MORE SUNKEN GOLD

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 99, 17 December 1931, Page 2

MORE SUNKEN GOLD

ATTEMPT TO SALVAGE SHIP SUNK IN BATTLE OF THE NILE LONDON, Saturday. An attempt to salvage gold valued •xt £600,000 aboard the Orient, one of the French ships sunk by Lord' NeN' n at Aboukir Bay during the Battle of the Nile, is to be made shortly by a British syndicate. The Orient lies at a depth at whieh salvage work Was considered impossible, until the salvage work done in connection with the liner Egypt prompted Commander Claude Wool!aid, a retired navy man, to investigate the possibilities. InfO'-mation regarding the Orient's position and treasure was obtained Erom Rev. Spencer Woolward, a grandson of Commander Spencer Woolward, who served as a midshipman aboard H.M.S. Alexander, one of the ships whieh participated in the sinking of the Orient. The treasure consists party of money whieh the French seized at Malta and party of other gold aboard for payme~=t of the French forces, then in Egypt. Aboukir Bay was the scene of the Brttle of the Nile, August 1, 1789, in whieh Lord Nelson, although outnumbered, defeated the French, fleet of 17 ships, commanded by Admiral Brueys. The enemy fleet was acting convoy for a number of transports. Stealing into the bay under cover of darkness, Nelson's ships anchored and raked the eriemy with terrific fire. The Orient, whieh carried the French admiral's flag, caught fire, and sank at 10 p.m., four hours after the commencement of the battle.