ON THE GILT DRAGON SHIPWRECK
I CALLED OUT TO THE GOD I DIDN'T THINK I BELIEVED IN
Allan Robinson risked his life to save mine!
I CALLED OUT TO THE GOD I DIDN'T THINK I BELIEVED IN
Allan Robinson risked his life to save mine!
Hurled onto the ragged rocks, I nearly drowned and had a 3 metre Bronze Whaler Shark 'sniffing' at my cut and bleeding legs!
Bronze Whalers feed on fish, squid and the occasional sea snake throughout its range, which takes in southern Australia from Jurien Bay, WA, to Coffs Harbour, NSW.
SEE RARE ALLAN ROBINSON ABC INTERVIEW
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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10155558638660985
'Buried treasure stories of wrecked Dutch ship Gilt Dragon recorded.'
Thanks to both
Gilt Dragon Research Group & ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt "We managed to find this old segment from Four Corners in 1963, whilst researching for the story 'Buried treasure stories of wrecked Dutch ship Gilt Dragon recorded.' |
REMEMBERING ALLAN ROBINSON
(The original finder of the Gilt Dragon) by Rex Woodmore
Books, videos and Government documents about the shipwrecks of Western Australia, are still being reproduced with libelous comments about Allan Robinson.
In perpetuating these slanderous untruths, one shows a total lack of respect not only for the late Allan Robinson and his remaining family, but also for our judicial system. Rex Woodmore 2021
People forget or don’t want to know, Allan Robinson was acquitted of all charges laid against him, except as he told me “a parking fine”
Most people who speak disparagingly about Allan Robinson know no better, perhaps have never met the man and are only repeating sensationalized news from the media of the day.
Most people who speak disparagingly about Allan Robinson know no better, perhaps have never met the man and are only repeating sensationalized news from the media of the day.
Treasure Lies Buried Here
(In Charity Shops)
As for me, now at 77 years of age (2022) most of my treasure hunting is in charity shops, Marketplace, Gumtree or Ebay.
In my quest for 'Charity Shop' treasure, I was successful in finding a very scarce book, by Frank H Goldsmith, a 1946 1st edition of :
Treasure Lies Buried Here:
Stories of Wrecks off West Australia’s Coast
In my quest for 'Charity Shop' treasure, I was successful in finding a very scarce book, by Frank H Goldsmith, a 1946 1st edition of :
Treasure Lies Buried Here:
Stories of Wrecks off West Australia’s Coast
'In Australia Treasure is Not for the Finder'
Then, believe it or not, I also discovered and purchased a counterfeit (Pirate) copy of the book, different from the genuine book and recognizable by its glossy laminated cover, brown cloth binding on the spine and lack of colour on images with text). So even now, Allan Robinson, the man who saved my life, is given no respect and his hard work is being exploited by others for their own personal gain.
The courts found Allan Robinson innocent, yet the gullible and the guilty continue to hurl abuse at him. It is time to look at the facts as the court found them:
1973 ALLAN ROBINSON VERSUS Western Australian Museum
ALLAN ROBINSON VINDICATED
CASE NOTE ROBINSON v. THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM1
http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1978/15.pdf
Robinson, a citizen of Western Australia, located the remains of the Dutch ship the "Gilt Dragon" which sank in about 1656 on the sea-bed north of Perth and within three miles of the Western Australian coast. In 1957 he gave notice of his discovery to the Commonwealth Receiver of Wrecks in Freemantle and claimed an interest as finder. He gave such a notice again in 1963, having been unable to relocate the wreck in the intervening years. These notices were given pursuant to the Navigation Act 1912 (Cth) ("the Navigation Act"). Robinson recovered various artefacts (including coins) from the wreck and submitted some to the Receiver and some to the Western Australian Museum Board, a statutory body established by the Museum Act 1959 (W.A.). ..........
....Before the enactment of the legislation Robinson was working on the wreck. The legislation made it an offence for him to continue to do so. This gave him a right to challenge it................
Read more at https://oztreasure.weebly.com/a-fair-fight.html
Rex Woodmore
1973 ALLAN ROBINSON VERSUS Western Australian Museum
ALLAN ROBINSON VINDICATED
CASE NOTE ROBINSON v. THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM1
http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1978/15.pdf
Robinson, a citizen of Western Australia, located the remains of the Dutch ship the "Gilt Dragon" which sank in about 1656 on the sea-bed north of Perth and within three miles of the Western Australian coast. In 1957 he gave notice of his discovery to the Commonwealth Receiver of Wrecks in Freemantle and claimed an interest as finder. He gave such a notice again in 1963, having been unable to relocate the wreck in the intervening years. These notices were given pursuant to the Navigation Act 1912 (Cth) ("the Navigation Act"). Robinson recovered various artefacts (including coins) from the wreck and submitted some to the Receiver and some to the Western Australian Museum Board, a statutory body established by the Museum Act 1959 (W.A.). ..........
....Before the enactment of the legislation Robinson was working on the wreck. The legislation made it an offence for him to continue to do so. This gave him a right to challenge it................
Read more at https://oztreasure.weebly.com/a-fair-fight.html
Rex Woodmore
1964 - DIVING ON THE GILT DRAGON TREASURE
Almost cost me my life! By Rex Woodmore
"When the Gilt dragon struck the reef and sank, 118 lives were lost.
Three hundred years later (Before the Museum Amendment Act of 1964 had been introduced) I dived on the wreck & it almost claimed my life too"
Three hundred years later (Before the Museum Amendment Act of 1964 had been introduced) I dived on the wreck & it almost claimed my life too"
“… THIS IS A TRUE STORY!" Rex Woodmore
I ask the reader to not dismiss my story as fiction, or to doubt the miraculous change that took place in my life many years later.
I guess, to have a true empathy & understanding,
one has to have 'been there and done that'
I guess, to have a true empathy & understanding,
one has to have 'been there and done that'
THE VERGULDE DRAECK
(GILT DRAGON)
I was nineteen years old when I first visited the wreck site and nearly drowned.
I visited the site on two more occasions before I joined (conscripted) the Australian Armed Forces (2 years National Service)
At the time, the infamous underwater treasure hunter Allan Robinson was a fellow Under Water Explorers Club member and like an adopted Uncle to me.
Sadly over the years I have heard many stories about Allan Robinson being as we say in Australia ''a bit dodgy'' but he was always good to me.
When I came out of the Army after two years National Service, Allan offered me a job with his underwater salvage team, but something stopped me from accepting. I often wonder how things would have turned out had I accepted.
Allan finished his time on earth hanging from the rafters in a prison cell.
I am no expert on these matters but I would not have thought Allan Robinson would ever suicide.
I visited the site on two more occasions before I joined (conscripted) the Australian Armed Forces (2 years National Service)
At the time, the infamous underwater treasure hunter Allan Robinson was a fellow Under Water Explorers Club member and like an adopted Uncle to me.
Sadly over the years I have heard many stories about Allan Robinson being as we say in Australia ''a bit dodgy'' but he was always good to me.
When I came out of the Army after two years National Service, Allan offered me a job with his underwater salvage team, but something stopped me from accepting. I often wonder how things would have turned out had I accepted.
Allan finished his time on earth hanging from the rafters in a prison cell.
I am no expert on these matters but I would not have thought Allan Robinson would ever suicide.
I WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
I dived on several Western Australian Shipwrecks, but the most exciting was the treasure ship Gilt Dragon. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) Vergulde Draeck (The Gilt Dragon) is one of Australia's most famous shipwrecks and a crucial event in Australia's early history.
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Among its treasure were eight chests of the world's most important trade coins, Spanish Silver (Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Four, Pieces of Two), Ivory Elephant Tusks, Bronze Cannon, Earthenware Jugs and Ballast Bricks.
I'm the skinny kid on the right with Graham Hill on the left.
We made a small fortune selling Octopus to the local Italian beach fisherman.We thought it was for fishing bait , then discovered they were a delicacy and worth lots more than we were selling them for. |
THE ADVENTURE
BEGINS
Our party consisted of Allan Robinson, Garry (?) a local young rock lobster fisherman, my girlfriend and me (Rex Woodmore).
Garry seemed to be living like a castaway on the beach and I thought to myself "We already have Robinson, so this guy must be Crusoe".
Garry impressed me, he was a larger than life young guy and I envied his lifestyle. On the beach he drove an unlicenced ex army jeep with kangaroo skin seat covers. He worked on his Dad's crayfishing boat and he lived in a corrugated iron shack in the sand dunes near Ledge Point. At the rear of his shack he showed me a large Elephant tusk (Part of the Gilt Dragon's valuable treasure) worm eaten from hundreds of years in the sea.
We were in a small outboard motor boat about 3 and a half miles (in those days considered to be outside of Australian Territorial waters) from shore at Ledge Point on the 1656 wreck of the Dutch East Indies vessel, the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) with its tons of ballast bricks, eight chests of silver coins, elephant tusks, pottery and gleaming bronze cannons.
The sea was eerily calm and Allan thought it was safe enough for us to snorkel from his boat to see cannon that stood vertical from the reef with its muzzle protruding out of the water. I had a wetsuit jacket that was too big for me and a borrowed weight belt made of an old ex-army webbing belt with homemade weights bolted onto it. We got in close to the reef where the water was shallow, Alan pointed to something protruding slightly above the mirror calm water “WOW!” A three hundred year bronze cannon pointing skyward from the side of the reef. Polished, literally by the sands of time, it gleamed like gold in the clear water.
Garry seemed to be living like a castaway on the beach and I thought to myself "We already have Robinson, so this guy must be Crusoe".
Garry impressed me, he was a larger than life young guy and I envied his lifestyle. On the beach he drove an unlicenced ex army jeep with kangaroo skin seat covers. He worked on his Dad's crayfishing boat and he lived in a corrugated iron shack in the sand dunes near Ledge Point. At the rear of his shack he showed me a large Elephant tusk (Part of the Gilt Dragon's valuable treasure) worm eaten from hundreds of years in the sea.
We were in a small outboard motor boat about 3 and a half miles (in those days considered to be outside of Australian Territorial waters) from shore at Ledge Point on the 1656 wreck of the Dutch East Indies vessel, the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) with its tons of ballast bricks, eight chests of silver coins, elephant tusks, pottery and gleaming bronze cannons.
The sea was eerily calm and Allan thought it was safe enough for us to snorkel from his boat to see cannon that stood vertical from the reef with its muzzle protruding out of the water. I had a wetsuit jacket that was too big for me and a borrowed weight belt made of an old ex-army webbing belt with homemade weights bolted onto it. We got in close to the reef where the water was shallow, Alan pointed to something protruding slightly above the mirror calm water “WOW!” A three hundred year bronze cannon pointing skyward from the side of the reef. Polished, literally by the sands of time, it gleamed like gold in the clear water.
Taking a quick breath I dived down and touched the clear VOC crest on its gleaming sand polished muzzle. I was vaguely aware of Allan shouting something, but I was too overcome with excitement to respond. I came up for a breath and realised something was terribly wrong.
A huge shadow folded like a giant hand above me and as if the awesome site of the cannon hadn’t been breathtaking enough, the first of an unheard of, six king waves tore my mask and snorkel from my face, scooped me up and hurled me onto the jagged rocks, knocking out the remnants of my breath of air and stunning me.
A huge shadow folded like a giant hand above me and as if the awesome site of the cannon hadn’t been breathtaking enough, the first of an unheard of, six king waves tore my mask and snorkel from my face, scooped me up and hurled me onto the jagged rocks, knocking out the remnants of my breath of air and stunning me.
I then fell back off the reef and plunged to the bottom where, even without my mask, I could see more cannon lying dark on the white sand. I grabbed hold of one but the next wave was too strong for me, almost ripping my fins from my feet. Again like a giant hand the wave rolled over me and it squeezed me like a tube of toothpaste. I was torn from my anchor point, lost my grip and again hurled savagely, like a rag doll, onto the rocks.
I knew I was in trouble, but thanks to the UEC training and experience I remained calm.
I knew I was in trouble, but thanks to the UEC training and experience I remained calm.
The belt was jammed and with each receding wave, every time I tried to raise my head for a gulp of air, the weights dragged me down to the bottom. One moment I was swirling around on the bottom in the sand among the cannon and the next I was smashed onto the sharp ragged rocks.
I was totally exhausted, the fight and the breath had been knocked out of me. I gave up.It seemed this was the end of my nineteen years on this earth, and I knew I would soon be sucking sea water & sand into my empty lungs.
In a surreal, silent, slow motion moment, my whole life, like a movie, replayed in front of my eyes. In the final episode it was as if I saw myself lifeless, dead, bloated and blue slowly drifting backwards and forwards among the weed....Briefly I thought "Heaven or Hell?"
Suddenly! I burst back to reality
“This is not for me!” and my brain screamed out to the God that I didn't think I believed in “God please save me!”
With that, my whole being seemed to explode with a super charge of Adrenaline, enabling me to throw myself to the surface.
Oblivious to my drama, Allan had made it to safety. I caught a glimpse of him in the water near the boat & on board were Garry & my girlfriend. When I saw her I thought “This is the last time I will ever see you”.
I was still in trouble with the belt dragging me down. Before the final wave broke, There was just enough time for me to yell out to Allan for help. Strangely it had seemed so natural and so easy to shout out to God for help, yet I found it unnatural and embarrassing to call out to man. I quickly overcame my embarrassment and was able to get out two or three shouts for “HELP!” before the next wave grabbed me. Strangely this wave behaved differently to the preceding five. It still effortlessly scooped me up, but it didn't smash me onto the reef, instead it gently rolled me, like a bag of bones, over the full width of the reef and into deeper but calmer waters. There was no way I would be able to swim back to the boat with the weights dragging me down, so while blocking out stories of sharks waiting on this side of the reef for an easy feed of stunned and injured fish, I renewed my effort to drop the belt. Quickly Allan Robinson was alongside me, he always carried a spear with him on this side of the reef to fend off the sharks that I was trying to not think about. He seemed perplexed as to why I had not dropped my belt. He grabbed at the buckle and gave it a wrench. Nothing happened. His expression and manner changed. Reaching for his knife he dropped his brand new spear and it sank into the depths. Then while he partly lifted me with one hand, with the other he sawed through the tough webbing belt. It was difficult and seemed to take ages.
Eventually I was free and bobbed around like a cork in my over sized wet suit. Allan took the lead and we swam quite a long way around the reef and back to the boat.
In a surreal, silent, slow motion moment, my whole life, like a movie, replayed in front of my eyes. In the final episode it was as if I saw myself lifeless, dead, bloated and blue slowly drifting backwards and forwards among the weed....Briefly I thought "Heaven or Hell?"
Suddenly! I burst back to reality
“This is not for me!” and my brain screamed out to the God that I didn't think I believed in “God please save me!”
With that, my whole being seemed to explode with a super charge of Adrenaline, enabling me to throw myself to the surface.
Oblivious to my drama, Allan had made it to safety. I caught a glimpse of him in the water near the boat & on board were Garry & my girlfriend. When I saw her I thought “This is the last time I will ever see you”.
I was still in trouble with the belt dragging me down. Before the final wave broke, There was just enough time for me to yell out to Allan for help. Strangely it had seemed so natural and so easy to shout out to God for help, yet I found it unnatural and embarrassing to call out to man. I quickly overcame my embarrassment and was able to get out two or three shouts for “HELP!” before the next wave grabbed me. Strangely this wave behaved differently to the preceding five. It still effortlessly scooped me up, but it didn't smash me onto the reef, instead it gently rolled me, like a bag of bones, over the full width of the reef and into deeper but calmer waters. There was no way I would be able to swim back to the boat with the weights dragging me down, so while blocking out stories of sharks waiting on this side of the reef for an easy feed of stunned and injured fish, I renewed my effort to drop the belt. Quickly Allan Robinson was alongside me, he always carried a spear with him on this side of the reef to fend off the sharks that I was trying to not think about. He seemed perplexed as to why I had not dropped my belt. He grabbed at the buckle and gave it a wrench. Nothing happened. His expression and manner changed. Reaching for his knife he dropped his brand new spear and it sank into the depths. Then while he partly lifted me with one hand, with the other he sawed through the tough webbing belt. It was difficult and seemed to take ages.
Eventually I was free and bobbed around like a cork in my over sized wet suit. Allan took the lead and we swam quite a long way around the reef and back to the boat.
Bruised and extremely tired, the swim back was long and painful, so I used a clumsy combination of overarm, breast stroke and sidestroke, then while I was in the middle of a dog paddle, Allan said in an unusual serious tone of voice:
“Have a look under you!” then suddenly as if to correct himself he said ‘’Oh! It’s Okay. You can't see without your mask” |
“Why, what is it?” I asked
“Nothing, just part of the wreck” he said unconvincingly.
I didn't think there was any wreckage this far from the reef.
We were in open waters, thoughts of sharks crept back into my mind. I brought my legs up and avoided splashing like an injured fish.
“Nothing, just part of the wreck” he said unconvincingly.
I didn't think there was any wreckage this far from the reef.
We were in open waters, thoughts of sharks crept back into my mind. I brought my legs up and avoided splashing like an injured fish.
MIXED EMOTIONS
On the way home
It was a strange journey home and I had mixed emotions.
I was confused and yet was sure that something, far more mysterious than possible death, had happened to me. I had called out to the God that I thought I did not believe in. But who did I thank that day? I thanked the man that cut off my weight belt. And to what did I credit the surge of power that came over me when I needed it most? I credited my own system for its production of Adrenalin.
I was confused and yet was sure that something, far more mysterious than possible death, had happened to me. I had called out to the God that I thought I did not believe in. But who did I thank that day? I thanked the man that cut off my weight belt. And to what did I credit the surge of power that came over me when I needed it most? I credited my own system for its production of Adrenalin.
Sadly, it took me about three decades before I again broke the barrier of embarrassment to call out “ Help! Help!This time, to whom did I offer my thanks? I thanked the one and only true God. And to whom do I credit with the power that helps me when I need it?
Today as a Christian I know firsthand, that we all have an inherent knowledge of the one and only true God and in every heart there is a void that can only be filled by the Spirit of God.
I AM 'A WORK IN PROGRESS' & I'M FAR FROM PERFECT....
BUT JUST ASK THOSE WHO NEW ME 30 YEARS AGO
IF THEY SEE A CHANGE IN ME!
A HOMEMADE BELT
ALMOST DROWNED ME
My borrowed weight belt, that I wore while diving on the Gilt Dragon was made with weights from molten lead printing plates, poured into cake molds and when cooled, screwed onto an old army belt.
I have never worked out why it failed to release.
Perhaps (among the piles of ballast bricks, earthenware jugs, cannon & silver coins) a puzzled museum marine archaeologist found the cut in half, borrowed belt ? If so, then I would like the belt back please. I have to return it to my mate!
A home made weight belt almost drowned me.
I wonder how this guy, in the photo, got on in 1935 with his homemade diving gear?
I have never worked out why it failed to release.
Perhaps (among the piles of ballast bricks, earthenware jugs, cannon & silver coins) a puzzled museum marine archaeologist found the cut in half, borrowed belt ? If so, then I would like the belt back please. I have to return it to my mate!
A home made weight belt almost drowned me.
I wonder how this guy, in the photo, got on in 1935 with his homemade diving gear?
'Rescued from the deep" YouTube Video Reminds me of my experience when I almost drowned while diving on the Gilt Dragon shipwreck treasure. |
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Email Rex Woodmore: [email protected]