I'm writing up a Breaking News piece for the TIGHAR website. Having now captured all of the individual frames from the lo-res contact sheets, there are 45 frames total. Some are near duplicates but every part of the island was photographed from several angles. Let's recognize what we have here. Fifteen months after the Earhart disappearance and before anybody has set foot on the island, we have original large-format negatives on fine-grain, high-quality film of aerial photos for every part of the atoll. Unbelievable.
I'm reading this after long absences from the forum, but I would like to offer an update.
I see references to the Maude party being on Gardner around October 1937, but there was another party (it would appear to have been the Resident Commissioner for the area) was on the beach at Gardner in February 1937 - 4 months before Earhart may have got there, which makes it 7 months before Maude arrived.
Which of course, means that if she landed somewhere near the Norwich City there should have still been a flag pole on the beach, and a fairly new sign.
The document I have detailing the visit is unsigned, other than "I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Excellency's most obedient servant, Resident Commissioner,".
It is on letterhead of "Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, Office Of The Resident Commissioner, Ocean Island. Marked Confidential (as all Govt correspondence was) and dated 28th May 1937.
It is sent to "His Excellency, The High Commissioner For The Western Pacific,"
On another island he notes "A small stone mound was hastily erected close to the landing place, on top of shich the flag was planted and a notice-board with the usual inscription placed at the base".
That, in combination with the mention of raising the flag and leaving a notice board at Gardner, is what makes me think there just might have been remnants of a flag there if Earhart landed.
It seems at least the sign may have still been there when the NZ survey party was there. I wonder if, assuming Earhart made it to Niku, there might have been some sort of message in the vicinity..
The photographs would have been taken fifteen months after the Earhart disappearance and Nineteen months SINCE anybody had set foot on the island.
However 4 months before Earhart disappeared, there was an exploration of Gardner Island on the 15th February 1937 and they hoisted 'the flag' and placed a notice board was placed at the edge of the scrub, 50 yards south of the landing place. The landing place was mid way between Reef Pt and S.W. Point.
This party spent two hours exploring the island and noted that on 15th Feb 1937, a few months before Earhart disappeared, there were only a dozen or so coconut trees growing on the island, but also that there were, in their words, 'millions of coconut crabs'.
Lambrecht said "Most of this island is covered with tropical vegetation with, here and there, a grove of coconut palms. Here signs of recent habitation were clearly visible but.."
I wonder if he saw something left from the visit by LEITH only 4 months earlier? But I'll make mention of that in a separate post.
Cheers,
Th' WOMBAT.