A century-old message in a bottle surfaced when Deb Brown, out clearing litter with her husband and daughter, found a thick glass bottle on remote Wharton Beach near Esperance. Inside were 1916 notes written days into a voyage to France: Pte Malcolm Neville told his mother the food was real good before he was killed months later at 28; Pte William Harley, 37, survived. Brown tracked down the families and delivered the letters to descendants, who were absolutely stunned. An oceanography professor said the bottle likely landed quickly and lay buried for 100 years.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.