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00:11The Australian Outback.
00:15Vast.
00:18Remote.
00:21Hostile.
00:24For two men, this is the backdrop to a lifelong obsession.
00:31This is what we do.
00:33This is who we are.
00:34A childhood pact.
00:38To solve a 100-year-old mystery.
00:42We've been called eccentric and all sorts of different things.
00:46Finding Australia's El Dorado.
00:49A lost fortune in gold.
00:56Clues from one man hold the key.
00:59I think he did find it and he actually wanted somebody else to find it as well.
01:06In 1897, Harold Lasseter staggered out of the desert.
01:14Claiming to have discovered a massive outcrop of gold, known as a reef, worth billions.
01:22Decades later, while on an expedition to rediscover his fortune, Lasseter perished.
01:30Taking to the grave the secret location of his gold.
01:37Now, a new expedition is out.
01:41To discover the truth.
01:43Coming in real fast, eh?
01:46Survive the Outback.
01:48Snake, snake.
01:48Big brown.
01:49Oh, whoa.
01:50And just maybe, become billionaires in the process.
01:55Look at that.
01:55Bad income, check this out.
01:57We found gold.
01:58Yes!
02:08Last time...
02:09This isn't looking real good, bro.
02:11You gonna get it?
02:12Alright, hang on.
02:13Flooded roads threatened to derail the expedition.
02:16We got it, boys.
02:17Oh, it's alright.
02:18We've done it.
02:19Hunting three distinct hills that could lead to the lost reef.
02:23We find those hills, mate.
02:24We find the gold.
02:25Oh my goodness.
02:27He absconded.
02:28Tanya uncovered that Lasseter escaped detention, making it possible that he did find his gold,
02:35as he claimed.
02:36He may have been out in the Outback.
02:40Mm-hmm.
02:40Wow.
02:40Armed with a high-tech drone, the team discovered the clues didn't line up.
02:45I'm starting to feel like this isn't the right spot to look.
02:49They just don't seem to be the right hills.
02:51To me, this doesn't look anything like gold country.
02:55Finally...
02:56Got something.
02:57The team was rewarded with a tantalising clue.
03:00Hey!
03:01Have a look at this!
03:02It's an old tin.
03:03Holy moly.
03:05Wow, that's great.
03:06This is something Lasseter would have carried.
03:09Bringing them another step closer to the reef.
03:17G'day, Andrew.
03:17How are you?
03:18How are you guys?
03:19Whereabouts are you, mate?
03:20Yeah, I'm in Alice.
03:21I'm not far off getting out, heading out your way, guys.
03:23So I'm absolutely...
03:24I can't wait.
03:25So...
03:25Deep in Sandhill country, 600 kilometres from Alice Springs, the team is linking up with
03:32prospector and geologist, Andrew Bales, for his expert opinion on the rusted tin that
03:38could prove Lasseter was here.
03:42And JC, metal detected a small tin.
03:47Mate, it's a river.
03:48Yeah, it is, isn't it?
03:49Can you show it a bit closer, Geoff?
03:50It looks that age, right?
03:52Yeah.
03:53It's a corned beef, effectively, and a gelatin.
03:56And I reckon that marries up looking at the piece when you showed up close there, Geoff.
03:59It's the era.
04:00So a very strong chance that this was perhaps dropped by Lasseter.
04:04You never know, mate.
04:05This might have been Lasseter's last feed before his camels did the bowl.
04:10Before losing his camels, Lasseter recorded in his diary that he had pegged several quartz
04:16reefs as mining leases, including his famous gold reef.
04:23With new information, Andrew has discovered that one of those leases is close to the team's
04:29current location, at a place called Piltardi Rock Hole.
04:34And you were saying you were looking into the Piltardi Rock Hole?
04:38Yeah, I've been doing a bit of research on that guy.
04:40Talbot was, I guess, a surveyor geologist who came out here following the steps of Lasseter
04:48and he came across his leases.
04:51In 1931, just months after Lasseter's death, another gold expedition followed hot on his
04:58trail.
05:00Team geologist Henry Talbot found Lasseter's leases, but with limited equipment, concluded he
05:06was doubtful they held gold.
05:10However, Andrew has some new tech that will give him an edge over geologists of the past.
05:17I've got a bit of geophysics equipment that's really going to help us punch into the ground
05:22so we can see.
05:23That'll be cool, Andrew.
05:24That sounds really good.
05:25We'll go find somewhere to camp up near Piltardi Rock Hole and we'll meet you over there.
05:29Sounds good, mate.
05:30I'm looking forward to it.
05:31I can't wait to get to Piltardi.
05:35First stop for the team, Piltardi Rock Hole, where Lasseter pegged leases.
05:42We're tracing Lasseter, so we've got to find those places that Lasseter actually camped
05:48at.
05:48And again, this is another one that he camped at.
05:52From Piltardi, the team will attempt to reach the remote location where Lasseter died.
05:59After his camels bolted, Lasseter spent a month in a cave, slowly starving, before attempting
06:06to walk back to civilisation.
06:09He never made it, dying en route four days later.
06:15To actually make it to Lasseter's grave, it is something that Geoff and I have actually
06:19spoken about a lot, to actually do that as a pilgrimage.
06:23There's a very limited amount of people who have actually seen that place.
06:31Get a copy there, Rex and Leo, mate.
06:33Yeah, we're here Brendan, when you just come across that creek there.
06:37On your right hand side there's a turn off, so we're just down that little crack there.
06:43The team are rendezvousing with cultural guides Leo Abbott and Lloyd Inkamala, support
06:50driver Rex Spencer and traditional owner Clive Shaw.
06:56We've got the buggy on board.
06:59We'll just head up this track here and we'll make camp up there about, oh roughly about
07:0420 clicks.
07:05Yeah, beauty mate, no worries.
07:08Meanwhile, Andrew is on his way from Alice Springs with his new high-tech device on board.
07:15I've got with me some electromagnetic equipment that enables you to look into the ground and
07:20visually see targets that you can't see from the surface.
07:24Up to 50 metres this thing will read.
07:26It's like a big metal detector.
07:27So if there's a reef there, this is the machine that will pick it up.
07:47He's got a toy.
07:49Finally got here.
07:50Mate.
07:50How are you, mate?
07:51How are you boys?
07:53You got the fire going?
07:54How you been, alright?
07:54You're looking all well settled.
07:55Good to see you.
07:57Good to see you mate.
07:59Good to see you mate.
08:00Good to see you mate.
08:01Good to see you mate.
08:01Good to see you.
08:01Been a while hey?
08:02Yes.
08:02Good to see you.
08:11To explore the areas pegged by Lasseter, Geoff and Brendan are counting on Andrew's expertise.
08:18We're not geologists.
08:20To have people like Andrew on board, he can actually help us read the country.
08:28Just so you give a reference, we're camped down here at the end of the range.
08:31Yep.
08:32The rock hole sits basically a structural area just in through here.
08:36But what's really interesting is where Lasseter put his claims, there seems to this fault
08:42structure that's cutting through the range, he's pretty much on that fault zone.
08:45And it's a really good zone where you're going to get the potential for quartz and gold mineralisation
08:50to come up.
08:51The movement of these tectonic plates that are rubbing next to each other, but within
08:56that you get faults and these faults are actually where the gold will be.
09:00So where there's space, the quartz can intrude and with the quartz can come the gold.
09:06The Talbot Diaries gave us a really good insight.
09:09What did Talbot actually say in his diary about it?
09:12Well, he went in there and they only spent a few hours in the morning sampling the tenements,
09:16the leases that he pegged.
09:18I think you'd spend longer than that.
09:20You would, wouldn't you?
09:20Yeah, I think so.
09:21We really wanted to check if there's something there.
09:23Absolutely.
09:23This is going to be interesting, guys.
09:25Yeah.
09:25So I reckon we should just get metal detecting out there and having a wander around
09:28be a first target, I reckon.
09:30Well, I'm keen.
09:31Alright, let's go.
09:33Catch it.
09:38Yeah Andy, I'm looking at the coordinates now.
09:41We're pretty much close to it now mate.
09:44It's just over this little ridge I think.
09:47Lasseter's pegs marking the lease may have disappeared over time.
09:52But in 1931, Talbot recorded their location.
09:57Talbot had the coordinates for where Lasseter pegged his claim.
10:00So that gives us a spot on target to get to.
10:03Oh yeah, no, definitely some quartz blows running through here.
10:06This is amazing.
10:07We'll follow up.
10:09Right on.
10:10This looks great.
10:16Look at this.
10:18This is what you look for.
10:20You can see your copper oxide through here, your ironstone,
10:24and then obviously this is mineralisation and everything through here.
10:29What do you think Andrew?
10:30Yeah, this looks really good.
10:31You know, lots of breaks and cracks and fractures.
10:35So it's a good sign.
10:37You know an even better sign?
10:39Someone's dug a big hole.
10:41Right on top of it.
10:42I mean, the amount of work they put in here.
10:44That's right, yeah.
10:45It's not getting cold.
10:46Well, I think we're wasting time standing here.
10:48I'm pretty keen to get some technology out.
10:55I would suggest that Lasseter have done these holes.
10:57It was definitely in the area.
10:59It was definitely prospecting.
11:01Who knows?
11:02But I mean, anything we find that's evident, or Lasseter in this country, I'd be happy to find.
11:11Hear that noise?
11:12Yep.
11:14Well, that's the one we're listening for.
11:15That's what we're looking for.
11:16So it's about there, mate.
11:17Yep.
11:22That's plenty.
11:27Yep.
11:27What have we got?
11:29A bit of tin.
11:31There you go.
11:35What have you got, mate?
11:37Ah, it's a shard.
11:38Another explosive shard, hey?
11:39Yep.
11:40Ah, still inside that blossom here.
11:42I think we've been making our way around the workings, around this ridge.
11:47Sadly, it's got a fair bit of iron across it.
11:49A lot of tin.
11:50A lot of broken up bits of tin.
11:51Ah, and most of it's come from the explosive charges I've used in digging up some of the
11:56holes here, digging through some of the quartz.
11:59If they're using explosives here, they're pretty serious.
12:01They were trying to get into it.
12:02They were getting cold.
12:06There you go.
12:07Bit of tin?
12:08Yep.
12:09Another piece.
12:11They would've just got a little charge.
12:13They would've put them in between some rocks.
12:15They would've just lit the fuse, walked back, kaboom.
12:18Because that would've blown into millions of little places.
12:21Sounds like the surface.
12:24No.
12:25A little bit of steel, is it?
12:29No, .
12:30Really?
12:34Oh, .
12:36Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
12:40That's it.
12:42That's gold.
12:45That is off the charts.
12:46That is awesome.
12:48Oh, what a find.
12:50Oh, mate.
12:51Look at that.
12:53We're in where Lasseter was.
12:55Where he actually prospected.
12:57We're on his claims.
12:58We've found gold.
13:01This could be Lasseter's Reef.
13:11Found gold.
13:12Yes!
13:12Oh, we did it again.
13:14Well done, mate.
13:15Good on you now.
13:16All right, mate.
13:18I've got gold.
13:19All right.
13:19Keep going.
13:20Near Piltardi Rockhole, the expedition team have found a quartz specimen loaded with gold.
13:27I've been waiting for nearly 40 years to find a speck of gold out in Lasseter country.
13:31I know.
13:32And he's just done it.
13:33Well, mate, we're in the right place, yeah?
13:34I mean, it feels good here.
13:36That's the sort of specie Lasseter we've been showing around.
13:38Yeah.
13:39That's exactly what he was showing around.
13:40That's a showing.
13:41Yeah, this roof could possibly be a pretty rich roof.
13:45Could easy be.
13:46I'm pretty wrapped, mate.
13:47Pretty wrapped.
13:48I mean, we've put a lot of work and a lot of effort into getting to this spot.
13:52To be in a place where Lasseter had pegged leases to find gold here is pretty amazing.
13:57We've got a lot of doubters out there who said, no, you'll never find gold out there.
14:01And here she is.
14:09In Sydney, the expedition's historian, Tanya Evans, has been digging deep into Lasseter's
14:16story, finding gold of her own in the film archive.
14:22I've been following up on a lead about an American producer, a documentary maker named
14:30Lau Thomas.
14:30It was a sort of mid-20th century version of Michael Palin or Martin Clunes.
14:36And it seems that he made a documentary in 1956 on Lasseter entitled High Adventure with
14:43Lau Thomas.
14:52This time from the heart of Australia, a continent, an island about the size of the United States.
14:59More wildlife in the desert.
15:01And that amiable marsupial, the koala, the honey bear.
15:05And the kookaburra, the birds at last.
15:11The expedition fell apart.
15:13All returned to Sydney, except Lasseter who vanished.
15:17What happened to Lasseter?
15:19And what of his fabulous gold?
15:21Well, if we do find somebody here, well, how can we tell whether it's Lasseter?
15:27Well, we've got death to death.
15:29Oh, my goodness me.
15:32That is, they have literally, they seem to be in the process of digging up Lasseter's bones.
15:41This is really, really, really hard to watch.
15:47Thomas is literally sitting there with what he's claimed to be Lasseter's skull in his hands.
15:55Lass, Harry, I didn't know you well.
15:57However, there is one thing I do know.
15:59You may have been a failure, a fake and a fraud.
16:03But, to have lived and wandered alone as you did out here in this wilderness,
16:07you must have been a great bushman.
16:10Extraordinary scenes.
16:11Actually, I don't know how to interpret that.
16:14I just, it's very, very, very disturbing to watch.
16:16The great mystery of the Australian back of the beyond.
16:23Not one ounce of compassion, not one single mention of Lasseter's family.
16:29That is truly, truly terrible.
16:42How'd you go?
16:43Well, we just went down as far as we could and that reef just peed it out to nothing,
16:47but we couldn't find anything after that.
16:49After three more hours of hunting for gold on the surface,
16:53the team have come up empty handed.
16:57Andrew suspects it lies deeper than their detectors can reach.
17:02By using this machinery, this gear, electronics,
17:05we can actually look to see if the reef does extend underground.
17:09So I reckon we'll get it out, we'll start doing some gridding.
17:11Is it a two-man operation?
17:13It's a two-man operation.
17:14Or is it okay?
17:14Yeah, so I'll have the sender.
17:16Brendan will be behind me with a receiver.
17:18So you don't need us?
17:19No, I think we'll be right.
17:21You had a bit of a plan, didn't you?
17:22Yeah, I'm pretty keen to get down to the water hole,
17:24see what we can find down there.
17:26Okay.
17:26So we'll meet you back at camp later, I suppose.
17:28Sounds good.
17:29We'll meet you there.
17:30Good luck.
17:33Oh yeah, this is some serious kit.
17:37Worth $125,000, the geophysics scanning technology, known as a loop,
17:45is used by miners and engineers to analyse underground structures.
17:51Once collected, the data is processed off-site at a computer lab.
17:56Get the Starlink up, send it in to the guys in Perth, fingers crossed we've got some results
18:01in the next few days, it'll be good.
18:03Excellent.
18:03I'll make a move now mate, we'll start getting the signal.
18:06Let's go.
18:06Good luck.
18:12We're going to cross cut and do 50 metre grid, and that should then give us a nice grid across
18:18it.
18:20Electromagnetic waves generated by the front transmitter penetrate 50 metres into the earth,
18:26from which the rear receiver can measure the ground's conductivity.
18:31Quartz is highly non-conductive and should be clearly visible in the results.
18:37For it to be Lasseter's Reef, it needs to be 14 miles long.
18:43It's so amazing to think that we're just on the cusp.
18:47We're right on that edge.
18:48Within three days, we might know whether or not this is Lasseter's Reef.
19:02Beautiful country, isn't it?
19:04Looking forward to seeing this waterhole.
19:06Finding any water in the desert's like going to a bloody flash resort, isn't it?
19:10It is, isn't it?
19:11Yeah, well it is.
19:12It's the oasis of the desert.
19:13It is.
19:15The Piltardi Rockhole is the only permanent water source for 50 kilometres.
19:20It has been crucial to sustaining life in the region for eons.
19:26During dry seasons, this water's always here.
19:29I mean, this is the main water source for all explorers, for the animals, for the locals that are living
19:34around here.
19:35So without this, you know, we've got no life out here.
19:40Located just two kilometres from his claims, Lasseter would have sourced water from here and could possibly have left clues
19:49behind.
19:51Oh, look up here, Jeff.
19:52I'm coming.
19:53Oh, yeah, look at that.
20:02Bloody magic.
20:03Oh, this is what the famous waterhole Piltardi looks like, eh?
20:08You can just picture those old explorers sitting in there.
20:11Yeah.
20:11Bare naked with their hats on.
20:15Sitting along the shelf there, talking about their next big golf on or the one they've already found.
20:19Yeah.
20:21You can imagine how they felt when they first got here.
20:25If only these rocks could tell you a story.
20:29What do you say we head back down and have a bit of a look around?
20:32Sounds good to me.
20:33Alright, well, I'll follow you.
20:35I'd like to definitely have a look around for old relics.
20:38You know, because Lasseter was known for burying objects here and there on these travels.
20:51Nice shady spot where people would have been camped up.
20:54Well, you never know.
20:55You might find a buried pulid beef tin.
21:03Oh, wow.
21:051936.
21:06This is unreal.
21:07There's more.
21:08There's more.
21:21Trigurtha.
21:22Trigurtha.
21:22So, he was a really famous prospector.
21:25Is it 18?
21:251896.
21:27So, when did Lasseter apparently find the gold?
21:30First time he found it apparently was in 1897.
21:33So, Trigurtha comes through a year before.
21:35Mm-hmm.
21:36Well, he went to New Guinea.
21:37He was in the Klondike.
21:39Yeah.
21:40That's amazing.
21:41Geoff and JC have discovered the name of famous prospector, James Trigurtha,
21:47carved into rock near the site of Lasseter's claims, suggesting that Lasseter wasn't the
21:53only gold digger interested in this area over 100 years ago.
21:58Knowing his history and that he found gold in Western Australia makes you think that he
22:04thought there was something there himself, because he didn't go there for nothing.
22:08He went there because he thought there was gold, rumours of gold, maybe even found gold.
22:14Uh, HB.
22:16I would say that's Robert Henry Buck.
22:20Bob Buck.
22:21Oh.
22:21He was searching for Lasseter.
22:23He's found him on the other side of this ridge.
22:26On the other side?
22:27On the other side.
22:28Oh.
22:29Bob Buck was an experienced local bushman sent to rescue Lasseter.
22:36With the help of Aboriginal people, he found Lasseter's body and buried him just 20 kilometres
22:43to the west of Piltardi.
22:46Twenty-six years later, the bones were dug up by Lowell Thomas and his film crew.
22:53They took them back to Alice Springs, where they were charged with desecrating a grave.
23:01Lasseter was finally laid to rest in the Alice Springs Cemetery.
23:07But the controversy lives on.
23:10Here we have an article from People magazine, February the 9th, 1955, that appears to be an
23:18interview with Fred Blakely, who led the expedition to find the reef in 1930.
23:23And in it, he's claiming that Lasseter was lying all along.
23:31It's an amazing article.
23:33So, it says that he claims that Lasseter was never a bushman, knew nothing of gold mining or mineralogy,
23:40and never had a gold reef.
23:42Even more provocatively, and this is the most extraordinary claim he makes in this article,
23:49is that Lasseter did not die in the outback, but in fact faked his own death, escaped from Australia,
23:58moved to America, where he lived out his days as a Mormon pastor.
24:03I mean, I know that there were tensions between Blakely and Lasseter during the course of the expedition.
24:10We know they had their arguments.
24:12But for what reason would he become involved in this interview and make these extraordinary claims?
24:24Back at the team's camp, Tanya has called in with the revelations of what became of Lasseter following his death,
24:32starting with the illegal exhumation of his body.
24:36And the documentary ends with this team digging up what they claim to be Lasseter's grave.
24:43Oh, jeez.
24:45Picking out bits of bones in the process, and Thomas, the presenter, ends the documentary,
24:53sort of cradling Lasseter's skull, you know, makes a kind of reference to Hamlet.
24:58It's actually really disturbing to watch.
25:01And then I discovered this interview with Fred Blakely, who makes these extraordinary claims about Lasseter,
25:11faking his own death, escaping to the United States where he supposedly lived out his life as a Mormon pastor.
25:19It is such a critical article of Lasseter.
25:24Well, what do you think about that, guys?
25:27Yeah.
25:28That's how I'm gobsmacked in a number of ways.
25:29That's an awesome story.
25:31Yeah.
25:31But I have really, really, really exciting news.
25:34For a long time now, I've been trying to get hold of Lasseter's descendants.
25:40And guess what?
25:41Rob Lasseter, his grandson, has got back to me.
25:45I can't believe it.
25:46Wow.
25:47Well done.
25:47I'm off to see what he has to say about Lasseter as well.
25:50Amazing.
25:51So is he?
25:51That's pretty cool.
25:52Yeah.
25:53I just see this as a really important opportunity to be able to piece together.
25:58Sort out a fact from fiction.
26:00Have you actually visited the site of Lasseter's grave?
26:05Planning on going there tomorrow.
26:07Oh, wonderful.
26:08And look, I'll try and find out as much as I can from Rob about his grandfather's last
26:14days.
26:14That'd be great.
26:14That'd be awesome.
26:15Thanks, Tanya.
26:15Tanya.
26:16We'll catch up soon.
26:17Bye.
26:18See you later.
26:18Thanks, Matt.
26:19Bye-bye.
26:23We've got a map here.
26:24This is where we believe it is.
26:26We've sort of estimated it's somewhere down here where we put the pin pointer.
26:30Yep.
26:31The country out there near Lasseter's grave is quite remote.
26:35I don't even believe there's a track out there anymore.
26:38What would it be like to get in there in that terrain?
26:40There's been a lot of rain through there and, you know, the track could have been washed
26:44out.
26:45It's probably been a long time since anyone's been in there.
26:47Yeah, that's right.
26:48It could be getting a little bit sketchy, yeah?
26:50Yeah.
26:51In bits and pieces, yeah, I would say so.
26:53All right.
26:54Well, I reckon we hit the road as quick as we can.
26:56I'm pretty antsy to get out there.
26:57Yep.
27:00It feels like a bit of a pilgrimage.
27:03I mean, Brendan have been working on this so long.
27:05We're actually going to where he actually passed away.
27:08So, yeah, for us it's important.
27:11The journey to Lasseter's grave takes the team into the most brutal terrain they've faced
27:17so far.
27:19Terrain that Lasseter traversed on foot, dehydrated and starving.
27:25There'll be quite a few risks.
27:27It's not only flat tyres, but we'll be climbing over rocky outcrops that could damage the vehicle
27:31or even make it unstable.
27:34In some places there is no tracks, so hopefully traditional owners are going to be able to
27:39lead us in and get us there safely.
27:43I've been to some remote places in Australia.
27:46I've got to say this is one of the most remote.
27:58Cheers, mate.
27:58This is going to be dicey.
28:01Just watch it a bit, that's all.
28:03Yeah.
28:04Nice and steady.
28:11I didn't have a look at that rock there.
28:13Were we all right?
28:14Yeah, well done.
28:16Well done, well done.
28:17Oh.
28:21Clear my right.
28:23It's all right, mate.
28:24Doing well this side.
28:26We're in low.
28:31Let's go.
28:32That's it, mate.
28:32You're free.
28:40I reckon we're out of the woods.
28:42Looks like it.
28:44I think we've come through the worst bit.
28:46We should be all right now.
28:53So here I am in northern New South Wales and I am really excited to be meeting with Rob Lasseter
29:02because I really want to figure out if Blakely's really kind of frankly outrageous claims about Lasseter
29:11faking his own death and escaping to the US is actually true.
29:18I cannot wait to meet with him and learn more about his ancestor.
29:30Hello.
29:31How are you?
29:32Hi, Tanya.
29:33Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me.
29:35Pleased to meet you.
29:36Bless you.
29:37So lovely to meet you too.
29:38Yes.
29:38Hi.
29:39Lovely to meet you too.
29:41Yeah, thank you.
29:42Thank you so much.
29:43Yes, that's all right.
29:44So, I can't wait to hear what you have to tell me.
29:46Right.
29:47Well, just come this way.
29:49Thank you so much.
29:51My dad spent many years collecting all this stuff.
29:55There's a lot of information here.
29:59Wow.
30:00What do we have in here?
30:01Oh my goodness.
30:04This is a real treasure trove.
30:07Wow.
30:18You have so many things.
30:21Wow.
30:22Where do we start?
30:23Where do we start?
30:24Oh boy.
30:25I don't know.
30:25Where do we start?
30:27Yeah.
30:28In northern New South Wales, historian Tanya Evans has tracked down Rob Lasseter, Harold
30:35Lasseter's grandson and custodian of Lasseter's artefacts.
30:39One of the well-known items is his sextant.
30:44This is the sextant that my grandfather took out to the center.
30:50There are fish hooks, key, nails and things, some rock samples, chrysoprase.
30:56You might remember that when Bob Buck found my grandfather and buried him, they put a post-a-rail
31:03fence around.
31:06That's the bottom of one of those posts, burnt off at ground level.
31:09Oh my goodness.
31:10Okay.
31:10Which we found when we dug around there to build the can.
31:16Here's the, that's that post fence.
31:20Yes, yes, yes.
31:20It was at the grave that Bob Buck erected.
31:24This is it back in.
31:25In the film.
31:26The 1957.
31:27Yeah.
31:28Film, Lowell Thomas expedition.
31:31And they dug up my dad's father's bones without my dad knowing about it.
31:36And so after that happened, my dad was really upset.
31:40I'm not surprised.
31:41When he heard about it.
31:42And they were actually charged with grave robbing.
31:45And then there was a court case.
31:47And had your dad talked about that court case at all?
31:50Or not?
31:51Yeah, it was dropped.
31:52Now we don't know why it was ever dropped.
31:54Lowell Thomas claimed that he wasn't involved in it.
31:58He was obviously directly involved with it because he's standing there on film holding
32:02a skull like this.
32:04Which was pretty hard for my dad, you know.
32:06So my dad felt a responsibility to stand up for his father.
32:11Especially after things like Blakely's came out in the People magazine.
32:15Mm-hmm.
32:17You know, very negatively and claiming that my grandfather never died.
32:21He faked the whole thing and he took off to the US afterwards.
32:25I mean, that's pretty hurtful.
32:27You know, to basically say he abandoned his whole family.
32:30At the end of the day, you know, it's a family tragedy that we're talking about.
32:38Yeah.
32:57We're here, boys.
32:59Check this out.
33:15We'll find out.
33:17Hello, buddy.
33:17Yeah, hello, let me know you're doing nothing.
33:17Nice to have you,井.
33:27Yeah, never to worry about it.
33:28Welcome home.
33:28Yeah, goodbye.
33:29Kia Baker.
33:31trip for us.
33:3240 plus years.
33:35You're here now.
33:35Thanks a lot. Thank you.
33:37This is something you'd never really find if you were just driving around the bush.
33:40Thanks mate. Thanks for bringing us in.
33:42Good on you buddy.
33:44Thanks Clive. Thank you.
33:46There you go mate.
33:50Been looking at these spots since we were kids.
33:54I've been looking forward to this day.
33:56We shall see it.
34:02For me and Brennan, you know,
34:04two little kids got a dream.
34:06We're going to get there one day and
34:0840 odd years later we finally got it.
34:10We're here.
34:12To be in the area where that man
34:14actually passed away and the man we've been following
34:16most of our lives,
34:18it was a pretty somber moment for us.
34:25With rumours swirling
34:26of Lasseter faking his own death,
34:29the team's search for clues Lasseter was here.
34:33There's so many different stories out there.
34:35Did he take off? Did he disappear?
34:37Is this a stranger's grave?
34:39Not Lasseter.
34:40If we can find something that can reassure us
34:43that it was definitely him buried here.
34:45There's quite possible whales here
34:47that animals could have moved objects from him.
34:50So that's what the boys are out here looking around for now.
34:56Nice little cave here Geoff.
34:57Yeah.
34:58If his grave's only just there,
35:00I would take refuge in there.
35:02I reckon he could have hidden something
35:03up in the little holes or something.
35:05Oh jeez, it'd be alright to have a sleep in here.
35:07It's nice and cool in here.
35:09I can picture the locals probably helping him get into
35:12a little bit of a cool area like this
35:14and letting him just lay here and just pass away
35:17until they pulled him out and buried him I suppose.
35:22Nothing at all in here.
35:23Yeah.
35:23Pretty tight.
35:34How you going guys?
35:35How'd this go?
35:36Well mixed, mixed I'd say.
35:38I've managed to find a sardine tin.
35:41It probably dates 60, 70.
35:43So around the time they built the headstone.
35:46I think so.
35:47Normally you'd pick up a little bit of tin here and there
35:49but there was nothing.
35:53No mate.
35:54Personally I still believe this is the point where Lasseter
35:57was laid to rest.
35:59But to me it was more sentimental to make it here.
36:02To actually be here now and be in contact with it.
36:06To me that's pretty special.
36:08But yeah, walking through this country,
36:11you know, leaving that cave on foot,
36:12it would have been a scary moment for him for sure.
36:16But it would have been great if he got back
36:17and, you know, followed on with his dream.
36:22All right old matey.
36:24Any help you can give us finding your reef,
36:26let us in on your secret.
36:29We're really waiting for you mate.
36:33Oh we better get these guys moving.
36:35Yeah, all right.
36:37Let's do it.
36:41It's the end of Lasseter's journey.
36:43But it's still, you know, the beginning of ours.
36:53And do you think in this extraordinary treasure trove
36:56of yours and your father's,
36:58I might be able to find some evidence
36:59that your grandfather did actually pass away
37:02here in Australia?
37:04I'm sure there's evidence, yes.
37:06We have a whole file on his,
37:08on the reburial events
37:11when they brought his bones in.
37:14For Tanya, this is a golden opportunity
37:17to confirm Lasseter did die in the outback.
37:21It should be in here.
37:24Wonderful.
37:25Are you happy to leave me with this for a little while?
37:28Free to have a look.
37:28There we go.
37:29Thank you so much Rob.
37:30Goodness.
37:31You're welcome.
37:32I really appreciate your help.
37:33Mm-hmm.
37:35Well, I feel like a kid in a sweet shop right now.
37:39Those boys are out in the territory seeking gold.
37:43And this is, this is my kind of gold.
37:46This is my kind of treasure.
37:48And here we have a letter, 4th of March, 1958.
37:53Sent to the Secretary of the Department of Interior in Canberra.
37:58The two men referred to above brought the remains
38:01to Alice Springs Police Station
38:03where they were charged for their action.
38:05We've heard from Rob how upset he was by this.
38:11Having examined the depositions together with photographs
38:14of the grave and surrounding area,
38:16I am now of the opinion that the skeleton is that of my father,
38:19LHB Lasseter, who died while prospecting for gold
38:23about the 28th of January, 1931.
38:26This action should end the credence given to these rumours
38:30and the detrimental influence they have had in the past.
38:33So there seems no doubt that Bob Lasseter was certain
38:37that these remains were those of his father.
38:45What do we have here?
38:47We have a letter from the administrator in Darwin.
38:52From medical reports that were obtained at the time
38:55and from other evidence adduced,
38:57it appears to be almost certain
38:59that the remains were those of your father.
39:02Might I conclude by saying
39:04that I do appreciate something of the deep distress
39:07that this unfortunate happening must have caused you
39:10and other members of the family goodness
39:12or at least there's that.
39:15That's sympathy.
39:17I think we can rest assured that Blakely's claim
39:21was certainly ludicrous
39:23and we can put it to one side
39:26as we piece together this extraordinary story.
39:31At the end of the day, I would like to say
39:33it's a family tragedy
39:36irrespective of what people want to believe.
39:38You know, put the human face on it.
39:41You know, he died a terrible death out there
39:44of slow starvation in terrible conditions.
39:48You know, that's the sad side of it.
39:55Hey, gents, guess what?
39:57The Loop Geophysics Survey results have just come in.
39:59Oh, cool. I've been waiting for this.
40:02Getting these results was just so exciting.
40:04I mean, I've been just keyed up for the last four days
40:06waiting for this.
40:07The results hold the key to whether the area
40:10where the team found gold is, in fact,
40:14Lasseter's 14-mile gold reef.
40:17So, basically, what it's showing us here
40:20is we've got the ground that you and I, Brendan, worked.
40:24So, the colours here, that orange zone is the main range
40:27that was following along the side of us.
40:29That's showing the reef structures here.
40:31These are the quartz zones in blue.
40:33That's amazing technology.
40:35Isn't it?
40:35And I'll just run you around.
40:37You can see how it gives you a three-dimensional spin.
40:39And there's that dip that runs through the sea in there.
40:41Yeah.
40:41And my question is, as fascinating as this is,
40:43is this the reef?
40:44Well, I'm noticing it's not that long.
40:46No.
40:47Well, looking at those blue zones,
40:50they're really the zones we're after.
40:52That's the quartz reefs.
40:53Hard to say this, but unfortunately,
40:56it's just not connecting.
40:59It's just not hanging together.
41:01It's just not it.
41:03So, Lasseter said the reef was 14 miles
41:05and this isn't 14 miles.
41:07No.
41:07This isn't 14 miles.
41:09No.
41:11No doubt this system has gold in it, but it's patchy.
41:14So when Lasseter discovered his reef
41:16is he found a rich pocket of gold exposed to the surface.
41:19He did have that 14-mile length of quartz zone.
41:22This doesn't have the continuity
41:24to even be a portion of the 14-mile long reef.
41:27His reef, I think, sits somewhere else.
41:30Positive at first.
41:32You know, I thought, here we go.
41:34You know, this is it.
41:35This is the gold.
41:36We're on it, you know.
41:37But, you know, as he said,
41:38you know, it doesn't look promising at all.
41:41But we did find gold in Lasseter the Country,
41:43so that I was excited about.
41:52Well, the search continues.
41:54We've got to find a quartz reef that's 14 miles long
41:56that goes in and out of the ground.
41:59I was sitting there thinking about it while I was there.
42:01I was like, you're not going to come all this way for nothing.
42:05Even in his final days,
42:07he had a chance there in his diary to say,
42:10hey, you know, I was lying.
42:12But he never said that.
42:15I'm convinced 100% that Lasseter's reef is out here somewhere.
42:28Strap yourself in.
42:29Dekali claims that Lasseter mixed up.
42:34The location of the reef, 180 degrees.
42:37This reef is in a whole different location.
42:40We're going out now to actually have a look
42:42on what Dekali's talking about.
42:45This looks like the three eels here.
42:47Pretty similar to what Lasseter said.
42:49No way.
42:50Mate.
42:53Oh, man.
42:54That is reef gold.
42:55Got it.
42:55Hold on.
42:57Woo!
43:30You.
43:31You.
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