The Riddle of the Seaplanes: Part 3

By JACQUELINE CROMPTON OTTAWAY

"Wow! Listen to this!" Bernadette settled down on the bunk, and began to read aloud:

During World War I, Errin Island was a secret defence headquarters for army personnel. Underground tunnels, barracks, and ammunition rooms were built on the remote tip of Sanctuary Bay.

Later, during the 1920s, it was said that two early seaplanes, which had been used to carry passengers and mail around the islands during the pioneering days of flying, were packed into crates and freighted across to Errin Island from the mainland. The crates were thought to have been stored somewhere in the tunnels at Sanctuary Bay.

At the onset of World War II, the network of tunnels and ammunition rooms was taken over by the army for surveillance purposes.

When army officials moved into the Sanctuary Bay site, they expected to find the stored aircraft. Unfortunately, the planes and the crates they were supposed to have been packed in were never found. Even the consignment documents were missing.

The mystery deepened when it was discovered that some of the tunnels in the Sanctuary Bay area had either caved in or been filled up with concrete and brick.

Publisher: Shortland Publications

Price: $10.10

Age group: 11 + years