Lamont Young
Encyclopedia
Lamont H. Young was an assistant geological surveyor for the New South Wales Mines Department. He mysteriously disappeared while on field-work at Bermagui, New South Wales
.
Young was inspecting the new goldfields at Bermagui in 1880. In order to investigate possible sites further north, Young and his assistant travelled on a small boat with the boat's owner, Thomas Towers of Batemans Bay
, and two of Towers's friends. All five disappeared on 10 October. In the morning the boat was observed, but stationary and with apparently only one man on board. Later in the day the vessel was seen stranded on the rocks with no-one on board. The boat was found to contain five bags full of clothing, Young's books and papers, a bullet in its starboard side and some vomit. The men were not found despite subsequent searches, rewards, government inquiries and wide media coverage. The remnants of a fire, some food and three shirt studs were the only traces. The mystery was never solved. Unusual aspects of the wreck were that the planks of the boat were stove-out rather than stove-in, the boat contained several large rocks and the anchor and stern ropes were missing.
Apart from Thomas Towers and Lamont Young, the other men who disappeared were Young's assistant Max Schneider and the other two boatmen, William Lloyd and Samuel Casey.
received its name because of the disappearance. The bay is 15 kilometres north of Bermagui, midway between Bermagui and Narooma
, near Tilba
. There is a park and a road at Mystery Bay named after Lamont Young. A monument was erected at Mystery Bay in 1980 to mark the centenary of the disappearance.
The wrong names are recorded on the monument. The accompanying boatmen were Samuel Casey and William Henry Lloyd. Bartholomew Casey was the son of Samuel Casey and lived to be 82 years old. Samuel's wife Anne Casey was buried at Moruya. Her gravestone correctly records that it was her husband Samuel that disappeared.
's detective novel, The Mystery of Swordfish Reef, is based on Young's disappearance.
The Australian author, Cyril Pearl also wrote of the mystery in his 1978 book, Five Men Vanished: The Bermagui Mystery.
A 1910 article, Bermagui - In a Strange Sunset, published by Henry Lawson
in The Bulletin
describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney. Lawson mentions the disappearance of Young 30 years before.
In 1987 the Endeavour Theatre Company of Bega performed Montreal: The Bermagui Mystery an original play by Jamie Forbes based on the disappearance of Lamont Young and company.
Bermagui, New South Wales
Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. The name is derived from the Dyirringanj word, permageua, possibly meaning 'canoe with paddles'....
.
Young was inspecting the new goldfields at Bermagui in 1880. In order to investigate possible sites further north, Young and his assistant travelled on a small boat with the boat's owner, Thomas Towers of Batemans Bay
Batemans Bay, New South Wales
- Media :Radio Stations*East Coast Radio 2EC *Power FM NSW South Coast - POWER FM from Nowra can also be received in parts of Batemans Bay on FM 94.9....
, and two of Towers's friends. All five disappeared on 10 October. In the morning the boat was observed, but stationary and with apparently only one man on board. Later in the day the vessel was seen stranded on the rocks with no-one on board. The boat was found to contain five bags full of clothing, Young's books and papers, a bullet in its starboard side and some vomit. The men were not found despite subsequent searches, rewards, government inquiries and wide media coverage. The remnants of a fire, some food and three shirt studs were the only traces. The mystery was never solved. Unusual aspects of the wreck were that the planks of the boat were stove-out rather than stove-in, the boat contained several large rocks and the anchor and stern ropes were missing.
Apart from Thomas Towers and Lamont Young, the other men who disappeared were Young's assistant Max Schneider and the other two boatmen, William Lloyd and Samuel Casey.
Memorial
Mystery BayMystery Bay, New South Wales
Mystery Bay is a small town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Mystery Bay is located halfway between Central Tilba and Narooma, two kilometers off the Princes Highway on Mystery Bay Road. At the 2006 census, Mystery Bay had a population of 168 people. Mystery Bay features a camping...
received its name because of the disappearance. The bay is 15 kilometres north of Bermagui, midway between Bermagui and Narooma
Narooma, New South Wales
Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway. The name is said to be derived from the Aboriginal word meaning ‘clear blue waters’. At the 2006 census, Narooma had a population of 3,100 people.Montague Island, a National...
, near Tilba
Tilba, New South Wales
Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba are two villages in Eurobodalla Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Central Tilba had a population of 223 people, and Tilba Tilba had a population of 275 people....
. There is a park and a road at Mystery Bay named after Lamont Young. A monument was erected at Mystery Bay in 1980 to mark the centenary of the disappearance.
The wrong names are recorded on the monument. The accompanying boatmen were Samuel Casey and William Henry Lloyd. Bartholomew Casey was the son of Samuel Casey and lived to be 82 years old. Samuel's wife Anne Casey was buried at Moruya. Her gravestone correctly records that it was her husband Samuel that disappeared.
The disappearance in literature
The plot of Arthur UpfieldArthur Upfield
Arthur William Upfield was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine....
's detective novel, The Mystery of Swordfish Reef, is based on Young's disappearance.
The Australian author, Cyril Pearl also wrote of the mystery in his 1978 book, Five Men Vanished: The Bermagui Mystery.
A 1910 article, Bermagui - In a Strange Sunset, published by Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
in The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney. Lawson mentions the disappearance of Young 30 years before.
In 1987 the Endeavour Theatre Company of Bega performed Montreal: The Bermagui Mystery an original play by Jamie Forbes based on the disappearance of Lamont Young and company.