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A TEENAGER has found what is believed to be a 500-year-old Portuguese swivel gun on a Northern Territory beach.The find may prove to be a significant historic "connection" between the Top End and the European nation.READ: Ancient gun find could rewrite historyChristopher Doukas, 13, said he found the weapon when walking along Dundee Beach with his family in January 2010."I didn't have a clue about what it was," he said. "I thought it was a chair leg."But his mother Barbara said her husband Vasilious, who passed away in May 2010, researched the item's heritage and believed it to be a 16th Century Portuguese swivel gun.The Portuguese occupied Timor, about 650km north of Darwin, from 1515 until Indonesia invaded the country in 1975.Ms Doukas said she contacted her local member, Gerry Wood, about the find once they knew what it was.Mr Wood said it was an "important" discovery."The Portuguese were occupying Timor and the time and it may prove a connection with the Territory," he said.He said he was aware of the Portuguese travelling to Perth, in Western Australia, on their way to Indonesia but never thought they stopped in the Top End.Ms Doukas said the NT museum was interested in the cannon but added they had taken a long time to contact her about seeing it.NT Heritage Department spokeswoman Sarah Gotch said museum curators were excited about the find but were unwilling to comment on the gun's significance until they examined it.Ms Doukas said Christopher's father was responsible for the initial research and his death had caused some delays in getting the gun examined.Christopher said he wouldn't have the weapon if it weren't for his father who carried the metre-long cannon up the beach.
This gun looks like it might have used small interchangeable breech chambers like little thunder mugs. when did that innovation start?
Quote from: little seacoast on January 12, 2012, 04:11:25 AMThis gun looks like it might have used small interchangeable breech chambers like little thunder mugs. when did that innovation start?In that time frame ... looks like it might have been in a fire.... the barrel is bent.....
Thanks for the post, subdjoe; that's an interesting barrel. In fact, I can't recall ever having seen such a small caliber in a breech loader of this type (removable chamber).
