SUCCESS OF DIVINING ROD

Taranaki Daily News, 11 February 1933, Page 9

SUCCESS OF DIVINING ROD

USE ON WAITARA RIVEIR BROKEN ENGINE PART LOCATED. ’ TWIG OPERATES SUCCESSFULLY, Three men in a boat on the Waitara River ’ is riot an unusual occurrence in itself, but because of its novel quest much interest\vas shown in a small boat being rowed upstream from the town bridge yesterday. morning. Of the three young men in the craft one was the owner of an outboard motor-boat, and another was his mate. The third was. a diviner. While driving his machine around the bend ih the’ Waitara river near the bridge on Monday, the owner hit a submerged log, which snapped off rudder, propeller and driving rod, depositihg the assembly at the bottom of the river. So a professional water diviner, complete with divining rod, was taken on the river" yesterday in an endeavour to locate the missing machinery so that it could be hauled to.the surfade, repaired and je-r fitted in time for the forthcoming regatta. The quest was entirely successful. In such circumstances as yesterday’s a piece of the metal desired is placed upon the Y-shaped divining rod, which' is then supposed to show signs of activity -whejri' near deposits of similar metal. Ther-lost portion contained brass, aluminium and steel, and when in /the -vicinity of the lost propeller, the twig<reacted violently to pieces of the metals placed upon: it. The site of the sunken piece of ertgine was some little distance away from where the owner supposed it to be, states the News’ Waitara correspondent, and has now been marked with a buoy. Efforts to raise the missing machinery will be made at low tide this aftemodn. The diviner is an employer of a wellsinking company, who has had previous success in finding water-bearing areas. Prior to coming to Taranaki six months ago the young man—age is not a necessary qualification for this sort of was divining for the Government at Arapuni.