Message in a bottle washed up after 76 years at sea

A message in a bottle has been washed up on a beach after 76 years at sea.

The 76-year-old note found inside the bottle
The 76-year-old note found inside the bottle Credit: RTV

The bottle was discovered in New Zealand by Geoff Flood, who managed to track down the grandson of the sender.

The bottle is being donated to a maritime museum in New Zealand
The bottle is being donated to a maritime museum in New Zealand Credit: RTV

Geoff says he saw the bottle wedged in the sand with a note inside dated March 17, 1936. It read:

Would the finder of this bottle kindly forward this note, where found, date, to undermentioned address.

Geoff Flood with the 76-year-old bottle
Geoff Flood with the 76-year-old bottle Credit: RTV

Geoff says he started looking for the sender, Herbert Ernest Hillbrick, only to discover that he had died in the 1940s. He then managed to find Herbert Hillbrick's grandson, Peter Hillbrick, who lives in Perth, Western Australia.