New material in the Oak Island treasure hunt comes to light

Here's a message which appeared on the Oak Island Treasure Forum yesterday from Robert Dunfield's son. (For those who don't know, Dunfield took over excavating Oak Island after the Restall Tragedy in the 1960's.)

It's unusual for new Oak Island material to come to light, given the classified nature of excavation attempts in the past, but this is exciting news.

Robert Jr mentions finding some new material of his father's, including film, photographs and hand drawn sketches. He is currently in touch with Oak Island Tours Inc (the current owners of Oak Island) and is sharing his father's wealth of information which I hope will contribute to a successful dig for the new guys.

It's marvellous that this material has been so well looked after, and as Robert suggests, if it helps with just one simple clue to point people in the right direction, then it would be truly great.

Here's his post from the Forum:


Hi folks:

I hope that all is well with everyone. Much has happened in the past 9 months and I have found some new photographs, reel film and sketches made by my dad, as well as whole new box of correspondence, including several from my dad to the ever knowledgeable and keen eyed treasure hunter D'Arcy.

Anyway, I have sent an email with a picture to Jo to share with the group. Some of you may have seen it and many of you may not have. I also will be making still images available from some of the reel film taken in 1965 that would make for some great individual 8x10 stills framed of various parts of the island and our early heroes (and villains).

I have had the great pleasure of having a wonderful long term correspondence with one of the members of the Michigan group and finally one of the pieces of porcelain that was recovered from the 298' level in the money pit by my dad in 1965 was sent to Oxford University for Thermo-Luminescent Glow Curve Testing. Unfortunately though, it does not date prior to 1800, so I am trying to have a different sample tested - this one with some blue glaze that was recovered from a different level, as well as a small sherd that was brought up in a junk basket from one of the test holes at about the same level in a completely different location. I will share the results as I am able.

There is a whole bunch of other things going on and if possible, I will ask Rick Lagina if I might be able to share some of the things that I have been working on to help in the current venture, to the extent that I am able and always with the hope that any information, new or old, artifacts that have been in the family since the 1960's, reel film, and boxes of paperwork and notes, diaries, etc, etc, and other stuff might in some way add just one simple clue to help point in the right direction. Anything and everything helps, I have learned and fortunately I have saved everything that has been held in my family with the exception of a few gifts of coconut fiber that I used to give as gifts and maybe a few small pieces of wood from deep in the MP.

I have waffled back and forth for the last 5+ years about this treasure on Oak Island versus the geological features and anomalies and I would have to say that I have now swung to about the 90% positive side that a treasure exists on this magnificent island and I am pretty sure that it will be recovered reasonably soon (considering the amount of time already spent in this search...) and will make history that will have people talking for centuries to come.

Talk with you again soon,
Best regards, Robert

Oak Island Treasure Trove Licence update

For those who have been asking 'why is nothing happening?' with the Oak Island treasure hunt, it comes down to Oak Island Tours Inc obtaining the correct paperwork to allow them to dig. Yes, despite actually owning the land, the treasure hunters still need permission from the Nova Scotian government to to look for treasure in their own back yard.

D'Arcy O'Connor, author of The Secret Treasure of Oak Island and The Big Dig kindly provided us with this update yesterday:

"As of today (Sept.17, 2009) Oak Island Tours Inc. (comprising the Michigan Group and Dan Blankenship) still have not received a Treasure Trove License to proceed with work on Oak Island. John MacNeill, who replaced Rick Ratcliffe as Nova Scotia's Registrar of of Mineral and Petroleum Titles this past May, says their application is "still in the conduit", and that he is "hoping it will move soon".

"As you know, OIT Inc. passed the first hurdle last April by getting the necessary Heritage Research Permit from the Nova Scotia Museum, and then was cleared by the Registrar for a TTL. But it first had to be approved by the NS Cabinet and then be given "Royal Assent" by the province's Governor General before being blue-skyed for a final go-ahead. But before that happened, came a change in government, with the NDP now in power, and with new department ministers having to re-read and vote on all pending legislation.

"Another thing MacNeill told me is that the TTL, once issued, will be for a two-year period, unlike the five-year licenses that were issued in the past. However, the permission to dig will begin at the time of issuance, and not date back to when OIT Inc.'s last license expired on June 30, 2008. He has no idea when the application will get through these final hoops, since "as with all things political, one can never tell".

"As for Fred Nolan and Robert Young, their Oak Island TTL applications haven't even passed the HRP stage yet.

"So I doubt that we will see any actual drilling or digging happening on the island during the balance of this year. Bummer!"

So this is frustrating news for all of us, desperate to see the treasure hunt begin on Oak Island again.

How do you feel about this news?

Do you think the need for a Heritage Research Permit from the Nova Scotia Museum is a good idea?

Or do you feel additional government involvement is getting in the way of recovering the treasure?