BURIED GOLD HOAX.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21148, 4 October 1930, Page 2

BURIED GOLD HOAX.

TWO DAYS’ FEVERISH WORK. Two schoolboys of Newton, near PoiThcawl, Glamorganshire, hoaxed the whole district one Sunday recently into a feverish two-days’ search for buried gold. Inspired by an old book about buried treasure, the pair drew a couple of plans on some faded rice parchment they had secured and placed them, with a few old coins and curios, in a wallet. The wallet they then secreted in the ruins of a former smugglers’ haunt at Newton Bay. The plans were precise directions as to where a chest of gold was to be found, and bore the alleged signature of one “John Sinclair.” On the Sunday a number of other lads were playing at the ruins when one of them unearthed the wallet and displayed it to his father. News of the find and the supposed fabulous wealth waiting to be recovered spread like wildfire through the village and neighbourhood. Digging operations were at once begun and carried on around and inside the ruins up to a late hour on Sunday and again all day on Monday, Steps believed to lead to underground cellars indicated on the plans were uncovered.

On Tuesday morning the truth became known. It was noticed that the plans bore the date April 1, 1835—whereupon, having had their fill of laughter, the two boys admitted they were the authors of the hoax.