and dry ~

Attachment 1028954













Timed it right with a HUGE storm bearing down as i headed home ~



Relics recovered included a badly worn King Edward VII sixpence ~



The clock assembly is a ripper ~





A shrine as created by tourists ~

[AT P Sweep]

I shared the image of the clock with my good friend "Robert" in Holland ~ who is also a keen WWII relic hunter ~

But his lady is a professional watch maker dealing in the best of the best makes ~ including Rolex and Jaeger ~ and she was totally 'blown away ' by the old time piece and luves it ~

I did hunt today at the same site and had some mixed results and unique finds ~ Will follow up with a report ~

[AT P Sweep]

Saturday and Sundays hunts

[lithgow]

That UK 1904 Sixpence is in good nick for a 40 year or so old coin in circulation when it was lost!

[AT P Sweep]

Well ~ one never knows when a opportunity comes up eh ~

We had planned a day at the beach , now that Ms M has finally recovered ~

Well as best can be ~ after two years of misery with her foot..


But as I finished late ~ and we slept in we changed the plan ~ in short I opted to try a totally new site ~

I have been eyeing this 'virgin' off for a while but just have not gotten around to check it out ~

In short I was on site ten minutes and scored a ( Hat Rising Sun which was quickly followed bya 1942 Florin ` Plus two more RS and an AUSTRALIA flash ~ always welcome in my bag !

Now I have sworn to not bring home any more less than quality items ~ This works in with soem locals asked em if I actually return items for the benefit of future generations ~

Yes I do ~ ( But I seriously doubt if they will last that long with the sheer numbers of Interlopers these days!)

So there were a few items returned to Mother Earth ~ in fact the point I had quite a pile of misc non-qualifiers ~ LOL !

The padlock was typical of some of the pieces that were returned to Mother earth ~

The 30.06 round is intriguing as it turned out to be a 1932 Rockford Armoury round !

And what about conspiracies ~ another two way radio frame ~ I mean WT ! ~ Hell ~ LOL

The coins and RS before cleaning ~ The 1946 ( second Florin ) went back for an extended cleaning ~


(NOT too shabby for 2 1/2 Hours IMO ! )

Bizarre ~ ANother two way radio frame ~ I assume it is 1960-70s ?





I only needed another AUSTRALIA Flash and I would have had "a full House "!



The 1946 Florin has gone back for a another soaking in the snake oil ~



Note silver variation ~





A little perplexed by the 30.06 round~ not to mention the 1932 vintage ! (?)

96,207

[lithgow]

Various types of .30 cal weapons in Aus service in WW2 and after especially Browning M1919 MGs on vehicles and ground mounts-others in smaller numbers like ex NEI M1941 Johnson automatic rifles used in 1942 during the invasion panic because they were available and went bang!