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Offline hardluckTopic starter
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« on: October 04, 2009, 08:32:00 pm »
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Hello all!

Here is another treasure legend.

The Treasure of Lord Howe.

If there was ever an island so fit to play the part of a treasure island in Hollywood movie, then Lord Howe would be that island.

The Island lies in the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia and is one of the most beautiful islands in the world. The Island who?s population of 300 survives on tourists, mainly honeymooners who flock to the 16km or 6 square mile island.

The Island is crescent shaped with a lagoon enclosed on the inner side by a reef teeming with fish. On the southern end of the island two large peaks jut up into the sky which is frequently covered with clouds.

As treasure Islands go Lord Howe was not known as the haunt of pirates and early buccaneers of the previous centuries. The early maritime visits to the Island are shrouded in mystery. However it was known as a watering place for many Pacific whalers who operated in this part of the Pacific around the 1820?s and 1830?s.

One such whaler was the George. The George in late 1829 had a very successful whaling voyage and sold the whale oil for 5000 gold sovereigns in Sydney. The George set out again in 1830 with the 5 thousand sovereigns in her strongbox to another whaling voyage. At Lord Howe the George called in to take on water. She struck a rock which is called today George rock.

In an effort to save themselves the George was run aground where she was wrecked. Captain Rattenbury and crew mistakenly believed that savage natives inhabited the Island and for safety he buried the strongbox on the island.

Shortly after, they were rescued by two vessels calling in for water, the Nelson and Elizabeth. It is not understood why Captain Rattenbury failed to take with him the strong box? Perhaps he feared the captains of the rescue vessels would claim salvage rights over the sovereigns or perhaps he had more dishonorable intensions?

Legend claims Rattenbury returned to Lord Howe in 1831. Tradition claims he buried the strongbox on the beach at the foot of mount Gower but was unable to recover the treasure because he could not identify the exact spot due to a landside.

Interesting enough there is a record in the Log Book of a vessel called the Caroline from Hobart Tasmania who the mate had knowledge of the location of the treasure. He too could not identify the exact location where the treasure was buried. The story about the missing gold was written about in the Hobart Newspapers in around 1831.

Did Captain Rattenbury steal for himself the treasure from his employers and crew and recovered it in secret?
 
Or perhaps it is nice to think that some where on that little romantic slice of paradise called Lord Howe there is a treasure of 5000 gold sovereigns still there waiting for the lucky finder to discover?

Hardluck  Cool


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« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2009, 04:12:50 am »
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Hello Again

So was there any truth to the tale above of buried treasure on Lord Howe? Or was it just another urban legend created by an over active imaginations?

The first thing in researching the truth behind legends is try to find the earliest accounts of the events.

It should be understood about newspaper accounts prior to 1850 were generally short and reported the facts as they knew it. After the 1850?s newspapers began to become more tabloid when reporters would add things to spice up the story.

One of the first accounts of the event was in the Hobart Town courier 19th march 1831 which states.

The Government Brig Mary Elizabeth, had put into that port on her passage to Norfolk Island. After being at sea for forty days being short of water, and top sides leaky. She touched at Lord Howe?s Island and brought up the Master Rattenbury and four men belonging to the ship, George a whaler from Van Demons land. Which the above mentioned vessel was wrecked on the Island- When the Mary Elizabeth proceeds again to her destination. It is supposed that she will call on her return from Norfolk Island for the remainder of the crew that now remain there. This vessel this unfortunate loss we deeply regret, left this port on Dec 11th on a whaling voyage. She was owned by A. E. Kemp, W. A. Belhune, G. F. Read and Charles McLaclan, esquires.

From this you can begin to see a very different picture of events. And it is predicable enough that there no mention of any buried treasure?

 The main author who glorified the Lord Howe Treasure story was Kenneth W Byron who in 1964 wrote an interesting book called ?Lost treasures in Australia and New Zealand? On page151 he mentions:

A treasure consisting of 5000 sovereigns is believed to lie buried somewhere on lord Howe Island

Another statement Kenneth W Byron made was when he quoted Third hand from Max Nichols ?History of Lord Howe Island ?who quoted from a book by A. J Villers ?Vanished fleets? written in 1931 about a log book entry of the search of whaling vessel called Caroline by a Captain Tregurtha.

But we were unable to find the treasure as the country seemed to have altered considerably, my mate said.

Kenneth W Byron mentions 5000 sovereigns and implied that the landscape had changed a lot. Making readers speculate perhaps due to a landslide.

In Villers book ?Vanished Fleets? Villers version is very different in regards to several things.

In November we set out and shaped a course for Howe?s island. My mate has assured me of some whaling treasures he knew buried there, which would only cost us the trouble of taking it away.

In the final quote from the log written by Captain Tregurtha of the Caroline via Villers:

On the 15th we sighted Howe?s island and at 10am we lowered the two quarter boats, in which the mate and I proceeded to shore. It took us, pulling and sailing, 7 hours to reach the beach, where on landing we shot a quantity of bronze wing pigeons, which were so tame they would not go away until we had killed 60 or 70. Some persons had removed the gear.

The statement of Kenneth W Byron is a lot different from the original person he quoted from Villers. A. J. Villers version of Captain Tregurtha?s log does not mention 5000 sovereigns and he states that ?Some persons had removed the Gear.? In Byron?s version ?But were unable to find the treasure as the country seemed to have altered instead.?

It was Byron?s 1964 version that latter authors adopted and became the tale we hear to day.

Now this does not mean that there wasn?t originally treasure buried on Lord Howe. The mate of the Caroline was very clear in saying the treasure was taken by some one. What the treasure is of course is not clear.

We know by Captain Tregurtha?s log book that they searched Lord Howe by the 15th of November 1831. And the Newspaper stated that Captain Rattenbury and four others were rescued before or near the 19th of March 1831. The treasure what ever it is was only buried there for 7-8 months the very latest.

We do know that Brig Mary Elizabeth was a government brig on a regular run, supplying the convicts of Norfolk Island, which Lord Howe in on the way, rescued the rest of the crew that was left behind on Lord Howe on the return voyage. It is not hard to speculate that the treasure may have been recovered on that voyage.

The Mate of Caroline was most likely one of four rescued with Captain Rattenbury and never knew the treasure was recovered not long after he was rescued? And his assumption that the treasure was still there was the source of the treasure legend we hear today.

There is of course the possibility that Captain S W Rattenbury may have found another ship to command and called in at Lord Howe and recovered the treasure. In searching through the archives, shipping records and relevant newspapers I found the following.

The Hobart Colonial times Friday 1st october 1830, Captain Rattenbury arrives on a ship at Hobart called the George with his wife and two children. The Brig George was specifically purchased by W. A. Belhune for the whale fisheries industry. It is on December 11th 1830 Captain Rattenbury sailed on the George's first and last whaling voyage. It is clear that there is no evidence of any sovereigns been made from whaling at least.

After the shipwreck in the Sydney Gazette and N.S.W Advertiser 26 April 1831, Captain Rattenbury leaves Sydney for Hobart on Brig Celia.

The Hobart Town Courier Sat 23rd of July 1831, There is an advertisement for a crew for Captain Rattenbury of a whaling brig called the Eagle.

The Hobart Town Courier Sat 7 January 1832, Captain Rattenbury sails a brig called Dragon to New Zealand.

What ever happened to Captain Rattenbury remains a mystery. In the Colonial times of Tuesday 15th of October 1833, Mrs Rattenbury advertises for two lodgers.From this there is an indication that might of been money troubles.

The mystery is explained some what in the Hobart Town Courier  Friday 31 of January 1834, there is a report of death of Mrs Rattenbury's newborn son. It says she was a widow of the late Captain Rattenbury. And of course being a widow in the 19th century could possibly lead you to the poor house.

From all the evidence of the life Captain Rattenbury lived, there is no evidence that he profited or secretly recovered any treasure from Lord Howe.

What ever that was recovered from the shipwreck was perhaps recovered by the Brig Mary Elizabeth.

I hope we can all learn from this example in understanding some treasure legends. Events with a grain of truth over time can be distorted to the legends we hear to day by the writings of authors who have a tendency to use artistic license in their work.  And for any researcher or treasure hunter it can be the height of folly to rely on one source 100% without research from independent sources to back up such claims.

Hardluck  Cool







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