The Bass Strait Triangle

20th January 2025. Reading Time: 6 minutes Conspiracy Theories, General, Famous Paranormal Cases. 336 page views. 0 comments.

The Bermuda Triangle is one of those mysteries that has intrigued me since I was a child. I mean who hasn't heard of the Bermuda Triangle? Did you know we have our own version right here in Australia? The Bass Strait Triangle is home to many mysteries and disappearances, including the famous case of Frederick Valentich.

The Bermuda Triangle is one of those mysteries that has intrigued me since I was a child. I mean who hasn't heard of the Bermuda Triangle? There is a plethora of books, documentaries, articles, news segments and the like all delving into the mysteries surrounding the disappearances of aircraft and sea vessels in the same spot. It is a section of the North Atlantic Ocean off North America where over 50 ships and 20 aeroplanes have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.  Although the boundaries of this area are not set in stone or universally agreed upon, the area roughly takes the shape of a triangle. After many strange events, in 1964 Vincent H Gaddis came up with the term Bermuda Triangle in an article he wrote highlighting the pattern of the strange disappearances. What causes these disappearances?  Is it bad weather and poor navigation?   Paranormal enthusiasts suggest otherwise.  From aliens to the lost city of Atlantis, they wonder if it is some sort of portal or vortex?  While the topic of the affectionately nicknamed the ‘Devil’s’ triangle is a controversial one, it seems the phenomenon is not just isolated to the North Atlantic Ocean.  Did you know we have our own triangle right here in Australia?  Inspired by the mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle and the worldwide intrigue surrounding the strange circumstances of a missing pilot Frederick Valentich in 1978, the Bass Strait Triangle in Australia has some strange mysteries of its own.

Bass Strait Triangle

1890s sketch of of waters around king island – Source State Library of Victoria

Bass Straight is a stretch of water around 300km by 200km from north to south, surrounded by the entire northern coastline of Tasmania and Victoria's central to the eastern coast.  It is the stretch of water that separates Victoria and Tasmania in the southeast of Australia.  The westerly winds and currents make it an area full of unpredictable and unstable weather meaning its shallow water is full of tall waves with short swells.  The notorious area of Bass Strait was discovered following the wreckage of the ship Sydney Cove in 1797.   On a salvage operation to retrieve parts of the wreckage, the Sloop Eliza went missing on her return voyage to Sydney.  Since then, hundreds of vessels from small yachts, fishing crafts, bulk carriers and aircraft have come into distress in the Bass Strait with dozens being lost completely without a trace.  

Significant Disappearances

Since the 1830s vessels had reportedly gone missing over the stretch of sea.  This was largely due to the establishment of Melbourne and traffic over the channel increased.  

Some of the more significant disappearances over the years include:

  • In 1858 the Sappho formerly used to arrest ships involved in the slave trade, was ordered to sail to Australia, but never arrived.  It disappeared without a trace.
  • In 1901, 22 crew members vanished along with the SS Federal.  5 years later in 1906, the German cargo ship Ferdinand Fischer also disappeared without a trace.
  • In 1920 the SS Amelia J. disappeared shortly after entering the Bass Strait.  The Australian military conducted an extensive search of the area, however, two of the military aircraft involved in the search also vanished.
  • On Friday, October 19th 1934,   Holyman's Airways de Havilland DH.86 Express nicknamed Miss Hobart,  disappeared over Bass Strait during a flight from Launceston, Tasmania, to Melbourne. 9 passengers and 2 pilots did not survive.  One of those who perished would have an unknown connection with aviation forever.  While at  8 years,  David Warren’s father who was aboard the flight would never come home, David would go on to invent the Black Box recorder, now a standard issue in every aircraft.
  • Almost one year later, the airliner Loina also went missing over the Bass Strait.  None of the 5 people on board was located, however, 3 seats were eventually found as well as a piece of flooring that had burn marks only a few centimetres wide.  Further analysis suggested someone may have tried to stamp out the flames.

Image Source: Trove (1920)

While there was speculation that some of these vessels had fallen victim to pirates, the main cause was more likely bad weather and poor charting while the aircraft accidents were put down to disorientation by inexperienced pilots unable to pilot the sometimes-horrendous conditions.  There were no links to supernatural forces or comparisons to the Bermuda Triangle until the disappearance of Frederick Valentich in 1978 became a Worldwide conspiracy. 

Frederick Valentich

Image Source: The Australian

On October 21st 1978, at 6:19pm, pilot Frederick Valentich took off from Moorabbin airport in Victoria in a rented single-engine Cessna 182L with a proposed flight path to King Island, flying over the Bass Straight.  Just after 7pm, however, Valentich radioed Melbourne air traffic control asking if there were any other aircraft in the area. He noticed strange lights flying at weird speeds and felt the aircraft was playing games with him.  After the transmission abruptly ended which included a foreign metallic sound, Valentich was never heard from again.  

“It’s got a green light and is sort of metallic. Like it’s all shiny on the outside. It’s just vanished…” Frederick Valentich

Once people started to look at the area more, it seemed Valentich was not alone in his sighting.  Read more about Frederick Valentich here

Listen to the last transmission which includes an odd metallic sound before communication ceases.  It is this sound that remains one of the most intriguing parts of this case.

Bass Strait Sightings

In fact, strange sightings are often reported over Bass Strait.  On the same day Valentich disappeared, Roy Manifold captured a picture of an object in the sky over the Bass Strait. Roy’s son, Jason, was with his father at the time and said that while his father had gone inside their shed after taking the picture, Jason stayed outside to watch the sky. He could hear the sound of a plane engine overhead. Instead of gradually fading off into the distance, he claimed the engine suddenly came to a stop and there was nothing but silence.  They believe this could be connected to Valentich’s disappearance. 

Image Source: Roy Manifold

There were also other reported strange occurrences in the area weeks before and after Valentich’s disappearance along the coastlines of Victoria and Tasmania.  For example, on October 9 a couple of weeks before Valentich went missing, a husband and wife witnessed a bright light above them.  They said it came down to the same level as their car and was maintaining the same speed next to them as they were driving along for a short stretch of time. Exactly a month later (which was just after Valentich went missing) there was another sighting in Hobart. A taxi driver was suddenly forced to slam on his breaks due to a strange green light in the middle of the road. His CB radio also lost communication.  After checking his radio, when he looked back at the road the green light was gone.  

The concept of a devil’s triangle has long been debated for decades and will continue to do so with its popularity and tall tales. What is interesting however is that we don’t see the same level of disappearances today (or they are just not reported).  So what do you think? Do these areas of sea all over the World have the potential to hold supernatural powers or is it just a bad stretch of the sea?



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