Name: WWI soldiers messages found on Australian beach in shored-up bottle
Uploaded: 2025-10-29T18:35:42.911Z
Duration: 1 min 30 s
Description: Messages in a bottle written by two Australian soldiers a few days into their voyage to the battlefields of France during World War I have been found more than a century later on Australia’s coast.

Messages in a bottle written by two Australian soldiers a few days into their voyage to the battlefields of France during World War I have been found more than a century later on Australia’s coast.

Condingup

Messages written by World War I soldiers have been discovered in a bottle on Wharton Beach in south-western Australia. The rare find was made by a family during a beach clean-up, who carefully extracted the damp letters at home. One letter, signed by Malcolm Alexander Neville from South Australia, was dated just before his departure to Europe in 1916. Neville was later killed in action in France. Another letter was written by William Harley, who survived the war and had children. The letters have since been sent to the descendants of both men. Experts believe the bottle may have been buried in sand dunes for over a century and was recently uncovered by coastal erosion.

WWI soldiers' messages found on Australian beach in shored-up bottle

More than a century after they were cast into the ocean, these messages by World War I soldiers have finally seen the light of day. The rare discovery was made by a family during one of their regular beach clean-ups at the remote Wharton Beach in south-western Australia. After taking the bottle home, Deborah Brown says she did her best to extract the damp letters with care. We sat it on the windowsill for a couple of days to dry a bit and I could see one of the letters was dry enough for me to attempt to get it out, never dreaming that we'd be able to read words. One of the letters is signed by Malcolm Alexander Neville from the state of South Australia. According to his war records, he left on a ship to Europe on August 12, 1916, three days before his letter is dated, and was killed in action in France eight months later at the age of 28. In the letter addressed to his mother, Neville is optimistic, writing, The ship is heaving and rolling, but we are happy as Larry. The other message was written by William Harley, who returned from the war and had children. The letters have now been posted to the men's descendants. It's very emotional, but we're also very excited that we found it, that a local family found it, because we've made it into something really special for the families. One oceanography expert believes the letters could have spent more than a century buried in the sand dunes. It's thought extensive erosion by recent winter storms dislodged the bottle.

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