Message in a bottle found in Cape Bruny Lighthouse wall 122 years after it was written

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

Here is something you do not see every day — or even for the past century.
A message in a bottle has been found 122 years after it was hidden within a wall cavity at one of Australia's oldest lighthouses, the Cape Bruny Lighthouse on Bruny Island, off Tasmania's south-east coast.
The piece of Tasmanian maritime history was found by a specialist painter who was treating a section of the lighthouse.
Tasmania's Natural Resources and Environment Department said the painter noticed "something unusual lodged in the wall" while chipping away at the rust — a sealed glass bottle containing a message.
Inside was an envelope containing a letter dated January 29, 1903.
"The author, JR Meech, inspector of lighthouses for the Hobart Marine Board, supervised the construction, upgrading, and maintenance of major Tasmanian lights including Cape Bruny, Cape Sorell, Maatsuyker Island, Tasman Island, Table Cape, and Mersey Bluff," the department said.
"In the letter, Mr Meech details upgrades made to Cape Bruny Lighthouse in 1903, including the installation of a new staircase, floor, lantern room, and lens.
"He notes the cost of the works, outlines the new flash sequence of the light, and lists the names of those who contributed to the project, effectively preserving a moment in time."
Parks and Wildlife Service historic heritage manager Annita Waghorn said she was shocked when she got the call about the find.
"We had some specialist access painters in the lighthouse painting, and I got a call from them saying, 'we've found such an exciting thing, we've found a bottle in the wall of the lighthouse'," Ms Waghorn told ABC Radio Hobart.
Cape Bruny Lighthouse was first lit in 1838 and is heritage-listed.
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) conservator of objects Michelle Berry had the honour of opening the bottle.
"The unbottling happened at our Moonah objects lab," Ms Berry said.
It was then up to Cobus Van Breda from TMAG to remove the letter inside, which he said was a tricky exercise.
"The bottle was sealed with a cork coated in bitumen, which made removal challenging," he said.
"We had to remove the bitumen from the top of the cork, then carefully work our way around the cork to detach it from the glass as the cork had been dipped in bitumen."
"The next challenge was to get the message out of the bottle. It had been folded in a way that made it quite challenging to get it through the narrow neck of the bottle without damaging it."
It then took the team several days to decipher what the message said.
TMAG said there were plans for the letter to be put on display, but just where had not yet been decided.