 |
| Manutai approaching the foreboding cloud shrouded Deal Island |
On November 29, 2014 the crew of Manutai arrived at Deal Island, in the middle of Bass Strait. Few people visit Deal Island with the only occupants being unpaid caretakers "Spud" and Kim who had been alone on the island for about 3 months. The island has had a history of unexplained deaths since white settlement in 1858. These included 1 death of a sailor on September 23 each 11 years since 1858; a kamakazi-like plane crash on September 23, 1943 killing all 4 crew; the unexplained death of lighthouse keeper Reg Morgan on September 23 1966; and more recently, the unexplained death of a rabbit. The Tasmanian Historical Society had requested the crew of Manutai investigate the cause of these deaths.
 |
| Jeremy and Shane discuss investigative approach |
The crew had to be careful about the approach to the investigation. Rumour and myth(?) abounded that previous caretakers had gone a bit troppo and were likely to resist any investigation. Jeremy and Shane concocted a cunning plan that first involved shrouding the island in cloud so that their investigation could proceed "undercover".....
 |
| Deal Island "under cover" |
 |
| The Manutai investigators going incognito |
The next thing the crew of Manutai did was to disguise their appearance by placing dark lenses over their eyes. These lenses are called SUNGLASSES(Tasmanian's have never seen sunglasses before - no need for them really). The wearing of sunglasses was an added precaution in the event that the cloud shroud(mmmm...rhymes!) lifted and the already suspicious caretakers became inquisitive. Jeremy was very happy with the plan and proceeded to hug Claudia and Shane who tried to look "comfortable".....
 |
| Mysterious markings in the sand |
And the next thing that the investigators did was to search for anything suspicious that could explain the many deaths on the island. It didn't take long before they found the footprints of an unknown creature in the sand. Claudia insisted they were markings from an antipodean amputee with painful ingrown toenails on the beast's remaining limb. To Shane they seemed like the footprints of a ordinary bush variety wallaby. Still, he had learned to take notice of Claudia's instinctive senses. They had managed to steer us into - and out of - trouble previously.
 |
| Manutai anchored a safe distance from the beach... |
Jeremy was careful to ensure that whatever the cause for the unexplained island deaths, that it did not find it's way onto Manutai. Cleverly, he anchored the yacht a distance from the shoreline. The creature, or whatever it was, would need to be a very good swimmer to get aboard.
 |
| Were these birds responsible for the deaths on the island? |
Walking up the hill towards "Spud" and Kim's house the group came across a gaggle of bullockoronis, descendants of the gran-bullockoronis of the middle miocene era some 15 million years ago. The bullockoronis were aptly named partly for their bullock like skull shape, but more particularly for their love of raw bullock meat. They have a reputation for being savage carnivores capable of descending and devouring a whole bullock in a 5 minute piranah-like frenzy. Unfortunately, there were no bullocks on the island....
 |
| Manutai amidst the descending foreboding gloom... |
 |
| Interested in 4G reception..sit here but watch for the bullockornis scats..they are plentiful |
 |
| The hidden path to the lighthouse.... |
Former lighthouse keepers had reported odd noises, strange happenings, and all manner of other spooky things at the lighthouse and en route to it....
 |
| Remnants of a bullock devoured by bullockoronis gaggle.... |
It didn't take long before the group came across remains of poor beasts which had clearly suffered horrible deaths.
 |
| At 309 metres the Deal Island lighthouse is the highest lighthouse in Australia and the spookiest... |
After passing several grave yards, and climbing the steep path to the lighthouse the group finally arrived at the island peak. Many things made no sense on this island. It was more than the unexplained deaths. It was the placement of a lighthouse on a peak which meant that it was perpetually shrouded in cloud. What's the point of that? And it was odd that the island, which is never visited, and where shipping rarely passed near, would even have a lighthouse. I mean what is the point of that? And there was something very odd about an island that had a museum and no visitors? Jeremy, Claudia and Shane climbed the lighthouse to see if they could use the height advantage of the light to discover anything. What they did discover up top was 50 knot winds, plenty of fog and zero visibility.
 |
| Even the plane crash wreckage somehow looked like some primeval skull |
Just beneath the lighthouse were the remains of the 1943 plane crash in which 4 Australian airmen died. Eye witness reports of the time, and subsequent forensic analysis suggest a 9/11-jihadist-like attack by the airmen on the island. It made no sense to the group, but nothing did on this island.
 |
| Even the wallabies were puzzled... |
 |
..and the abandoned lighthouse keeper's homestead peered ominously over the islands terrain whilst the
bullockorosis kept a vulture like vigil outside...... |
In the end we gave up trying to solve the mystery at the lighthouse and started walking back to the boat. Shane was so happy he jumped for joy. Claudia just looked at him and muttered "fool"......
 |
| Meanwhile Jeremy, wearing his usual Paul Frank monkey nap sack stared out to sea. Shane joined him and mirroring his neanderthal like poise, ...staring...and then he realised what he was staring at..... |
 |
| .....three albatross.... |
 |
| ....Shane was astounded at Jeremy's perceptual skills.... |
 |
| ....but they needed to head back to the boat before darkness descended...the long and winding road from Winter Cove.... |
 |
| ....it was a most unpleasant and taxing walk up the hill from Winter Cove.... |
 |
| ...but Claudia and Jeremy were very happy...almost honeymoon happy..but hang on..what happened to the plot of this story...the mysterious unexplained deaths..etc etc etc....?????? |
 |
| .....and the role of the abandoned lighthouse...? |
 |
| ....and the isolated, lonely cluster of buildings...? |
 |
| ....and the rock pile which covered a multiplicity of skeletal remains... |
 |
| ....none of this mattered to Jeremy and Claudia...who decided their life ambition was to revisit the island at some stage in the future as caretaker replacements for "Spud" and Kim. The quest to solve the cause of the mysterious deaths on Deal Island would have to wait for the next visit. |
