In March 2016 I challenged Paul White and John Bancroft to demonstrate their divining skills and if it had been a footy match, they would have trounced me fifty to zero. They were that impressive! I was totally blown away by their skills and published their story in The Local. Now over 10 years later, both men have passed on, which totally gutted their families, friends and the whole community. They are missed terribly by everyone they touched, especially by the quiet way they went about life, pitching in when the need arose and never seeking anything in return. It is an honour to recognise them and their wonderful talents.
History
In 1916 the Queensland Government had employed water diviners, Messrs. Bestman and Bevan, to find water for gold mines. They were obviously successful as the Northern Miner (Charters Towers) on 16 September 1916, reported that they had found plenty of water near the surface. Regarding divining, the following quote is helpful: 'The theory of water diving is that hidden water can be found by a person gifted with certain qualities if he or she passes over it, holding a forked twig. This twig is usually, but not necessarily, of hazel. The presence of water makes the twig twist and turn.' The Telegraph, Brisbane, Feb 14 1928, mentioned that diving is sometimes called dowsing and it suggested the public is very skeptical of the subject but on the other hand, the reporter acknowledged that supporters now consist of people from "all walks of life."
During research it was a surprise to realise that diviners were used by the British in World War II. For example, Argus (Melbourne), July 28th 1942, reported: 'The latest achievement of the Royal Engineers is the formation of a squad of water diviners. They were recruited at a school of military engineers and maybe used to locate water in the Middle East. An officer said, we've found at least a dozen men who can discover springs and hidden streams by using the old-fashioned hazel twig.'
The Daily News (Perth), April 18th 1950, confirms that women also have the skills. 'Water diviner Miss Evelyn Penrose says she has two gifts which are rare to water diviners. She does not have to use tools, in fact she prefers not to and she does not have to walk over the ground to divine. Instead of using a divining stick, Miss Penrose says she walks with her arms stretched but in front of her. As she receives vibrations, which indicate that there is water in the ground below, her arms start to swing until she knows she is above.'
Methods
Paul used two pieces of fencing wire, one held in each hand and as he walked across the land, they crossed over and swayed when above water. He interpreted the swaying actions to estimate how deep the drillers needed to go. However, he had said: 'Sometimes there is more than one stream of water and the action of the wires allows me to identify the one with the greater flow.' John used freshly cut forks from a willow trees, which he twisted so he could hold it with upward pressure. Water was indicated when the fork's point dipped down, thus pulling against his upwards facing hands. The depth of the stream was calculated by the dips and he cut a groove in the stick to measure every ten feet.
Unexplained Power
Neither could explain why they had the power. It is just something they could do and it often runs in the family. For example, John's father had the knack, so does his son Eric and grandson Andrew. Paul had added: 'One of my daughters can get a tug on the wires.' They agreed that where streams cross over are good spots, but sometimes there is more than one stream and often the best quantity of water is the bottom one. Paul suggested that water is often found on hills and said: 'This is because water from the mountains will flow down through some of the hills.'
Gold
At this point John made a startling comment: 'I can also divine gold and you know Bingara was put in the wrong place. I can divine gold everywhere.' He then spoke of the time he was living in Grafton and was asked by a friend to find a wedding ring, which had been lost through a crack in the verandah. 'I didn't find the ring but the stick dipped in one spot and we found a large gold chain.'
Next, we had discussed an extraordinary situation which occurred about 10 years ago. Paul, John and another Bingara diviner were asked to divine on a block but at separate times. The resident hoped that each would nominate the same general area and thus increase the chances of success. But they did better than that. All three nominated the exact same spot and the new bore produced significant flow.
Demonstration
Impressed by their experiences, it was time for a practical demonstration, and we had moved to the vacant area behind Maitland Street. While Paul went to fetch his wires John, with his arms outstretched, casually drew my attention to his willow fork, which had dipped down at a spot near the back of McGregor's Rural Services. A few minutes later Paul arrived, divining as he walked towards us, but without any response until he reached John's exact spot and he said: 'Water here!' This was repeated many times over the next ten minutes and it was then time for me to have a go. But nothing what-so-ever happened until John walked over and put his hand on my arm. When approaching a previously identified water site, the fork suddenly started dipping despite the upwards pressure of my grip. There was no way I could have stopped it dipping. I was totally astounded and immediately become a true believer! Next, John placed a gold wedding ring in one hand so that it rested against the wood and when he walked over the previous spots where water had been detected, this time, there was no reaction from the fork. He explained, 'Once I switch to gold, I get no water reactions.' To demonstrate John tossed another gold ring a few metres away and when he walked to it the fork dipped! Thereafter he wandered around, casually saying: 'Gold here, Bingara is certainly in the wrong place.'
With that we had said our farewells and I reflected on why some have these remarkable gifts and others do not. Regardless of the answer, thanks to these remarkable men, I, like many before me, was converted from sceptic to believer.