After our team effort the place #3 was a bit of dead loss ~ but it kept ringing in my ears after Paul said ~ he and Paul had never been there and not seen coinage !
But this time I left the spade in the transport, and opted for a battle axe ~ my cane knife ~
I hit targets instantly~ as soon as I entered the canopy ~ but all the signal were trash ~ A LOT of ferrous signals ~
I headed west ~ and soon hit that Lantana in mass ~ I soon mastered knocking over the Lantana ~ and yet retain a high degree of energy ~ But it is hard yakka for sure ~
And in this exercise with little and no gain as I found NOTHING ~ ignoring the ferrous signals ~ of course ~maybe even cheating myself as even ferrous relics can be woirth while as most know ~
I dug two ~ one showed some potential f a good signal but turned into a workshop file/ rasp ~ a common find in MD relics ~ and a solid steel lunch pin with grip ~ And I did dig a steel Duffle bag lock or what was left of it ~
I worked down the timber some 100-150 m beating back the Lantana before quittign and retreating back the stat point and plan to head east where the Lantana was no where near as dense ~
(Picked a great day to go Bush bashing as the winds were full on and simply rattled the over head canopy and barely bothered me ~ The prolific rains had backed off completely so no worries mate ~ about getting wet ~ I did a recce on Friday and got wet feet and a grass tick ~ with no rewards at all ! ) )
So I pushed on SE ~ good going but nothing ~ I paused to shoot a short video for my better half as she likes to see the ground I am in ~ and I commented it all looked like a fail ~ again ~ and I would more than likely call it a day after another 15 minutes ~
I barely put the camera away and started off again I dug two high tones pieces ~ one a piece of a kerosene stove or lantern and the other I have no idea but kept both ~
I thought maybe I found a timber workers camp ? ~
Then it was a very unusual find~ a cache of toothpaste and shave (?) tubes ~ So amny I gave up digging them ~ all intact ~ and a heap of them in one spot ! ?
I bagged two samples and the smaller one is labelled “Plum Jam” 25 gram. A Tongal Milk Products Pty Ltd
Then a Blank 303 ~ optimistic ~
That was followed by a medium size hole ( 50 cm dia.* 50 cm.deep) with lot of signals ~
Straight up a Military badge backing plate ~ Cool~ always welcome ~ U Ripper!
Then a Key ~
I bagged all the tent rings to eliminate them from the hole ~ additionally there were more signals on the opposite side of the hole ~ I spent yonks clearing the hole !
I then circumnavigated the area but found nothing ~ returned to the area of the hole ~ in short I worked the area and came up with a Rising Sun ~ an AUST. flash ~ a 44 penny ~
The bent piece is a brass bolt not an electrical cord.
A short discussion with Paul S ~ who works in Military Logistics ~ we agree the ‘Plum Jam’ from Tongala Pty Ltd ~ is in Grams ~ not ounces which suggests modern ~ and as PS suggested the tube I did bring home are in a ‘military ‘ green ~ SO they were military kit issue ~
And as many locals will know there is generally a flow of Military exercises and training in this area ~ as I speak I believe there is a US and Australian exercise going on ~
Ironic that these blokes were mere meters from a dump hole of WWII kit ~ But then I have seen this scenario before ~ modern shell cases amongst WWII ~
I scouted around and found that much of the area is in fact ‘terraced’ ~ So any theory of the area entirely being bulldozed is not completely accurate ~ as the terraces would have been eliminated ~
Nice day ~ windy but an improvement over the last couple of outings.. seems I have paid the ransom for the great finds I have had of late~ Hopefully ~ the fresh start for more great finds ~ Home 16.45 hrs.
The officer's webbing P37 cleaned up superbly ~
infantrymen of the Australian 2_6th Battalion training in the Watsonville area of North Queensland, April 1944
Bookmarks