POMMIE JOHN & THE SUBMARINE -

John Woodward was a new comer to fishing in the area when he bought a small boat in the 1950s and went out on his own. The locals didn't like his chances but apparently he went out near to the lighthouse on Dirk Hartog Island and came back to Denham many times with enough fish.

On one trip he anchored up just off the light house as usual and turned in for the night. In the morning he found that the anchor had pulled and he was now some 7 kilometres west of the island and rapidly drifting out to sea. He tried to start the motor but found his battery had gone flat. With nothing left to do he waited and watched the horizon for any sign of a ship that would save him.

Imagine his surprise when up from under the surface came an American submarine that was on route from Fremantle to Singapore. They had spotted him and wondered what such a small boat was doing that far out to sea. They replaced his battery and gave him some supplies then towed him in to the island before departing. In return he gave them the fresh fish from his ice box.

Locals didn't really believe the story until a photo was produced showing his boat alongside the submarine. Pommie John moved on and went fishing round the islands off Geraldton but after another near escape where his boat was capsized and he had to swim to shore he gave up his adventurous ways and returned to England.

(A copy of the photo of the submarine and John with his boat can be seen in Hugh Edwards' book 'Shark Bay through 4 centuries'.)

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