Rog,
We were unable to go in during 2010 due to my son sustaining injuries in a Mining accident from which he has since fully recovered.
We did go in last year, the whole team once in June/July where I had the misfortune to break my left arm while descending a steep incline. After it cured, I went back alone in August.
On these visits, the project had a portable Magnetometer which proved in the end to be no help as it gave scattered readings in a few places which could not possibly be the wreck. We know the wreck is in two main pieces, one the aircraft and the second the detached engine. I now suspect the hill is composed of iron ore. We did dig down at three "strike" locations but came down to firm clay which had been there since the dawn of time.
On my last visit in August some information came my way which said that the wreck is buried but no information as to exactly "where" and that it has been buried since around late 1996, early 1997. I will not say how we came across this information but this information now proves that we are in the correct area. We were not looking in this particular area at that time in '96 or '97 but were further to the West. We were then following the words of the Vets as to where they thought it was. This has proved to be not the case and the Vets were mistaken as to location. The WWII records made the picture clearer.
When the Australian War Memorial finished digitising the WWII records around the year 2000, I was then able to read the historical records and the actual SITREPS and gain more knowledge from the references contained in them. We then started looking in this latest area from around the year 2002. Since then we were in the area in 2004, 2006 and 2008 and saw nothing. We now know why.
I got this information about the wreck being buried in the last two days of my time there in August. I have long suspected it to be buried which was the reason I purchased the portable Magnetometer. On the last trip in, the last two days were spent scouting around in the area looking for "mounds" in likely places which fitted the description of the 1945 site as given by the ex-Lieutenant, Ken Backhouse. Where I looked at this area at this last time in, the site exactly fits with Ken's description.
The weather was very wet for the time of year and the local people say that the seasons have changed and June to September which were the drier months have now gone to the reverse. We had to move camp a couple of times due to the river rising in July and I had to move once in August.
The upshot now is that I have ordered a couple of Metal Detectors and we will be going again this year. I have firm commitments this year with my work which involves looking after aircraft on maintenance in SIN and am not available to go until around September time.
The lady in Los Angeles who is helping me with funding is shortly to put the Project into
www.indiegogo.com which is a public funding website where a couple of dollars here and there mount up to assist projects like this.
So, the Project has ordered and paid for the Metal Detectors and we now await the raising of funding to be able to go again in September.
David Billings