Incredible Message in a Bottle Recovered from Concrete Slab

When you hear message in a bottle, I bet you think ocean. I know I do. After all, the most famous message in a bottle stories revolve around the sea… But every know and then, a truly incredible message in a bottle turns up on dry land.

A&M Records cover for The Police’s single, Message in a Bottle.

But some amazing message in a bottle stories feature bottles that never left dry land.

Thing is, glass bottles are sturdy. For centuries, we have entrusted glass bottles with our most cherished elixirs—wine, beer, and liquor! 🙂

Their sturdiness means glass bottles make for great time capsules.

The story of Australian man Chad Parker’s discovery is a great example. It was first reported by The Chronicle in September 2016.

Chad, who worked for CSR Earthworks in Queensland, Australia, was helping renovate a section of Queens Park when he discovered the incredible message in a bottle in a truly surprising way.

Queens Park, Toowoomba, Australia.

He told The Chronicle, “we were hammering into the concrete” and it just appeared–a glass bottle sticking up out of the shattered concrete. But the bottle was intact! If you think finding a message in a bottle on the beach is amazing–imagine one surviving getting jackhammered out of concrete!

Chad Parker with his 1967 Message in a Bottle. Photo: Bev Lacey / The Chronicle

Full Text of 1967 Message in a Bottle

Chad said he didn’t even realize the bottle contained a message until he got it home. And then, getting the message out of the bottle “was a bit of a drama,” Chad said, “but quite fun.” He used tools to reach down into the bottle and gently roll up the message to pull it out.

1967 Message in a Bottle Found by Chad Parker. Photo: Bev Lacey / The Chronicle.

Of the message writers, Chad told The Chronicle, “They’re obviously joking around,” referring to the names of the signees: Tod Trowel and Bul Bolster. It’s possible, of course, that these are real names–but Chad thought, given that they were concrete workers–“Trowel” was a joke name referring to one of the tools used to smooth concrete.

“I’m guessing they’ve made the names up, except maybe not the first names,” he said.

The message reads:

This bottle was laid to rest on this 19th day of May 1967

By the Rt. Hon. Tod Trowel

+ Assisted By

Very Excellent Bul Bolster

Plans were drawn on a

Match box which was

Immediately lost.

Finder please observe

A days rest in respect

With full pay

Who Were Tod Trowel and Bul Bolster?

Amazingly, with this little bit of information, Chad was able to find the authors!

He recently wrote in to MessageInABottleHunter.com (as you can see in the comments below), explaining that, sadly, one of the authors had passed away, and that part of the mystery will remain a mystery.

“I found one of the guys and the other has passed away. He wished to remain anonymous but had a great chat and a beer with him.”

So there you have it–the connection was made, after 40 years. But the one parth will always remain mysterious? Well, since the surviving author wishes to remain anonymous, we will never know about the names. Were they joke names? Were they real names? That secret lies with Chad and the author. In any case, it is truly an incredible message in a bottle story.

If you’d like to see another incredible message in a bottle that never left dry land, check out this 87 year old message in a bottle I helped solve to “reunite” a woman with her beloved grandfather! It was a blast!

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