WHO FOUND WHAT?

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26782, 27 May 1948, Page 4

WHO FOUND WHAT?

Alleged Discovery of Hoard of Sovereigns

FINDER FOLLOWS OLD MAXIM

The old story of a crock of gold at the foot of a rainbow came partly true for a Dunedin man last week. The rainbow does not enter into the story, but the man did find a tin full of dozens of golden sovereigns—the figure has grown wildly in the telling and a fortune estimated at a quarter of a million pounds has been reached by some fantasy spinners, but the actual number would probably be somewhere between 100 and 180.

Hidden treasure is at best a somewhat nebulous commodity, but when a reporter is sent out to search for a man who has found some formerly hidden treasure, and the clues to the location of the fortunate finder are almost as nebulous as one's normal conception of a treasure trove, events are liable to become really complicated. This was the predicament in which a Daily Times reporter found himself yesterday. To make things even more complicated, the finder of the treasure, when located, flatly refused to make any statement or permit the use of his name, so that to- preserve anonymity and to avoid confusion, the story of the discovery must be told with false names—Smith and Brown are the customary stand-bys. According to the rumour which reached the Daily Times, the finder was a “Mr Smith.” who worked in, of all places, the tripe house at the abattoirs. He was alleged to have put his foot through the floor of an old house which he had bought, and, investigating the damage, discovered a sack full of sovereigns. In the end. none of these supposed facts proved to be true, but they did contain a germ of truth. Following them up. however, took the reporter over miles of territory and involved discussions with no less than 27 people. This diverse crowd included a traffic officer, several toilers in the tripe house, a barman, a carpenter, a group of chaff-balers, a postal official, a hedge-cutter, a taxi driver and sundry unspecified men and women. Country Running Running Mr Smith to earth involved a lengthy investigation of a steep, greasy, country track “ somewhere to the south-west of Dunedin.” The track was so bad that the car refused to go any further, the surface offering no grip whatsoever for the tyres. This necessitated reversing for a considerable distance, during which the car slid slowly into a'ditch and a mat of broom and rock had to be built up before it could be extricated. Finally, Mr Smith was found in a South Dunedin hotel bar Any pride which the reporter may have had in his tracking ability was damaged when Mr Smith announced that he was not the man. The treasure finder was a “ Mr Brown,” who worked in a completely different establishment in the city. The identity of the finder established, the reporter set off again, and once more made a partial explora tion of the country road to no avail. The home of Mr Brown’s parents was the next place on the reporter’s list, but there he was met by cautious evasion. He elicited the information that Mr Brown would be returning to the house within half an hour, so he decided to play a waiting game. Mr

Brown finally arrived, accompanied by his father. The reporter stated his case. “ Uhuh! ” said Mr Brown, retreating hastily into a metaphorical shell and pulling the entrance closed. “ I’m making no statement whatsover and I've given the matter to my lawyer. He won't make any statement either.’’ He would not disclose the name of ,his lawyer. This tacit admission that the money had been found was all that Mr Brown would give, but from his negative answers tq a series of questions the reporter was able to piece together a reasonably reliable version of the treasure discovery from scraps of information picked up during the search. The sovereigns were found in a tin amongst junk left by previous occupants in an old home bought by MiBrown outside the city. The matter has been taken by Mr Brown to his lawyer in order that the legal aspect of the situation may be clarified. The obvious wisdom of following B’rer Rabbit’s excellent maxim of “ laying low and saying miffin' ” is being followed until that clarification has been achieved. , . . , ■ . Had Mr Brown searched for a further instalment of this unexpected bonanza? “No.” Did he intend searching? “If I went through all the junk that is there I would be working for weeks. There the matter appeared to rest, but the final ridiculous detail in an already over-involved and sufficiently “ pixillated ” story came when the reporter was mulling the matter over on his way back to the city. He suddenly realised that months before he had dreamt that he was “ covering ” just such a treausre hunt, and his wife confirmed that he had told her about the dream at the time. “ Finders Keepers ” Varied opinions on the ownership of the modest hoard have been given. The natural reaction of persons queried was, of course, “finders keepers,” but the law is not always as sympathetic. Previous occupants of the house being deceased for years, the only claimants would be beneficiaries in one or other of the estates, but the onus would rest on the claimant to prove by whom the money had been placed in the v house—a virtually impossible task. Alternatively, the treasure could be. claimed for the coffers of the country, in which case it is understood the finder would be allowed to retain a percentage. In the meantime, silence, as far as Mr Brown is concerned, is literally golden. As for Mr Smith, when last seen he was so entranced by the suggestion that he might have been the discoverer of the treasuer that he was announcing his intention of buying ar> art union ticket.