Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 29 October 1929, page 11


GERMAN MINE.

Examined by Naval Officers.

TOTAL RECOVERED, 27.

The mine swept up from the ocean bed off Cape Everard on Thursday by the trawler Koraaga was the twenty-seventh mine found in Australian waters. The discovery also confirms the statement made by the Germans after the war that the raider Wolf had put down two minefields, each of 15 mines, along

the Australian coast.

The site of the second minefield indicated by the Germans was off Cape Everard. This area was swept on two occasions without ap-parent result. The first time the sweeping was done by the steamer Coogee and the tug James Paterson, and, later, another systema-tic sweeping was made by the warships Mar-guerite, Geranium, and Mallow. Several of the mines found on the Australian coast are believed to have been carried by the ocean currents from New Zealand, therefore, It is not possible to say how many of those laid off Gabo and Cape Everard have been ac-

counted for.

The mine recovered by the Koranga was taken yesterday to the naval armament depot at Spectacle Island for examination by naval officers, who will submit a report to the Navy Board. There is no doubt that the mine has been "dead" for many years. The officers will endeavour to determine the origin of the mine and come to some conclusion concerning the manner of its breaking away from the mooring cable. If German naval practice was followed by the Wolf, their task will be simplified. It is expected that, after the marine growth has been removed, inscriptions disclosing the year of manufacture and other

information will be found.