kiwi_2005
11-14-12, 05:27 PM
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10847495
When Geoff Flood saw a bottle with a note inside it floating near the beach, he knew it was something special. His instincts were right - the bottle he had found had been cast into the ocean more than 76 years ago.
What they found was a note written on special stamped-stationery marked "P&O" complete with a picture of the ship the note is thought to have come from - the SS Strathnaver.
The hand-written note, dated March 17, 1936, reads: "At sea. Would the finder of this bottle kindly forward this note, where found, date, to undermentioned address." It is signed H.E Hillbrick, 72 Richmond Street, Leederville, Western Australia. Yesterday Mr Flood managed to track down a distant member of Herbert Ernest Hillbrick's family who was "very excited" about their discovery. Mr Flood also managed to find a picture of Mr Hillbrick.
The Strathnaver ocean liner, operated by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, was launched in 1931. It was the sister ship of the RMS Strathaird - the pair were known as the "White Sisters" and both served the Australian mail route and travelled on the Sydney run in the mid 1930s.
The bottle is the third find of its kind for Mr Flood, who found a message in a bottle from a man in Australia and another, also from across the Tasman, from two 14-year-old girls.
When Geoff Flood saw a bottle with a note inside it floating near the beach, he knew it was something special. His instincts were right - the bottle he had found had been cast into the ocean more than 76 years ago.
What they found was a note written on special stamped-stationery marked "P&O" complete with a picture of the ship the note is thought to have come from - the SS Strathnaver.
The hand-written note, dated March 17, 1936, reads: "At sea. Would the finder of this bottle kindly forward this note, where found, date, to undermentioned address." It is signed H.E Hillbrick, 72 Richmond Street, Leederville, Western Australia. Yesterday Mr Flood managed to track down a distant member of Herbert Ernest Hillbrick's family who was "very excited" about their discovery. Mr Flood also managed to find a picture of Mr Hillbrick.
The Strathnaver ocean liner, operated by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, was launched in 1931. It was the sister ship of the RMS Strathaird - the pair were known as the "White Sisters" and both served the Australian mail route and travelled on the Sydney run in the mid 1930s.
The bottle is the third find of its kind for Mr Flood, who found a message in a bottle from a man in Australia and another, also from across the Tasman, from two 14-year-old girls.