Tasmanian Message in a Bottle Mystery Surfaces at Macquarie Harbour
Here’s a delightful little Tasmanian message in a bottle mystery for you: A bottled note has been found at Tasmania’s Regatta Point, according to The Advocate. An 11-year-old named Reece set the letter adrift in Macquarie Harbour in 2016. The message in a bottle was part of a project at Reece’s school–Launceston’s Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School. In contrast to the many messages in bottles are sadly quite short and bereft of detail, Reece’s is great! It’s lengthy, detailed, imaginative… Here’s Max Morphett with his find, followed by a transcription of the visible part of the message:
Max Morphett with Reece’s message in a bottle. Photo: Max Morphett / The Advocate.
Transcript of Message in a Bottle
Dear Finder,
Hi, my name is Reece. I am currently in Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School. We have been set an assignment to send a letter in a bottle across the sea to see if we could find anybody and it seems you have picked up mine. I have thrown the bottle at strahan September 2016. At the time I threw the bottle I was 11 years old, turing twelve in October that year. My favorite subjects are maths, science, and programming and in the future I want to become either a programmer for NASA, games, movies, or a programmer for robotics. Some of my hobbies (activitys) include soccer, skiing, my XBox One, mountain biking, playing with friends…and spending time with family and relatives. At the…my family and I moved from Germany to Tasmania…in a British military camp in Germany as…my Dad served his country for 2(0?) years…all our stuff when we…container from…
Unfortunately, the photo cuts off the rest of the letter–but can’t you just tell there’s an interesting story there?! Sounds like Reece has done a lot of traveling in his 13 or so years!
How You Can Help Connect Author and Finder of Bottled Note
Max found Reece’s message in a bottle in early April, 2018, but appears not to have found Reece yet. That’s where you come in! Do you know Reece? Or anyone in Launceston? Even if not, you can do your part to help Max and Reece connect by sharing this post!
Of course, Max told The Advocate that he is “going to write back and tell him to pursue his dreams,” but people move. Clearly, Reece moved quite a bit before coming to Tasmania–who knows where he could be today? Plus, Reece only gave the school’s address, not his own. Who knows if the school can contact him today? On top of that, we don’t have Reece’s last name! Spreading the word might be the only way to reach Reece today…
The message in a bottle Max Morphett found. Photo: Max Morphett / The Advocate.
Max clearly knew what a special find this was, noting that “It became the talk of the even.”
“It’s a really sweet letter from a kid with big dreams that washed up a few years later,” Mr Morphett told The Advocate, adding, “I wonder if he remembers it?”
Well, there’s only one way to find out, folks! Let’s find Reece of Launceston, and solve this Tasmanian message in a bottle mystery!
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