Overview
- Peter Brown and his daughter Felicity found a Schweppes bottle containing two letters on Oct. 9 at Wharton Beach near Esperance.
- The notes are dated Aug. 15, 1916 and name Privates Malcolm Neville and William Harley of the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion.
- Military details in the letters match the men’s departure from Australia on Aug. 12, 1916 aboard the HMAT A70 Ballarat.
- Neville was later killed in World War I, while Harley survived the war and died of cancer in 1934.
- Despite being wet, the writing was readable, allowing Deb Brown to trace relatives via Facebook, who reacted with surprise and emotion.