Damien's Adventures: Million Dollar Point

When getting ready for a vacation it's only normal that one should undertake a bit of research about the intended destination. It generally helps avoid unrealistic expectations and doing things like preparing for snow and ending up with sand.

In the case of Vanuatu I had a bit of inside knowledge thanks to a friend who is an accomplished diver (giving the thumbs-up on that score) and also a few workmates who had already been where I was intending to go. I’d heard the diving was great, but all in all, the main north island wasn’t really very developed—fine by me. One thing that really turns me off is the thought of ending up in the dead centre of resort hell, where everything is pre-packaged, sterilised and bears no resemblance to the place one is, after all, trying to visit. Given the choice I’d much rather visit a spot that at least gives the option of glimpsing real life, not some crazy theme-park interpretation of it.

Not forgetting that diving was one of the main aims of the trip, I wanted to find out more about what was on offer. I’d heard about Million Dollar Point and the SS Coolidge but knew nothing more than these mysteries entities existed and were apparently not to be missed. Both sites were closely related to events in the Second World War and, as it turns out and fortunately for the purposes of a good yarn, both have stories to back them up.

Million Dollar Point … what on earth is Million Dollar Point?

I’ll start with the fine print. There are a number of different stories regarding the genesis of Million Dollar Point but they more or less agree the key elements. Having picked through the more sensible and likely sounding parts of these stories I am now proud to present my own distilled narrative of how Million Dollar Point came to be.

During the Second World War, the United States established a sizeable garrison on Vanuatu’s north Island, Espiritu Santo. As we’ve all heard, the Japanese military machine was marching, sailing and fighting its way through the Pacific with amazing success. A number of ferocious battles were fought but the Japanese advance seemed completely unstoppable. So successful was their effort that they managed to get as far as bombing Darwin in Australia’s north and managed to do this 64 times in total – yes that’s right … I didn’t know that either. They also struck a number of targets along the north coast and didn’t stop there either. Possibly even more amazing is that they managed to deploy three mini submarines into Sydney’s harbour (a very long way from Japan) in an alleged attempt to sink the USS Chicago stationed there at the time. At the time there were no doubts that the Japanese were a force with which to be reckoned.

In response to these advances, the Unites States, following the bombing of Pearl Harbour and subsequent entry into the War, established bases and garrisons on a number of key South Pacific islands. The story goes that the US military predicted the final showdown would occur in Vanuatu and correspondingly they poured personnel and equipment into the area. Depending on which story you hear, the US forces numbered anywhere between 100,000 and 500,000 at different times. Whatever the case, it’s fair to say that they had a significant military presence in Vanuatu.

As it turns out, the Japanese were stopped in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu never saw active combat. It did play a vital role in preserving supply lines, but by the end of the war there was a massive stockpile of military machinery and vehicles with nowhere to go. Again there are a number of versions of what happened next depending on who is telling the story. Either way, the hardware could not be taken back to the US and the French Government, at that time controlling Vanuatu, was given first dibs on buying it at a discount.

Whatever transpired behinds the scenes we will probably never know but the rumour is that the French declined the cut-price purchase of all this equipment supposedly in a gamble to get the material for free. The Americans might just leave it behind. No, really, they might really leave it behind, right?. The whole thing sounds a little far fetched, but whatever the case, this didn’t happen. The Americans built a large concrete wharf and in a scene reminiscent of some surreal black comedy drove all this equipment into the bay. Literally drove it. I’m talking about bricks on accelerator pedals, gear shifts slammed into drive and US servicemen scattering as trucks, bulldozers, cranes, jeeps and other vehicles rumbled their own way off the end of this wharf and descended into a watery resting place. There are supposedly still cases of 1940s Coca Cola down there somewhere. I don’t know - I didn’t see them.

So there you have it. Million Dollar Point is a graveyard for World War Two US military hardware that, in the intervening 65 years, has become one of the most significant and accessible man-made reefs in the world. I’ll cut the chatter and give you a glimpse. Oh … by the way … the name Million Dollar Point comes from the value of good scrapped in 1945 dollars. Do the maths yourself. It’s scary.

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