Urunga’s mystery message in bottle scribe Joelle Phegan found
The young boys who found a mysterious message in a bottle on a muddy riverbank on the Mid-North Coast said it was a ‘one in a million’ find – and now the author of the ornate love letter can be revealed.
Mid-North Coast
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The young boys who found a mysterious message in a bottle on a muddy riverbank on the Mid-North Coast said it was a ‘one in a million’ find – and now the scribe of the ornate love letter can be revealed.
Four friends out and about on the river at Newry Island near Urunga found the glass bottle late last month after they were drawn to a gold lid poking out of the side of the riverbank at low tide.
They were intrigued when they realised a letter was inside and used sticks to get it out.
The style of writing and loving requests to ‘hunt and gather as our ancestors did’; ‘stand in the fire with me’; and ‘stroke my hair and hold me as I sleep’ had them pretty baffled.
Paula Tate, the mother of twin boys Marc and Zebby who were among the boys who found it, imagined it was penned by a jilted lover.
As news of the rare find spread, two Bellingen women knew straight away where the bottle had come from.
One - who wants to remain anonymous to keep the mystery alive - messaged her friend and naturopath Joelle Phegan, who she had celebrated Galentine’s Day with this year.
She told Ms Phegan it was her message that featured in the Daily Telegraph story last week.
“I was amazed it really is one in a million and I just love that the boys were so intrigued,” she said.
“It made my heart warm they were out adventuring.”
In the spirit of the day – ‘Galentine’s Day’, just like Valentine’s Day but for women celebrating their relationships with each other – the friends who are both currently single spent the afternoon at the beach, gave each other flowers, drank tea and wrote letters.
They both placed them in bottles and threw them off the bridge on the old highway over the Kalang River at Urunga.
“It was written off the cuff, to the universe, to call in a relationship of reciprocity,” Ms Phegan said.
“To call in my great love...or not.
“But most of all it was for the funsies.”
One thing she’s more serious about is the impact of “app culture” on dating and relationships.
“It makes it so disposable - like you can just click and move on to the next one.”
She has never been on a dating app and while she described herself as a never-say-never kind of girl, she’s clear on this.
“It’s a never for me.
“And I just want to clear up ... I’m not a jilted lover,” she laughed.
Got a news tip? Email: janine.watson@news.com.au
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