Surely There WAS A Pinaki Treasure?

Pinaki Treasure?

• It's an Old Tale of Treasure Trove, But This Auckland Correspondent Won't Let it Lie Down

From F. N. Robson, in Auckland How can we be sure that there is no buried treasure on the little atoll of Pinaki, in the Gambier group of French Polynesia? Sydney writer Robert Langdon, in PIM of February (p. 21), does not appear to believe that this treasure trove is authentic, because he says there is no contemporary docu mentary support. But there is evidence to indicate that the Pinaki treasure trove was genuine.

THE story includes piracy and murder on the high seas, and the principal actors ended their days in Australia. The last survivor died in Sydney Public Hospital, where he is reported to have handed to a friend a rough map of the treasure buried on Pinaki.

That Pjnaki treasure has fascinated me over the years. I refuse to write it off the slate so easily. From memory I offer the following frag ments. I do not even remember which parts of the story came from which sources —but I cannot help be lieving that here is one treasure which might bear further investigation.

I think it was in a magazine section of the Los Angeles Times early in the 1930’s that I first read of the Pinaki treasure under the general heading of “Authenticated Treasure Troves”—or something to that effect.

Four soldiers of fortune, hiding under a church in one of the South American republics at a time when Bolivar the Liberator was on the march, discovered a large cache (I think it was 20 or more boxes) of church treasure in the form of ingots of gold and what-not.

Hidden Near Coast The adventurers removed the treasure and hid it near the coast.

They then made their way to Panama, where they chartered a small schooner to sail back whence they had come.

Safely at sea, they murdered the captain and his two crew members, and threw them overboard.

Having recovered their booty the quartet set sail for Australia. On the way, they stopped and buried their treasure (with the exception of four boxes of gold bullion, which they took with them) on Pinaki.

On arrival in Australia, they

scuttled their ship off the coast Victoria and went ashore in the shi dory. For some years they led hectic life in Sydney and Melbour until at last their gold was exhaust They still had their vast hoard Pinaki, but neded a ship to get th there. In an endeavour to raise necessary stake, all four went to Victorian goldfields, then boomi Here they became embroiled in brawl. I think one or two were kill and the others were sent to gi where one died.

Years later the sole survivor, r old and broken, became a well-kno figure on Sydney waterfront, wh he was befriended by a young man casual acquaintance.

Given a Map When he was dying in Syd: Public Hospital the last of the qua sent for his young friend, told 1 the story of the Pinaki treasure, i gave him a rough map showing wh it was buried. At first the young n and his friends were inclined to regard the story; but eventually it 1 checked, and found to be suppoi by various records.

I forget just how far the .

Angeles Times’ story took us in matter, but I recall that either story, or a later one in a Syd newspaper, recorded that an expi tion was organised in Sydney sailed to Pinaki in search of buried treasure. The expedition conducted with secrecy to a\ trouble with the French, whose ju diction included Pinaki.

It was found that, although general features of the atoll c formed to the map, a great deal drifted sand would have to be mo’ and the expedition had insuffic water or resources for the job.

e expedition returned to Sydney, ling to refit and return. But 1 War I intervened. ;eem to recall that somewhere 1930 a further story appeared e of the Sydney papers—was it ’s or The Daily Guardian? —to feet that another expedition was fitted out to go after the Pinaki ire-trove. I don’t know whether xpedition ever sailed.

I do, however, recall that some years later, possibly late in the 30’s, a cabled news item in the New Zealand Herald reported that an ex pedition had found, in some small island near Tahiti, golden treasure t G th e value of over £3,000,000.

Could this have been the Pinaki hoard?

I, for one, would like to know more before the Pinaki hoard is added to the list of fictitious treasures.