Adventure: Australia - Diving and Searching
Greg Hawk • Apr 08, 2020
Australia - Diving and Searching
While owning and operating Fantasy Dive Charters out of Port Douglas, Australia we took weekly trips up the Great Barrier Reef to the top of Number 10 Ribbon Reef and then into Lizard Island for a night with a barbecue on the beach.
During the summer season, when the winds changed, we were able to go out into the Coral Sea to visit Osprey and Bougainville Reefs. These reefs are about 100 miles offshore and in approximately 6,500 feet of water.
Bougainville Reef had a steel hull of a ship, that had gone aground on it, lying on the windward side of the reef. From the years of continual spray of salt water on it the steel hull was slowly melting away. One could only dive on the windward side of the reef when the ocean was calm or else you were putting yourself into peril by getting washed up onto the reef. We dived this area and found parts to the ship still lying on the underwater shelf on that side. There was also an abundance of sharks in this area, so we didn’t stay long. The rest of the reef had some nice wall dives and very clear water.
Osprey Reef was about twelve miles long and offered a lot of different diving experiences on it. The south end of the reef offered some amazing wall diving and one had to watch your depth gauge as the water was so clear you could easily drop to 100 feet without realizing it. There was also a shelf running down the leeward side from the south end that was about 140 to 160 feet down. One day I counted eleven sharks lying on that shelf as we drifted along.
On the north end was called shark point and it was easily to see why. At 40 to 60 feet down one would have a lot of small reef sharks swimming by you. There was a shelf down at about 120 to 140 feet that was used as a shark feeding point by some dive vessels wanting to film sharks feeding. We didn’t do this as it drew in the much larger whaler and oceanic white tip sharks and who wants to be in the water during a feeding frenzy.
One day, when there was no wind, we were able to go on the windward side with our 78-foot dive vessel, Si Bon, and anchor up. We did a couple of nice dives and started back along the outer edge on a dive when I noticed an iron oblong ring about 18 inches long and 12 inches across. It looked as though it could have been part of an old wooden sailing ship. At the time I was at 80 feet in depth and down to 500 psi in my tank and it was time to head to the top. I picked up the heavy iron ring but couldn’t inflate my vest enough to bring the ring up with me without running out of air. I dropped it and thought someday I would make it back to dive that side once again. Did an old wooden ship run aground here and disappear?
A short distance south of Osprey Reef was what was called Shark Reef and the top of it was at a depth of 50 feet. We found it once and dived on it. The diving wasn’t that great and after 30 minutes I gathered the divers up and headed them back to Si Bon. Once onboard I asked them if any of them had seen the seven oceanic white tip sharks that were slowly moving in towards us. Luckily none of them did and there was no panic.
If you are an avid diver there are still many places to explore on the Great Barrier Reef and into the Coral Sea. Make sure you take the time to explore it on a “live aboard” dive vessel, if possible, one with a good reputation. Cheers!
Treasure Videos
This is a true story of the Walnut Grove Dam Disaster of 1890 and the disappearance of Bob Brow's Saloon along with his safe and a barrel of whiskey. Many have looked for the lost safe for miles downstream of the dam but to no avail. Will our research through the archives of newspapers and books lead us to the possible location? Join us for a journey through history and to the location of the failed dam and constuction site as we search for the location of the saloon.
When Jim and I were searching the area we came across old stone foundations and a pile of pottery shards probably from the boarding house. The pottery shards came from five different pottery factories in the same area of England.
In this video we tell of two stories that W.C. Jameson told about in one of his treasure books titled, “Lost Treasures of American History.” The first story titled, “Lost Spanish Treasure in the Lava Beds,” deals with 14 pack mules each carrying 300 lbs. of silver ingots on their way down to Mexico City from Spanish mines near Durango, CO. Supposedly the pack train got attacked but not before the Spanish had time to bury the silver and then tried in vain to fight their way out. Jameson’s stories may have a thread of truth to them, and he mentions at the end of this story that a rancher named Soloman Bilbo had married an Acoma Indian woman and learned of the Spanish massacre as it was passed down through generations by word of mouth. As you know the Native Americans didn’t care about treasure and were only interested in the horses, mules and the eradication of these Spanish intruders. So, how does Jameson come up with 14 pack mules of silver carrying 300 lbs. of silver each? A pack mule normally carries about 20% of its body weight and back then they were small and probably weighed no more than 400 to 500 lbs. meaning they probably were only carrying about 100 to 125 lbs. each. Also, the purity of the silver dore bars that were smelted at the mine were probably only about 70% pure. Taking all that into account thus trims the value down to about $500,000 at today’s prices. Was there a treasure and were they attacked coming or going from the mine? The second treasure story titled, “Black Jack Christian’s Lost Train Robbery Gold.” It was about a train robbery around Grants, N.M. that took place on November 6, 1897. Jameson tells of Black Jack and his two outlaw partners robbing the train of $100,000 in gold and silver coins along with a canvass bag full of watches, jewels and money they took from the passengers. In researching the story, I read a newspaper article written a couple of days after the robbery saying there were four outlaws not three. Next, I researched Black Jack Christian and found out he was killed in an ambush by a Sheriff’s posse and date of death was April 28, 1897. If that being the case then he wasn’t alive to rob the train on Nov. 6, 1897. Another fact is that $100,000 in gold coins, which were most likely $20 gold pieces, would weigh 1 troy ounce each so the weight would have been 342 lbs. If 20% was $1 silver coins the weight of the silver would have been calculated at 1 troy ounce being worth $1 or 20,000 troy ounces which would equal 1,371 lbs. Don’t think they hauled that much weight in their quick getaway. One must question the $100,000 in the robbery. Always remember to research the treasure story as often they are embellished to attract the greed that resides in many of us that clouds our judgment in seeking the truth. Cheers, Greg Hawk
D o wnload the PDF eBook of "Treasure of the Inca" Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by the LUTHERAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 182 Pages Cheers, Greg Hawk
A good friend found this stone with the carving on it while out hiking in the mountains of Arizona. He took me there to show me it and through our reseach we know that the earliest that the Spanish were in the area was around 1520 and then again in 1540 but no records of anything earlier. So, what does this mean? With an arrow on top of stone I would say the 1508 has something to do with a distance. But a distance to what and is it in varas a Spanish measurement during that time period? A vara is approximately 33 inches. You have a cross and a triangle below it so what does that mean? There were no missions built yet in the area until Father Kino did in 1691. There were three built around 1629 in now what is the northeastern part of Arizona and they were destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. So, if the 1508 is in varas could it mean 1508 varas to a church treasure or mine? We also found a few petroglyphs in the area which date back about as far as 1,800+ years ago. What are your thoughts? Cheers, Greg Hawk
This video talks about a treasure around Horse Mesa, Arizona and intertwines Spanish markers found in the area to possible trails to old Spanish mines.
VERIFIED & FOUND at PINE SPRINGS
Pine Springs Stagecoach Robbery, where's the gold? The treasure hunt for the $225,000 in gold coins stolen in the Pine Springs Stagecoach Robbery.
While searching both sides of the Colorado River for the Lost Cache of Gold Nuggets I stopped by the Ranger’s Office at the Picacho State Recreational Area.
This was a first story told to me by John, who I met in Strawberry, Arizona, and whom I write about in my book. He totally believed that he knew where the Lost Dutchman Mine was and he intertwined it with the Lost Two Soldiers Mine which makes one ask the question; Are the Two Lost Mines one of the same?