Man discovers gold mine in his back garden days after WWII bunker discovery in UK backyard
In an incident that could easily be called the surprise of a lifetime, a homeowner discovered a gold mine in his suburban backyard garden. Around three years ago, Anthony Doolin purchased the $1.35million property in Brisbane, Australia. Doolin made the shocking discovery when he went wandering around the 16.5 hectare piece of land.
Doolin discovered that his estate, which is 12 miles from the central business district of Brisbane, boasts of a number of mines around its periphery. The mines had remained unknown to civilization since the turn of the century until Doolin stumbled upon one.
Upon discovering the mines, a stunned Doolin said that his mind immediately thought of the pop-culture icon Indiana Jones, a movie character that resonates with millions around the globe.
In a conversation with realestate.com.au, he said: "We weren’t told about it, we just found it there one day. I nearly fell over, I just pictured Indiana Jones and underground railroads. There was a lot of mining at the turn of the century and, in those hills, there are quite a few little mines. It’s about six meters deep and is still intact.”
Having said that, Doolin was tempted to find out if there really was “gold in them thar hills”, but he did not search for the rare and precious metal any further, despite having made the spectacular discovery himself.
Last week, he gave up the sprawling estate, bidding it goodbye, with his mother Jane helping him sell the property.
She said it had been a difficult task trying to price the property after putting it up for sale. “People seem to move in there and not sell very often (but) it was a damn good investment block because they had commercial sheds that could be rented out,” Jane said.
Doolin had published an asking price of $1.65million, but no one met that number. Eventually, he settled for the same amount he had initially paid for the property.
The startling news comes just days after a World War II hideout was discovered by a British homeowner tucked away in his backyard garden.
While investigating a potential "drain cover" at his home on Merton Avenue, Middlesborough, Chris Scott discovered something incredible.
Scott teamed up with a local builder, Tony Sizer, and spent two days draining the cavity. The pair was astonished to discover a solid concrete Second World War bunker with two escape hatches and two other rooms.
Tony had urged homeowner Chris to have a further look at the flooded drain while renovating the property.
“It just looked like a drain cover,” said Chris. “The neighbors had mentioned a bunker but I hadn’t thought any more about it. I was talking to the builder about it while we were having a cup of tea in the garden and he said, 'Come on let’s have a look!'”
According to the duo, the first cavity was so huge that it took a full two days to pump out the water. Inside, the room had a 10-foot-ladder leading upwards, and an open wooden door that led to two different rooms made with solid concrete.
The pair found another door at the end of the room. Upon digging out the rubble behind, they discovered another ladder behind the door.
“It’s an emergency escape ladder in case the first one was destroyed or blocked by rubble from a bomb,” said Chris. “It’s not worth fully digging it out as it’s a small area.”
Although Chris was told about the possibility of the military bunker's existence in his backyard, he never believed that it would be real and right in front of him.
“I’ll be asking them more about it,” he said. We were really shocked by the size of it. There are a lot of electrics and switches down there and lights on the wall. A big table and lots of silt that could contain anything from back then.”
While the house undergoes a full-scale renovation, Chris, a managing director, currently lives nearby with his wife and infant daughter who is just three weeks old.
It is being said that the bunker was built to take shelter from Nazi air raids and could easily house up to 100 local residents at the time. Chris says he now wishes to bring the bunker back to public display after carrying out some work which it requires.
“It’s a pretty big room and I will probably do something with it,” he said. “If I run a trench down and put some concrete steps and get some decent it might be worth doing something.”