MYSTERIOUS AUSTRALIA

Vol. 2, Issue No 02

FEBRUARY, 2012

INSIDE: IN SEARCH OF TASMANIAN GLOBSTERS. TASMANIAS CRETACEOUS DINOSAURS. NEW URU DISCOVERIES FROM THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. MEDIAEVAL EUROPEAN KNOWLEDGE OF THE GREAT SOUTH LAND.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter February, 2012.

Blue Mountains UFO Research Club. The Club meetings are held on the third Saturday of the month, at the Gilroy residence, 12 Kamillaroi Road, South Katoomba, from 1pm onwards.

We are situated on the corner of Kamillaroi Road and Ficus Street, and as we always say, park in Ficus Street where there is safer parking.

Rex and Heather Gilroy, Australias top UFO and Unexplained Mysteries Research team. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

IN SEARCH OF TASMANIAN GLOBSTERS.

Rex Gilroy. Copyright Rex Gilroy 2012. [The following article includes a section from Chapter Fourteen of our book Out of the Dreamtime The Search for Australasias Unknown Animals [URU Publications 2006] concerning the mysterious globsters that have been washed up on the wild Tasmanian west coast, five in all over the past 30years... ]

During our recent Tasmanian investigations Heather and I visited the principal sites connected with the most famous globster find of all and photograph them. It remains an incr3edible fact that first discovered in mid-July 1960, it took scientists until early March 1962 to get their act together and visit the isolated beach where the half buried smelly mass was lying! During mid-July 1960 Tasmanias coast was hit by the worst storm ever recorded there. A few weeks later, in August, Mr Ben Fenton, a property owner of Temma on the north-west coast, was mustering cattle near a beach 2 miles north of the Interview River, together with two drovers, Jack Boote and Ray Anthony. It was here on the beach that they saw, and closely examined, a large, roughly circular body, that of some dead sea creature quite unknown to them, and which was covered with short soft fur. The men only spoke of their find casually to a few friends, as they feared wide-scale ridicule from the community. Mr Fenton continued to revisit the beach from time to time, during which he observed that the body had been removed by the action of rough seas and re-deposited further along the beach. By this means the mystery corpse was gradually moved further along the coast, each time becoming either partially or completely buried in the sand. It eventually reached a point 14 miles up the coast south of Sandy Cape. News of the mystery corpse gradually filtered into Hobart, the states capital, and eventually reached Mr G.C. Cramp, a local naturalist and businessman, who in turn put the matter before a number of Hobart Museum officials in February 1962, and it was agreed by all that someone should undertake a proper study of the mystery creature. Mr Cramp subsequently organised and financed an aerial search for it in early March. Having located the furry mass, a ground party, led by Mr B.C. Mollison, a member of the staff of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [CSIRO] at Hobart, set out on March 8th. Mr Mollison was described by the press as a zoological student and not a science graduate but experienced in some forms of zoology. He was accompanied by Max Bennett, also of the CSIRO, L.E. Wall, and J.A. Lewis, vice president and treasurer respectively of the Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club. The party had a hard time reaching the site, as they came up against flooded rivers, and due to the denseness of the coastal wilderness, they were forced to trudge many miles through loose sand along the beach to reach the monster [as the Hobart Press labelled it]. The press as usual was scant on details, but later reported that Mr Mollison had returned from his second trip to inspect the monster on March 11th.This statement was of little significance although the
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incredible series of subsidiary events that followed upon his return is at the same time both interesting and amazing; and amazing for the sheer incompetence demonstrated by supposed scientific experts! First there is the description of the monstrous mass that Mr Mollison apparently presented to the Hobart Museum, and whose, reconstruction of the creature was published in the city press, accompanied by the categorical statement that these impressions of the sea monster were drawn by a museum expert. Allowing for the usual incompetent reporting of the media, there remain some very important points that have never been made clear. For one thing, did Mollison really provide the creatures description attributed to him? As an unqualified, virtual amateur zoologist [but no disgrace in that! RG], it seems unlikely that Government Museum scientists would accept the report of an amateur and are more likely to have had one drawn up by a qualified scientist. And, would these scientists have provided the media with such a crude throw-away sketch of the mystery marine giant? From the authors own experience, wherein his own description of the Yowie was deliberately distorted into a virtual cartoon character, by tongue-in-cheek sensation-seeking journalists years ago, I believe that we can place the sketches origin on the table of a newspaper artist! The report of the creatures description appears the work of a scientist, rather than that of a more down-to-earth amateur, and Mollison was of course not a fully-qualified scientist. He was only quoted as making very mild statements of a purely conjectural nature; ie One tends always to reject the fact that an
animal is unknown. One is always seeking some explanation, and you try to add up everything, but this one does not add up yet or again There are only two possibilities - that the animal is unknown, or that it is the remnant of a known animal. He also stated that, while they were at the site, Mr Boote had marked out

what he considered the original outline and the party dug down on these marks and found decayed flesh. This suggests that the description originally came from Jack Boote. Mollison finally concluded that the animal was not a giant ray but probably a ray-like animal. Scientists were soon speculating upon the identity of the mysterious beach blob, coming up with the usual explanations such as, part of a beached whale, or a shark, even that it might be a giant squid, even perhaps a giant ray. Then on March 19th Senator John Gorton, future Prime Minister, but at that time Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, responsible for the work of the CSIRO, stated in Parliament in a written report that: In laymans language, and allowing for scientific caution, this report means that your monster is a
large lump of decomposing blubber, probably torn off a whale.

Gortons report, based upon the [cover-up] explanation of the scientists, did nothing to officially bury the matter. For one thing, Mollison had stated that the creature was not a whale. He also stated that he had retrieved samples of tissue to prove it. Even while he was making this statement, the scientists were, as reported in a March 12th 1962 press release declaring that so far no zoologist has looked at it and denying that any tissue samples had been brought back for study. This appears strange in view of the fact that Mollisons samples were at that time being analysed in Sydney and were fully reported upon by CSIRO scientists. Finally, after questions had been raised in Parliament, and negotiations concluded between the CSIRO, Royal Australian Navy and Museum officials, a scientific team departed from Hobart for the northwest coast, where they rented a helicopter and flew to the site. The group comprised of Mr A.M. Olsen, Marine Biologist and Senior Research Officer of the Fisheries Division of the CSIRO in Hobart. Mr J.H. Calaby, Senior Mammalogist of the Wildlife Division of the CSIRO in Canberra, Dr. E.R. Guiler, Senior Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Tasmania, and two technicians. They picked up Dr.W.Bryden, Director of the Tasmanian Museum, Hobart in the field. Although they announced that they would spend two weeks at the site, they actually left after just 24 hours and were back in Hobart by March 18th. Once there, in great secrecy, they prepared the report that John Gorton, [who was at that time also in charge of Naval Affairs for the Federal Government], was to read in Parliament. The report prepared by these experts, after their 24 hour length rush job examination stated:
The exposed portion of the material was 6ft long and 2ft wide. It projected a few inches above the sand surface.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter February, 2012.

Test holes were dug into the sand around the periphery for several feet to determine the dimensions of the object. As no solid matter was found in the test holes, we dug around the solid material, passed a rope beneath, and turned it over, thus removing it from the excavation. When laid out flat, the material was 8 feet long, 3 ft wide, and 10 inches thick At the thickest portion, and from half an inch to four inches through. There were a number of irregularly shaped flaps, the juxtaposition of Which may have given the impression of clefts, and perhaps the flaps themselves gave an appearance of lobes. The appearance of the material on its exposed surface was different from that of the buried portions. In fact, the material is homogeneous in that it consists throughout of tough, fibrous material loaded with fatty or oily substances. The material has a strong, rancid smell, resembling the higher fatty acids. The weight of the object was estimated at a few hundred pounds. The mass was cut through transversely in several places, and particular attention was paid to the flaps. The material did not contain any bones, spines or other hard structures. The hair-like material of the exposed surfaces was merely a consequence of desiccation and leaching of fat-filled fibrous material. Within the body of the material were casual canals, circular in cross section and half an inch to three quarters of an inch in diameter. After examining the solid material, further investigation was made around the site in an attempt to determine the original dimensions of the object. A few inches below the present sand surface was a layer of sand of variable thickness, which has been stained by organic matter, and had the same strong, rancid smell as the solid matter. This matter extends 8 feet beyond the limit of the solid material in a northerly direction, but to the south and landward sides was only present under the solid material and did not extend beyond its boundaries. On the seaward side this organic layer extended about 18 feet but we did not consider this distance significant since it follows the natural slope of the beach. Further investigation was made below the black sand but no solid material was found. The difference between the size as originally reported and the present dimensions doubtless is due to decomposition and shrinkage. In view of the fact that this material has been stranded for a long time and is much decomposed, it is not possible to specifically identify it from this preliminary investigation. Samples have been taken for laboratory comparison by appropriate authorities. In conclusion, we wish to express our gratitude to the many people whose help and cooperation made this investigation possible.
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This rotting blob on the beach, or globster as some locals were calling it, was in fact not the only instance of such a creature having been washed up on the Tasmanian west coast; as some residents of isolated beachfront areas have pointed out that mystery hairy monsters have been found by people on and off hereabouts since pioneering days in the 19th century. In fact, five such creatures had been found over the last 30 years and been overlooked by the authorities and media alike. There was also one important question not answered in the quoted scientific report. Namely, was the mystery globster ever covered with hair of any kind or fur? Only mammals possess true hair. This is distinguishable from hair-like structures such as bristles, and no known mammal, or any part of an aquatic mammal of the size of this globster is covered with hair. One whale species is known to possess six bristles on its chin and the young of the Grey Whale has rows of sparse bristles along the back of its head and forebody, therefore the globster, whatever it was, was certainly no portion of a whale. A reporter who reached the site after the departure of the scientists later wrote: Near a large excavation were two bulky pieces of flesh, each a few feet in diameter, and a smaller piece. At that time the excavation would be no more than a few feet deep. Either this, or another journalist later unearthed some interesting information concerning the scientific manner in which two large portions of flesh had been removed. This had been accomplished by suspending them outside the helicopter due to the stench of the rotting remains. He spoke of the veil of secrecy cast over the scientists work on the beach, and subsequent method of storage of the specimen material afterwards at Zeehan. It appears that the specimens were removed from the airstrip to the yard of the Central Hotel, in the Hydro-Electric Commission utility truck under much secrecy. Once in the hotel grounds they were off-loaded in the yard and the trucks tray backed over them. The specimens, which had nearly filled the tray, were then left there on the ground until loaded onto another truck for the trip to Hobart on Saturday 17th March. Journalists must have wondered how these scientists could possibly issue a full, final report on this tissue material by the evening of the following day. After all, it took the truck all of Saturday to reach Hobart, and we have been led to believe that the entire resources of the CSIRO had been making futile attempts to identify the tissue samples for almost a week! It appears obvious that, either they made the identification on the beach, or else they had the blob identified all along! So, was the mystery creature ever 20ft in diameter as first described? Or was it merely a mass of rotting whale blubber about 10 feet in length as some people suggest? Did it ever possess hair or fur, or did it only give the appearance of this? And why the official cover-up? The whole affair undoubtedly stinks to high heaven. And those incompetent bumbling scientists who examined and removed tissue samples from the blob on the beach couldnt even agree on that! A group of competent amateur zoologists would have done a better job of identifying this blob on the beach. Other blobs have been found on Tasmanias north-west coast since the 1960 incident, yet for some reason they were not investigated by any scientists. No doubt there will be more blobs washed ashore in the future to keep this mystery alive.
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This impression of the Globster appeared in the Hobart Mercury newspaper in March 1962. Drawn by D.C.Mollinson.

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Copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

A photograph of the actual Globster carcase inspected by the CSIRO scientific team. Note removed section taken for study. Photo Hobart Mercury, Tasmania, March 1962,

The 1960 Globster discovery was not the first of its kind on Tasmanias north-west coast. There are earlier stories among the locals of similar huge, smelly blobs having been washed up on the coast, and there have been others found hereabouts since the 1960 Ben Fenton Globster discovery. This sketch was copied by Rex Gilroy from an original, done by a farmer who found one of this size [note human figure size comparison] on an isolated north-west coast beach about 1989. Sketch copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

An isolated beach near the location of the August 1960discovery by property owner Ben Fenton, of the massive dead sea creature nicknamed the Globster. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

On Monday 14th November 2011 while investigating an isolated beach south of the 1960 Globster find, Rex Gilroy spotted a large object lying on sand close to the surf in the distance. Any hopes that the object might be another marooned Globster were however soon dashed, as he got closer he could see it was a dead whale! The picture however illustrates how Ben Fenton first spotted the mystery body at a distance lying on the beach. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The Central Hotel at Zeehan, to which the smelly mass was conveyed by helicopter. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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The backyard of the Central Hotel where the Globster was hidden prior to it being transported to Hobart. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012. The back lane behind the Central Hotel, along which under much secrecy the Globster was removed from the hotel backyard and driven to Hobart. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

TASMANIAS CRETACEOUS DINOSAURS.

Rex Gilroy.
Copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

There are no dinosaurs in Tasmania! This has long been the cry of Tasmanian university-based desk-palaeontologists, despite the presence of rocks of the Cretaceous Period [66-144 million years ago] in our island state. The same declaration greeted the late Joan Wiffen who for over 20 years searched in the field for dinosaurs in New Zealands Cretaceous deposits. Her eventual discovery of Cretaceous Theropod, and later Sauropod bones made this housewife famous, embarrassing a number of university palaeontologists who had ridiculed her tireless efforts for years. The fact is that they had never bothered to look for dinosaur fossils themselves! If Cretaceous deposits are present in Tasmania it is certain that dinosaur species of that era have to be present in the fossil record, and it now appears that they are. Cretaceous dinosaur fossils, principally of small species, have over recent years been uncovered at a Victorian coastal site and it is certain that such fossils await discovery in Tasmania. Without knowing that there are no dinosaur fossils in Tasmania, Heather and I arrived in Devonport on Tuesday 1st November for our first field expedition in that state. We made many discoveries from Day One, but while on our way to Port Arthur on Friday 11th November at a cretaceous fossil shellfish site, I stumbled upon a rock shoal where I found, embedded 7cm into the rock, a Theropod dinosaur track. It measured 45cm long by 33cm wide across the three toes and 21cm wide across the heel. On that occasion time did not permit further searching hereabouts as we were on our way to Port Arthur, however, a bigger find was yet to be made. On Sunday 13th November, while over on the west coast Heather and I visited Gladstone Harbour. While exploring shoreline [Cretaceous] rock terraces, I came upon two large Theropod dinosaur tracks, spaced 1.67 metres apart, one being much larger than the other suggesting two individuals. The smaller of the two tracks faced the north and measured 46cm long by 59cm across the three toes being 2.5cm deep; the larger track faced the west and measured 60cm long by 67cm wide across the three large toe impressions, the track being 4cm deep. These large Carnosaur tracks were found late in the day, precluding a lengthy
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search of the area for any further tracks that might be there. Heather and I left intending to return here again on our next Tasmanian search. Obviously the scientific community is in error. If they leave their offices and rough it out there in the wild they will find dinosaur fossils for themselves. As dinosaurs existed on mainland Australia it is obvious that their remains await discovery in Tasmania, which of course was formerly part of the mainland. The Gilroys eagerly await their next search in Tasmania when we will turn up further impossible fossils! -0-

A Foriestier Peninsula scene. Do the Cretaceous rocks of the foreshores hide evidence of Tasmanian dinosaurs? Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The Forestier Peninsula Theropod dinosaur track. It measures 45cm long by 33cm wide across the toes, 21cm wide across the heel and is 7cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The Granville Harbour. The Cretaceous rock shoals of its foreshores may contain more dinosaur tracks than the two found here by Rex Gilroy. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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The two tracks are spaced 1.67 metres apart [note ruler between them. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The first Granville Harbour track discovered. It measured 46cm long by 59cm wide across the toes and 37cm wide across the heel, being 2.5cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The second track discovered, the larger of the two, may have been made by a larger reptile. It measures 60cm long by 67cm wide across the toes and 47cm wide across the heel and is 4cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

NEW URU DISCOVERIES FROM THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.

Rex Gilroy.
Copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

Recent wet weather on the Blue Mountains has exposed many hitherto long buried rocks on the surface. Braving the weather recently to take my dog Andy for a walk, I have made finds of very ancient Uruan stone images at sites outside Wentworth Falls and Leura, pointing to long-vanished temples or other structures in the vicinity. Beginning on Friday 3rd February, on a clifftop track on Kings Tableland south of Wentworth Falls township, I picked up a very crude, deteriorated ironstone image. Later cleaning revealed two eyes and a nose [bridge missing] below which was still a well-defined mouth. On the back [flat surface] was an inscription. The image measures 16cm tall by 8.5cm wide and 8cm deep. The inscription was later translated to read: Ga, God of Festivities, decrees the playing of scared music at night. Drink the water of love. Praise the Phallus. All people dance the Moon Dance Bad weather prevented a search for any nearby remains of a temple or shrine but this will be attempted soon.
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On Monday 6th February I carried out a search in thick scrub north of Leura township during a break in the west weather on a hunch that there was other Uruan cultural evidence to be found in this particular area [long suspected by me]. Heather waited in the car on a bush road while I searched some 2 kilometres or so into dense gum scrub. I failed locate any ruins, but scattered about atop a gully I picked up four ironstone relics of unmistakable Uruan origin. The first was an image of a female deity, Aria, holding in both hands the glyph for Land of Uru. Upon her back were glyphs stating: Aria, Goddess of the Arians*, Goddess servant of the Sun, Nim, who shines on the land of the Arians. [*also spelt as Aryans]. The image was measured as 15cm tall by 8.5cm wide and 7cm deep. The next relic found amid forest stubble was the head of the misshapen headed Ha, God of Fear. This small image bore glyphs stating: Ha, God of Fear and of the lightning that brings it. Ha measured 8.7cm tall by 7cm wide and 7.7cm deep. ***** The third relic uncovered from the forest floor was a slab whose front and back flat surfaces bore, on one side a map on reaching a temple [possibly already known to me about a kilometre distant] and on the other, glyphs. The translations of both lengthy messages were as follows: Side One: At the Temple of the sun [Nim] the God is observed traversing the heavens with his rising and erection on high. Rejoice, play musical instruments and all give ear, at the open door of the Temple of Mysteries. The Temple of Light is reached by following the eastern path to the summit. Here in the enclosure stands the Temple, where resides the Oracle of Knowledge. Here observe the East to West voyage by day of Nim the Sun.

Side Two: [The Map]

The relic measured 20cm tall by 10cm wide and 4cm deep. The last relic uncovered was the image of a boat, possibly depicting the boat of Nim in which the one Sun-worship belief dating to earliest Uruan times, Nim daily voyaged across the heavens from east to west.. The boat, ironstone encrusted by mudstone to which small gravels had become mineralised, measured 17.8cm long by 7.5cm wide and 3.6cm deep. I had barely recorded this last relic and placed it in my backpack, than I noticed the weather changing. I lost no time returning to Heather and we drove out of the bush just ahead of a downpour. I have no doubts that further discoveries of old Uru still await discovery thereabouts. -0-

The image of Ga, God of Festivities, found at a clifftop location outside Wentworth alls on Friday 3rd February, 2012. The image measures 16cm tall by 8.5cm wide and 8cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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Top. The Ga image, right profile. Right. The Ga image left profile. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012. The Ga image, rear surface bearing inscription. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The image of the Goddess Aria [aka Ariana], found at a Leura area bushland locality on Monday 6th February, 2012. In her hands she holds the Uruan glyph for Land of Ara. The image is 15cm tall by 8.5cm wide and 7cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The back of the image bears an inscription. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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The top of the Aria head contains a small circular 1cm deep hollow in which to burn incense. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The left profile of the Ha image bears glyphs. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The second Leura relic was this small, misshapen head of Ha, the Uruan God of Fear. It measures 8.7cm tall by 7cm wide and 7.7cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The right profile of the Ha image bearing a single glyph. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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The third relic uncovered at the Leura site was this map stone. Side one shows a lengthy message. The stone measures 20cm tall by 10cmm wide and 4cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The back of the stone bears the map to a temple with glyphs. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The small Nim Sun-Boat of ironstone encrusted with gravels, recovered at the Leura bushland site. It measures 17.8cm long by 7.5cm wide and 3.6cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

MEDIAEVAL EUROPEAN KNOWLEDGE OF THE GREAT SOUTH LAND.

Rex Gilroy.
Copyright Rex Gilroy 2012. [Composed from notes for the forthcoming book: On Shores of Misty Lands Mediaeval European Knowledge of Australia by Rex and Heather Gilroy, copyright Rex Gilroy URU Publications 2012.]

Writings of the earlier Greek and Roman historians and philosophers, encouraged by chroniclers of Mediaeval Europe to believe in the existence of a vast southern continent, the Lost Southern Paradise of Mankind, said to lie in the southern most region of the world and which possessed unimaginable wealth. In fact such a land had been know to the ancient civilisations of the Nile and Near East whose mineral-seeking expeditions had long before colonised and mined this land in Bronze-Age times [2000-1400 BC. To the Egyptians it was known as Kenti-Amenti, the fabled Land of the Gods and land of the origin of their ancestors. The ancient Persians called it Sveta-Dwipa, the Sacred Land. To the ancient Greeks it was known as Ausio and also Megagea of Big Land.
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To the Greeks of Homers time [600 BC] Ausio was identified with the fabled land of Colchis wherein was to be found the Golden Fleece, symbolic of all the wealth in the world. In The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Flavius Philostratus of Athens [175-249 AD] there is a revealing passage which points to world geographical knowledge in antiquity. If the land be considered in relation to the entire mass of water, we can show that the earth is the lesser of the two. Unless the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and other had not crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, how else could Philostratus have known that the oceans cover the greater part of the earths surface? Besides the world we inhabit there may be one or more other worlds peopled by beings different from ourselves, word Strabo [1st century BC]. ***** There are many ancient quotes on the existence of Australia pre-dating the onset of the Dark Ages, which saw the suppression of knowledge by the Roman Catholic church, yet in the course of the Dark Ages, thence the Middle Age which led to the Renaissance and the re-birth of knowledge throughout Europe, those who dig deep enough can find that writings on the mysterious southern continent still persisted. The Dark Ages had descended upon Europe during the 6th and 7th centuries AD, with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Middle Ages cover the period from around 1000 AD to 1450 by the beginning of this age the Vikings had already begun making their presence known, raiding the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isles. It was during the 11th century that European merchants were returning home with accounts of other lands lying to the south of India and Lanka [ie Sri Lanka] and trade voyages from the Red Sea by adventurous traders aided by Arab seafarers whose ancestors had known of lands such as Malaya and Java, saw valuable spices, silks and other goods brought back to Europe along with tales of voyages to the lost paradise of the south and the mineral and gemstone wealth to be had there. The exploits of Marco Polo [1254-1324] are frequently quoted by conservative historians as the limit of European voyages at that time, yet written evidence survives to dispute this belief. ***** A Mediaeval tradition of Cornwall, England speaks of Men with Tails [ie kangaroos] the tradition being thought to have been introduced by clergy returning from travels to Australasian lands, although they might also have seen kangaroos in the private menageries of Chinese or Indian royalty or wealthy merchants. Tailed people who carried their young in pouches attached to their bodies for safety and who moved by leaps and bounds, were also described by Venantius Fortunatus of Breton [530-603 AD], who wrote of the Terrestrial [ie southern] Paradise as a land of flowers. And besides people with tails an un-named scholar of Malmsbury, England in the 8th century AD, describes stars in the southern hemisphere. And then there was the large fleet of ships led by the Welsh knight, Sir Owain Miles in 1155, from the Red Sea coast to India, thence southward on a trading and riches-seeking expedition which saw him, according to legend, land on the shores of the Southern Paradise land. In the course of his exploits here, his ships penetrated what appears to have been the now long vanished inland sea, from where he and his followers, in the course of their search for precious metals and gemstones, reach a great rock of many colours rising up out of the landscape. Ayers Rock? Before turning back, Sir Owains fleet sails into apparent eastern Australian waters on a southward voyage which eventually brings them into colder climes where they see islands of floating glass. Increasing cold forces them to return northward. After many adventures in the mysterious Southern Paradise they return to Britain. ***** During the 12th century, one Pierre of Provence, a wealthy traveller, made a voyage to Alexandria, stopping along the way at the kingdom of Naples. From Alexandria he journeyed overland to the Red Sea coast, where he was taken prisoner by Arabs, who placed him on a dhow and sailed off with him on a trading voyage. As a slave he was rather well treated. The dhow crossed the Indian Ocean, probably bound for India or Ceylon [Sri Lanka]. The ship landed off an island, possibly Ceylon, which Pierre described as a land of bright flowers, blossoms and woods. The Arabs put to sea again. All this time Pierre had assisted with the search for gold and other treasures. For some months the ship voyaged from island to island as the crew searches for valuables, heading deeper into southern waters. Eventually the Arabs reached a strange land where they decided to maroon Pierre. As the dhow sailed off over the horizon, he was left to ponder his fate seated on the sand of a beach.
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For many weeks he was forced to live off shellfish, berries and whatever else he could find to eat. He was feverish by the time another ship appeared offshore and rescued him. On his way home he informed the King and Queen of Naples of his adventures, which he then repeated to many more people upon his return to France. Thus a Frenchman, some time during the 12th century, if this tale be true, had sat on the sand of an Australian beach. ***** Of all the ancient European seafaring peoples to voyage Australian and indeed west Pacific waters, the Celts stand out, with a history of cross-ocean expeditions that began in the days of the Pharaohs, vanishing as the Mediaeval Age began to give way to the Renaissance. Around 1500 BC Iberian Celts joined the Phoenicians on joint trade and mineral-seeking expeditions, at first for the Pharaohs of Egypt, and alter for themselves [the full story is found in Pyramids of Destiny The Lost Pacific Colonies of the Bronze-Age God-Kings URU Publications 2009]. These Bronze-Age expeditions led to the colonisation of Australia and certain other west pacific Islands, including New Zealand in their search for gold, tin, copper and other riches. Celto-Phoenician rock inscriptions, particularly Celtic ogham is found carved upon megalithic standing stones, stone circles and other structures from island Southeast Asia to Australia and tis near-island neighbours. In Australia, coastal rivers were employed to sail deep into the interior in the search for riches and large colonies were established by mixed Celto-Phoenician groups or Celts alone. The former inland sea was employed to sail deep into Australias heart, while the Murray River, once discovered was used to sail north into the Darling River, the Murray offshoot, the Murrumbidgee, and the Darling offshoots, the Macquarie, Namoi-Peel and Gwydir River systems beings used to penetrate into the interior of Central Western New South Wales, where vast rich amounts of precious metals and gemstones were obtained and colonies established which would eventually become large kingdoms with their own ruling classes. This explains the discoveries of Celtic and Phoenician as well as Egyptian rock scripts, relics and ruins found today in the Australian interior. At one Central Australian locality in March 2011 Rex Gilroy discovered megalithic circle and temple remains extending over a considerable area dating back at least 3,000 years, which included pyramidal structures, a crumbling temple with the enormous weathered granite head of the Celtic Sun-God, Bel. The area is rich in minerals. Colonies had to be fed, so vast areas were set aside for farming crops and breeding stock [shipped in from Southeast Asia]. Evidence of this is found near Sydney, at areas on the Georges and Hawkesbury/Nepean River districts, where crops were once grown to feed large Celto-Phoenician villages, as evidenced today by the discovery of rock inscriptions on the Georges River and Nepean Rivers, where engraved messages tell of farming operations thereabouts going back 3,000 years. ***** Evidence is accumulating to show that Swedish Vikings in the 12th century voyaged beyond their Persian Gulf-India/Malaya trade route to Java and Australia-New Zealand waters. [see Pyramids in the Pacific The Unwritten History of Australia by Rex Gilroy URU Publications, 2000]. As our January 2012 Mysterious Australia Newsletter reveals, there is a ghostly trail of rock inscriptions and other evidence, stretching from the Russian Rivers/Persian Gulf from where in their longships adventurous Scandinavians sailed to India, Lanka [Ceylon], Malaya and Java, e en as far as Australias east coast and New Zealand. The November 2011 finds of Rex and Heather Gilroy of an ancient Scandinavian settlement in the Mole Creek district of Tasmanias north-western region suggests that others must exist somewhere on the Australian east coast. Remains of Swedish Viking settlement have already been uncovered by the Gilroys in the Bay of Islands and Milford region of New Zealand. Some years before his death in 1131, the Swedish writer-explorer, Saemund the Learned, wrote a sage of an expedition he had made to the Southern Paradise and the frozen hell of Niflheim beyond, via the seven islands. The identity of these seven islands is debatable, but were surely islands of Southeast Asia. Saemund describes how he sailed around these coasts before eventually sightings the Southern Paradise. It is not all lush forests as described by other ancient European writers, but a land of heat and flies! He and his fellow Vikings see giant birds moving about the landscape [Emus] and leaping animals which were surely kangaroos. They meet up with fierce, stone-throwing black men and women, against whom they have to defend themselves. Where Saemunds ships have landed is debatable, but it may have been in our far north. Journeying deep inland the Scandinavians meet more of these black people and Saemund describes the
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aftermath of a gory initiation ceremony of the black men their faces bloody, their bodies bleeding and bloody runes cut on their breast. A hot, dry region, it was, he said, a land where the waters do not flow. The Norsemen return to their ships and sail on in search of Niflheim. Where is Saemunds expeditions now? Perhaps they have penetrated Torres Strait and ventured down our east cost. Putting into shore along the way to settle for a time and grow crops to replenish their food supplies, as was the custom of ancient mariners on such long voyages. Women would also have accompanied the expedition. Eventually the vessels enter cold seas with floating islands of ice, freezing cold forces them to turn back for the warmer waters to their north, convinced they have found Niflheim. From this point on events are somewhat confused. There may in fact be a missing chapter in Saemunds story; for exactly how far his ships penetrated or how many were on this expedition remains unknown. If his ships were off course, they may somehow have reached New Zealands western coastlines. Did they venture into Milford Sound, establish a settlement while crops were grown, and carry out searches beyond this fiord, for any traces of minerals or gemstones? I suggest this possibility because in 1997 and 1998 Heather and I discovered remains of an ancient stone settlement, and a number of large rocks bearing Scandinavian inscriptions in which the name Saemund is prominent. Further evidence of Scandinavian settlement and rock inscriptions was found by us at a Bay of Islands location. Saemund eventually returned to Sweden, but how many other similar expeditions sailed AustralianNew Zealand waters and beyond we may never know. For not only have many ancient chronicles been lost, but also many vessels came to grief along the way. The search for Australias unknown mediaeval European discoveries continues. Perhaps further discoveries yet await the Gilroys in this unique lost chapter of Australias hidden history. -0-

Ocean-going ships of time of King Richard the 2nd. Picture drawn in 1319.

Sir Owain Miles and his expedition lands on Australian shores after leaving England in 1135.

A ship of the fleet of William the Conqueror transporting troops for the invasion of England [Bayeux Tapestry]. Such vessels could have been used on cross-ocean voyages. 16

Mysterious Australia Newsletter February, 2012.

This massive weather-worn head of the Celtic Sun-God, Bel, discovered amid a ruined temple dedicated to the god at a Central Australian site, [note distant pyramid] measures 1.78 metres tall by up to 2.3 metres wide. It is part of an extensive complex dating back at least 3,000 years BP [Before Present]. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The right side of the head still bears fading glyphs [chalked in for photographic purposes]. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The glyphs read: Bel the Sun, the Sun-Serpent, the Eye of the Sun. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

At another Central Australian site stands a 12 metre by 12 metre stone circle, at the centre of which is erected a phalliclike standing stone bearing crude images of Bel on its north and south sides. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012. 17

Mysterious Australia Newsletter February, 2012.

Heather stand beside the north face image of Bel,. The stone stands 3.66 metres tall by 6.4 metres in circumference. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The south side Bel image. Note mouth and crudely hollowed out right eye in shadow. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

Heather stands beside the east side of the Bel image, where ogham strokes and a Sun-disc and figure with raised arms proclaim: Behold the Phallus and Praise Bel. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

Near the circle are the remains of dwellings built along a lengthy ancient street leading to a gold reef. Photo copyright 9c0 Rex Gilroy 2012.

Overgrown remains of a lengthy stone wall [across centre of photo]. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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Overgrown outlines of a square stone structure. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

MAJOR BRONZE-AGE CELTIC TOWN DISCOVERED. Between August/September 2008 the Gilroys assisted by Greg Foster began an on-going archaeological investigation of a lost Bronze-Age Celtic town, hidden at a highly confidential mountainous location in the Hawkesbury River district. Following Rexs discovery of a small ruined temple containing a fallen large stone image of the Celtic Sun-God, Bel [identified from ogham glyphs carved upon it], a chance meeting with a farmer led to him taking them to inspect an ancient stone wall which has parallels with others found in New Zealand dating back over 3,000 years, and which contain ancient Celtic ogham inscriptions. The purpose of the Hawkesbury stone wall remains a mystery for now, although a large number of Celtic ogham engravings have been found upon rocks in the vicinity of it. Returning here on Monday 15th December 2008, Rex carried out a lone investigation which led to him climbing a steep mountainside. Working his way between two tall rock formations, he found himself standing in an enclosure, before a huge, deteriorated face carving. Ogham glyphs nearby identified the image as that of Bel, and the site a temple dedicated to the God. He soon found more glyphs and altar stones revealing this to be an important centrepiece of the Town of Bels Eye, as stated in one of the inscriptions.

Rex Gilroy examining the wall. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The wall. It resembles Bronze-Age Celtic examples found in New Zealand. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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The entrance to the Temple of Bel. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The temple entrance from the inside. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

A closer view of the face, carved deep into the ironstone formation. Other large Bel faces exist in the area. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The massive face of the God Bel, carved over 3,000 years ago by workers who were the builders of the Town of Bels Eye, which now lies buried in dense scrub. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

This ogham inscription, found at the temple states By day Hugh here observes the Sun. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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Viking longships [or dragonships] on the European coast. In such vessels Scandinavians sailed to Africa to trade with the Moors; they also discovered Greenland and then North America 400 years before Columbus. They traded with India and Malaya and as Rex Gilroy maintains, found Australia, New Guinea, the near Pacific Islands and New Zealand.

Faded ancient Scandinavian ships rock art found by Rex Gilroy in 1991on a stone at a New England site between Tamworth and Armidale [chalked in for photographic purposes]. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

A Thor and longship engraving found by Rex Gilroy at a remote Cape Reinga beach [North Island, New Zealand]. Thor holds his hammer, Molnir, with which he makes the thunder and lightning. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

During March 2008 the Gilroys carried out another search in New Zealand in which a major discovery was made of the remains of a 12th century Swedish Viking village at a Bay of Islands [North Island] location. To reach the site Rex and Heather, together with local field assistant Yvonne Stephens and others, had to work their way through dense forest. Besides the remains of stone walls three large stones were discovered to contain Scandinavian runic messages and images. The first stone discovered bore the images of two longships and two horses. The second engraved stone bore a lengthy inscription later translated to read: The wind blew us into this bay. The weather was hot. We all arrived safely and well. Led by our Chieftain Saemund. Skraelings* were fought in a bay to the south [*Skraelings was a Viking word for natives generally]. The third inscribed stone discovered bore a message which, when translated later was found to state: We are men and women of Rus* who arrived in ships with cattle and horses and fowls. We cry out for Odins blessing. Odin strengthen us. [*Rus Russia].
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Mysterious Australia Newsletter February, 2012.

This big discovery, together with earlier evidence found in both North and South Islands, is revealing a considerable presence of Norsemen in New Zealand in 12th century times. Similar finds must await the Gilroys on the Australian mainland. During our November, 2011 Tasmanian expedition we uncovered remains of an ancient Scandinavian village at a north-western Tasmanian bushland location [see January, 2012 Mysterious Australia newsletter].

A view of a section of one of the stone walls. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

Rex Gilroy measuring an ancient stone wall, one of several found in the vicinity of the Scandinavian rock inscriptions. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

A Bay of Islands stone bearing two longship and two horse carvings. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

The Skraelings inscription, revealing a Bay of Islands landing by Scandinavians who were attacked by hostile Polynesians. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

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The inscription describing arriving colonists. We cry out for Odins blessing. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012. Heather Gilroy in the Bay of Islands forest, searching with husband Rex for evidence of ancient Viking colonists of New Zealand. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2012.

TEAM GILROY
Are you aged 20 to 50 and able to enjoy bushwalking and live in the Sydney/Blue Mountains area. Team Gilroy, who are engaged in the search for the Yowie and mystery animals and have discovered relics and rock inscriptions of maritime cultures that explored Australia thousands of years before the Dutch or Captain Cook are searching for an interested, psychically attuned man or woman to assist Rex and Heather Gilroy on a regular basis in their exciting searches and discoveries of pyramids and megalithic ruins of Australias Lost Civilisation of Uru? Interested?? We want to hear from you at 02 47823441 or email us on randhgilroy44@bigpond.com.

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Please Note

Our previous meeting was a huge success and we look forward to seeing you at our next one.
Our next meeting will be held on Saturday 17th March, 2012 - same time, same place 12 Kamillaroi Road, Katoomba. So until our next meeting Watch the Skies!

Rex and Heather

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