The following update was posted by D'Arcy O'Connor on the Oak Island Treasure forum (http://forum.oakislandtrea
UPDATE:
Oak Island Tours Inc. (Dan and the Michigan Mob) have been given a go-ahead by the NS Department of Natural Resources to dig on Oak Island from now until June 30, 2013. The only steps left now are for the TTL application to be cleared by the NS Justice Department (which is pretty well automatic) for approval by Cabinet, and then have it rubber-stamped by the NS Governor General for her approval. I'm told that this should all be acomplished within the next three weeks. So it seems that the OIT syndicate can legally begin drilling and digging as early as this May.
After unsuccessfully fighting the need for a Heritage Research Permit and an archeological reconnaisance of their lots, Fred Nolan and Robert Young recently acquised to this stipulation, and have now applied for the NS Museum permit. But they still have a lot of bureaucratic hurdles to overcome before being able to conduct any major work on their lots this summer.
If you are at EOID'09 in June, you'll hear first-hand on Sunday afternoon how Rick Ratcliffe (who this month is retiring as Registrar of Minerals and Petroleum Titles - which covers TTLs) has had to deal with all of this pencil-pushing work concerning Oak Island exploration during the past 30 years.
Friday, 8 May 2009
Oak Island Tours Inc - 2009 dig update
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Oak Island treasure found on eBay
John Borkowski became interested in the Oak Island mystery about two years ago and decided to look on eBay for a copy of R.V.Harris' book, The Oak Island Mystery.
You can imagine his surprise when the book arrived complete with original newspaper articles form the 1960s, photographs and correspondence from the Restalls who were excavating on the island at this time.
"I feel like I own a little piece of the story", says John from New York. "The letter is from Mildred Restall to a Mrs Geiser. It talks about the trouble the "boys" were having on the shore, and the terrible storm that came up and wiped out their work. It's really a little piece of what she was thinking at the time."
The collection of documents includes a letter from Mildred Restall, whose husband and son later died in a tragic accident on Oak Island.
Her letter paints a picture of how hard it must have been living on the island away from the mainland and open to the elements in the quest for treasure. It is also tinged with tragedy as she writes with such confidence in her husband's desire to solve the Oak Island mystery.
John contacted Oak Island Treasure via our facebook group to inform us his discovery, and with his kind permission, we've been able to share the material online for the very first time.
John has also contacted Lee Restall Lamb, daughter of Mildred Restall, and author of Oak Island Obsession, in which she shares anecdotes of her family's time on the island, photographs and a collection of amazing sketches drawn by Robert and son Bobby.
To view these documents, please view the links below:
- 1965 newspaper articles relating to the Restall tragedy on Oak Island.
- Photographs taken in July 1960 showing life on Oak Island.
- Letter from Mildred Restall to Mr & Mrs Geiser dated November 16th 1960.
- Letter in reply to Mildred Restall from Mrs Geiser - part I.
- Letter in reply to Mildred Restall from Mrs Geiser - part II.
- Newspaper article: Look for Pirates' Treasures Left on Isle 200 Years Ago - The Times Record, Troy, New York from December (exact date is obscured).
- Newspaper article: Privateer Hoard Eludes Seekers, December 1st, 1961.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
You are invited to the Oak Island Treasure Party!
When: Wednesday 17th June 2009
Where: The Henry House, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Who: Anyone interested in the Oak Island mystery who wants to meet with other members of the Oak Island Treasure Forum and our Facebook group.
Despite this year being my forth visit to Oak Island, I have never actually ventured into Halifax so it seems long overdue that I see what your city has to offer!
So, on the evening of Wednesday 17th June I'd like to invite you all to come along to theorise our favourite mystery.
For those ho haven't met me, I'll be the jet-lagged one with an amusing British accent.
For more information, check out The Henry House website, or email me with your questions.
Monday, 27 April 2009
Oak Island Treasure in print!
Thanks to Scott Clarke, Oak Island Treasure Forum member, we have been made aware that Oak Island Treasure has been referenced in the book, Lost Histories: Exploring the World's Most Famous Mysteries by Joel Levy.
This is an exciting achievement for this website, run out of a dark underground bunker in London, England since August 2001. The site started out as a hobby and is run voluntarily by Jo Atherton in her free time, so for Oak Island Treasure to receive recognition in print as a reputable source is praise indeed.
We're always keen to hear how you found Oak Island Treasure, whether it be via search engine, newspaper article, facebook, computer game - it's a good measure for us to understand what's working, so why not send us an email?
We'd love to hear from you.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Oak Island Archive Updates
The Oak Island Archive continues to grow with thanks to your contributions, and author D'Arcy O'Connor for opening up his own personal research files.
The most recent updates include the following:
Documents from the Chappell excavations: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/184/159/
More material on the Blankenship excavations: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/188/161/
Oak Island tourism of yesteryear: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/192/163/
1965 Reader's Digest article that inspired Dan Blankenship to begin his treasure hunt: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/193/164/
Article from a National Geographic book: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/197/168/
Samuel Goodman's theories: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/194/165/
Was Oak Island a hoax? A collection of articles evaluating evidence: http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/199/170/
It is with thanks to all those people who have scanned old articles, magazines and photographs to contribute to building a rich resource of Oak Island related material. By bringing all of this information together in one place, we can build a picture not just to document the excavations on Oak Island, but also explore how the mystery has been presented in the media over the years.
If you have information you wish to share, please email Jo Atherton in the first instance.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Explore Oak Island Days 2009 - agenda announced
The agenda for the annual Explore Oak Island Days has just been announced by the Oak Island Tourism Society, taking place on 18 - 21 June 2009.
With the worst of winter behind us, our minds are turning to sunny afternoons, long summer evenings, late nights around the camp fire and of course - treasure hunting!
This summer, why not do something totally different and come along to the Explore Oak Island Days?
Agenda
Thursday
June 18 Thursday at 6 PM. Special "members only" tour of Oak Island.
Friday
- June 19 Friday. Enjoy a guided walking tour of Oak Island and learn about it’s 214 year old history. The tour starts at 6PM and lasts about 2 hours, be sure to register in advance by calling 902-275-3718 or e-mail the Society at flhs@eastlink.ca Cost is $5, children 6 and under free.
Saturday
- June 20 Saturday. The doors to Oak Island display, artifacts, movies, souvenirs and more open up at 10AM. Come and learn about the mystery at the Oak Island Resort in Western Shore. Oak Island art exhibit and sale all day.
- All day long, the Kids Zone.
- First walking tour of the day is at 10 AM. Details same as above.
- 12:30 Our first guest speaker of the day is Mr. Graham Harris.
- 2:30 Our second guest speakers of the day are three Students from McGill University’s engineering department.
- Second walking tour starts at 4PM. Details same as above.
- 7:30 Commotion by the Ocean a debate, buffet style dinner, art show.
Sunday
- June 21 Sunday. The doors to Oak Island display, artifacts, movies and more open up at 10AM. Come and learn about the mystery at the Oak Island Resort in Western Shore. Art exhibit and sale all day.
- All day long, the Kids Zone.
- First walking tour of the day starts at 10AM. and lasts about 2 hours, be sure to register in advance by calling 902-275-3718 or e-mail the Society at flhs@eastlink.ca Cost is $5, children 6 and under free.
- 12:30 Our first guest speaker of the day is Mr. Steven Sora.
- 2:30 Our second guest speaker of the day is....... TBA
- Second walking tour starts at 4PM. Details same as above.
To book your place on a tour, join the Society and find out more, visit Agenda has just been announced - to find out more, visit the Society's website: http://oakislandsociety.ca/explore%20oak.htm
If you are based in the UK and Nova Scotia is too far for you, would you be interested in attending a social gathering to get together with other Oak Island fans?
If so, send a message to Jo Atherton or email oakislandtreasure@gmail.com to register your interest.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Oak Island treasure hunt update - January 2009
One of the most common questions asked about the Oak Island treasure hunt today is 'why isn't anything happening?!'
To hunt for treasure in Nova Scotia, one must hold a valid Treasure Trove License (TTL) issued by the Nova Scotian government. Oak Island Tours Inc (comprising Dan Blankenship and the Michigan investors) held a TTL for the initial year of their explorations but this is pending renewal after it expired in June 2008.
The following update is offered with thanks to D'Arcy O'Connor who has doggedly kept us up to date with the bureaucracy surrounding the TTL renewal.
In 2008, the Department of Natural Resources had received renewal applications for Lot 5 and Plum Island for Robert Young; Lots 9 through 14 for Fred Nolan; and Lots 1 to 4, 6 to 8, 15 to 22, 24, and 26 to 32, plus "surrounding waters" for Oak Island Tours (Dan and the Michigan group). These applications are to replace the five-year TTLs that expired June 30th 2008.
A change in the regulations now means that before the TTL applications can be processed, they must first have in hand a letter from the NS Museum (of Natural History) either waiving the need for a Heritage Research Permit (which was the norm over the past 25 or 30 years), or else the applicants must first have "an archaeological reconnaissance done on their property" and submit the results with their application.
Until this is approved, the applicants can conduct top line explorations including historical research, surface surveys and mapping, feasibility studies, and lining up prospective drilling and excavation contractors. But technically they cannot drill down an inch or scoop a shovelful of earth on the lots in question without the requisite TTL's in hand.
The TTL's will be issued for a period of 5 years, although they will be back-dated to July 1st 2008. So in reality, once the entire process is completed, the applicants will have lost three or four months of their licensed time.
D'Arcy explains,
"In the future (i.e. after July 1, 2013) the Oak Island TTLs will most likely be limited to a two-year term (as they currently are for searching for and diving on NS offshore wrecks). Another problem I'm told of is that right now it is rather hard to find qualified archaeologists that are approved by the NS Museum for the preliminary "archaeological reconnaissance", since most such archaeologists are back to teaching at their respective universities.
"My guess is that we won't be seeing any major excavation work on any of the three applicants' properties until late this year, if even by then. All of this is obviously most frustrating for OI Tours, Fred Nolan, and Robert Young. But, as has been pointed out, we won't ever again be seeing some of the horrific helter-skelter amateur work that has ravaged the island in the past. As one Nova Scotia archaeologist said to me today, "Had such restrictions existed 200 years ago, Oak Island's mystery would have long ago been solved, either with or without a recovered treasure."
The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Petroleum Titles (which vets TTL applications) has received the official letter (dated January 6th) from Robert Ogilvy of the Nova Scotia Museum, saying they are satisfied with the archeologist's report regarding the Oak Island Tours Inc. application for a Heritage Research Permit, and that such permit has thus been granted.
All that remains is for the Natural Resources department to submit the TTL application to the NS Cabinet for their consideration, a process which, D'Arcy tells us, normally takes about six weeks.
It looks hopeful that Oak Island Tours Inc will be able to start drilling and/or digging as early as this March or April 2009.
So, I hope that adds some context for all those people so keen to know exactly what is happening with the dig on Oak Island. Looking ahead to the spring of 2009, we can hope that Oak Island Tours Inc have their shovels ready!