LeadStory

What washed up on an Australian beach this week?

Asked 12 days ago

Answer

Messages written by World War I soldiers were discovered in a bottle on Wharton Beach, Western Australia. The rare find included two handwritten letters dated August 15, 1916, from Australian Army privates en route to France. The bottle, likely buried for over a century and uncovered by coastal erosion, was found by a local family during a beach clean-up. The letters are being returned to the soldiers' descendants.

Now Playing

CBS News

Messages in a bottle from WWI found on Australian beach

CBS News · 12 days ago
CBS News
CBS News
12 days ago
  • A bottle containing messages from World War I was found on a Western Australian beach. 4s
  • The letters were written by two Australian Army privates in 1916 as they headed to France. 20s
  • One letter was addressed to the soldier's mother, while the other was a general message to the finder. 28s
  • The bottle is believed to have been dropped at sea during the soldiers' journey. 40s
  • A local resident intends to reunite the messages with the families of the authors. 44s
History

References

Messages in a bottle from WWI found on Australian beach
Icon
CBS News
12 days ago
Messages in a bottle from WWI found on Australian beach

A bottle containing two handwritten letters from Australian Army privates during World War I was discovered on a beach in Western Australia.

WWI soldiers' messages found on Australian beach in shored-up bottle
Icon
France 24
12 days ago
WWI soldiers' messages found on Australian beach in shored-up bottle

Messages written by World War I soldiers were discovered in a bottle on Wharton Beach in south-western Australia. The rare find was made by a family during a beach clean-up.

What Are People Asking?