Tips on retrieving Millitaria

**big ned** · 07-24-2013, 03:25 PM

by zwerge

BUT....is he the original?...looks like a repro to me.

Dunno Pete.....Maybe he's the MKII Red Sea Pedestrian.

**MrNosey** · 12-24-2013, 03:32 PM

What was the outcome of this? Promised much but delivered little!! No pics..nothing...nil..nada!!

**Steve T** · 12-24-2013, 05:06 PM

Heard nothing, and had no reply to my offer of help from RRPG. Presume it came to nothing.

**MrNosey** · 12-24-2013, 05:10 PM

Thats a shame as it had lots of potential. Probably another one of these urban myths about buried Jeeps etc. Heard a story when I was a lad about buried Jeeps and US equipment just outside Kelly Bray...turned out to be just that..a story!!

**Glenn66** · 12-26-2013, 08:29 AM

When I was growing up in Brisbane there was a deep waterhole (some say 90m) at the edge of the Archerfield airport that rumour would have it contained a Spitfire and other dumped war material. After many, many years of fund raising and government approval too-ing and fro-ing it was eventually drained.

They found, I think an aircraft wheel and a shopping trolley...

**TestMatch** · 12-26-2013, 09:30 AM

by Glenn66

When I was growing up in Brisbane there was a deep waterhole (some say 90m) at the edge of the Archerfield airport that rumour would have it contained a Spitfire and other dumped war material. After many, many years of fund raising and government approval too-ing and fro-ing it was eventually drained.

They found, I think an aircraft wheel and a shopping trolley...

Have a click on the links on this page, a bit more than an aircraft wheel and shopping trolley!

The Archerfield Quarry - full of World War 2 equipment

**993ti** · 01-04-2014, 01:42 AM

by Tex

Thanks for the info, i'm pretty sure that the water will have knackered out the explosives and made them duds but better to be safe than sorry! I'll inform the police of my intentions, who knows, they might even send a dive team down to retrieve them for our local museum!

That's what most people think.
Not too long ago, a couple of men were fishing at a lake in an area that got heavily bombed.
As they were sitting there, an unexploded bomb detonated, a column of water rose, lots of dead fish.
Also found a pit full of MG151/20 rounds, some broken and wet but those things will still do a lot of damage.
I never liked the thought of having an explosive on my magnet, never had and hope i never will

**francis** · 12-05-2016, 07:25 PM

Hi All'
this is a bit late, as only just found this thread. Im slack,very busy delete where applicable.
To add to this interesting story. In the vicinity local to myself, no exact details for obvious reasons, and I have to omit some info for the same reasons. Maybe locals or those more informed amongst you will put 2+2 together etc.
I will try to be as interesting and informative as possible without giving too much away.
This is fact and not rumour....
At the end of the 2nd world war, a tank storage and training area was evacuated and much equipment and ordnance (live) was disposed of in the nearby lake. I cant say too much here but can enlighten certain members individually if interested. Well, to continue.... as a schoolboy ie young, dumb and full of .......curiosity and ignorance I pulled up hands full (literally) of live 303 rounds still in clips and some rounds belted. Several live shells (tank) were also exhumed. Remains from ammo boxes and so on. This was easier than it sounds as it was in (I think) 1977 when we had a huge drought and water rationing was bought in. Because of this drought, the water in lake receded by about 20-30 feet, so what was once covered was now high and dry. We stood on wooden milk crates to keep our feet dry. After this came to light at my local school (and I received 6 of the best, across the backside, that's how long ago this was) the bomb disposal boys came to this lake, dredged out a corner where most of this stuff was being found, with cranes, and laid a nice 2-3 foot layer of sand in its place and for quite some distance along the shoreline. This was not even under loads of sediment. One only had to drag their fingers along the bottom of the lake to pull up this stuff. I specifically remember wading out to what I thought in my naivety to be some land mines and trying to get my toe under the edge to lift them up. My mates stood on the bank (sensible) while I tried to get one of these circular shaped discs which were approx 12-14 inches diameter and clearly visible through the light silt covering. Turned out to be tank wheels (bogey wheels) or whatever you would label them. When I took my collection of live items to school, well the excrement hit the fan. My very elderly, bald deputy Head Master marched me to his office to administer the 6 strokes (on my then, firm lilly white buttocks). I will ALWAYS remember this classic lecture that was delivered by him prior to giving me my punishment: 'I didn't live through 2 world wars, sonny to get killed by some bloody stupid idiot now'. I would like to have been able to say that I was more fed up that he confiscated my treasures, than I was receiving the 6 strokes of the cane. Unfortunately I was not that heroic and I would have gladly given all my stuff up including what I had at home to have missed out on the whacking.
Well years have now passed, my assailant has passed away, and I have been to the area again with a wiser head on my shoulders and a good detector. There are still lots of things lurking about including many live 9mm and other ordnance. I assume the tank wheels will still be there as they were further away from the dredged area and not causing any danger.
Oh the joys of youth.