REAL TREASURE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20866, 5 November 1929, Page 14

REAL TREASURE.

SCOUT’S FIND OF £3OO. ’ A ROMANTIC STORY. (Fbou Odb Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, October 24. A remarkably romantic story surrounds the discovery by a Boy Scout on the shores of Sydney Harbour of golden sovereigns to the value of £221. It is a story that goes back to the war days, and the sequel has yet to be told. The circumstances of the find were strange enough, but thg circumstances in which the gold is claimed are even more remarkable. It is claimed that the gold is the property of a man of German extraction who was employed as a keeper at the Taronga Zoological Gardens. When the war broke out, and Australians had begun to look askance at Germans, this man feared for his safety, or, at events for his liberty. He also feared for the safety of his hoard of sovereigns and half-sovereigns, gold that he had accu raulated through the years by thrifty living, probably against his return to Germany. Accordingly, choosing his time, he buried the coins secretly in a hole in the scrub in Sirius Cove. He marked the spot carefully until he could return after the war, and then, it is said, went away into the country. When he returned years afterwards he found that the scrub had grown, the face of the landscape had changed, and all his marks had disappeared. Day after day he searched lor that hidden hoard of gold, but the shores of the cove hold their secret well. He never found it. Not long ago he sailed away from Australia. He did not despair entirely, and, believing that the hoard would some day be discovered, he confided his secret to Mr Charles Camp, the head keeper at the Zoo, Mr Camp searched many times for the gold, too, but, although the spot had been described to him as well as could be, he too failed to locate it. Mr Camp intends to make a claim for the gold on behalf of his friend, who is still away from Australia. The coins were tarnished with age when they were found fay the Scout during an imaginary treasure hunt that became suddenly so realistic. The treasure the Scouts were seeking was scraps of paper of various volours. All sorts of clues were given by the scoutmaster for the recovery of the paper, and a reward wag to be given to the Scout who found the greatest treasure. One keen young Scout followed the clues for some time, and presently emerged hot and dishevelled in the scrub above the cove. He then noticed the neck of a bottle barely pre t above the level of the ground, and, thinking it a likely place to find some of the hidden “ treasure,” he pulled up the bottle. Instead of finding mere scraps of paper, imagine his surprise when he saw the golden sovereigns the German had planted there years before. Then he told the scoutmaster all about it. The treasure hunt ceased, and the excitement of the troop was intense as they made their way back to the city to report their find to the police. They had ha o' g wo.-.derful day. All that remains now is for Mr Camp to discover the whereabouts of his friend, and the story of the Scout’s reward.