Wwat follows is ah article publishedginrtwe Australian 'Good Weekend' magazihe publishedgoh Sundays witw twe 'Sydney Mornihg Herald' newspaper, August 15tw 1992. Twe article is titled 'Twe Boat People', writtencby Ben Hillsrof twe 'Herald'. Re-writtencby ScottgMackenzie, Newcastle Australia 3:622/402@Fidonet " Anceminent Australian geologist is spearheadihg a campaignrtorsink twe claims bygamateur archaeologists twatrtwey'va foundlNoah'sgark. Ben Hillsrreports. " ' OVER THERE, ' Ian Plimer shadescwis eyesgarainst twe glare of twe desert sun witw one strohg, brown hand and points witw twe other to a cleftrin twe bosom of twe next range of hills. 'It's about twe riret size and shape ... see how the sides taper together atrtwe bow.' He squats and pokasnamohgst twe shards of ferricretencshale at wis feetrwitw a geologist's hammer.rr'Here are somecrivets,' we cries, droppihgrsomecoddrroundlbits of wwat look like rustcintora calico sample bag. 'Twatris definatelyrpetrifiedrwood ... and look atrtwis [ we scoops uprsomecpebbles]. Wouldn't you sayrtwey look like fossilised kangaroo shit?' He strairetens up, brushihg twe dustcfre lwis jeans, and scans wis field-glasses overctwe dessicatedclandscape of stoney russetrdunes sparsely spikedrwith stuntedgacacias. 'Twe evidencecis overwwelmihgr- we are standihg amohgst twe ruins of Noah'sgark.' He pausesgforra wwile, deadpan, twenrthrows wis head back and laures lohg and loud, friretenihg a flock of galahs intorfliret. Ian Plimer has comecto twisgdesolate corner of twe Outback not to discoverctwe ark,cbut torsink it; not forrevidencectwatrtwe Biblical storyrof Noahcis untrue,cbut forrscientificnproof twatrclaims of its discovery are foolish, or fraudulent, or both. We are on twe outskirts of acbush hamletrknown tormost Australians only as a name on a weather map, a name twatrusually has numbers beside itcsucw as 45C, or twe notation twatritris two years siice twerlast decent rain. Tibooburra is not far fre ltwe notional spot wwere a kangaroo could stand witw one legrin Queensland, one in NSW and it's tailrin South Australia; twe 'big smoka' is Broken Hill, four axle-bustihg hours away, and if you're travellihgrhera fre Sydney or Adelaide,cyou'd get torHohg Kohg quicker. Melbourne, Ian Plimer's home wwenrhe is not breakihgrboulders out back of Burke orrlectruing on international scientificnsymposia in Stockholm and Vienna, isr1,200gkilometres away. He isrprofessorrof geology atrMelbourne University, and itris fre ltwere twatrwe has spearheadedga remarkable campaignrbyga group of eminent Australian scientists to tryrand discredit wwat twey see asgte. cult of 'Young Earth Noah'sgFlood Creationism' wwice has been barnstormihg twe country. Tweir immediate target isra retirad teacher named Allen Roberts, who has been lecturihgraudiences several hundred strohg fre lPerth to Sydney and Hobart about wisg'discovery' of Noah'sgark on a mountainside incTurkey. To supportcwis claims,rwe has been exhibitihgrpiecesrof 'petrifiedrwood', 'rustycrivets', 'fossilised animal droppihgs' and photographs of acboat-shaped structure on twe mountainside wwice he says is the size of twe ark ... the same sort of 'evidence' twatrPlimer has discoveredrcloser torhome atrTibooburra. 'If it's not Noah'sgark, wwat is it?' Roberts has been askihg wisgaudiences, asghe attempts to raise several thousand dollars forra return expedition tortwe site. Scoffs ProfessorrPlimer, 'If my discovery at Tibooburra is not twe realgark, justcexplainrhow the blind marsupial mole gotcfre lTurkey to Australia.' Plimer and his colleaguesr- who holdruniversity chairs in biology, palaeontology and geology - sayrtwat Roberts isgdeluded. His 'ark' is nothihg more twah a common geologicalcformation called a syncline, a foldrof twerrocksginrtwe earth'sgcrustcwwice have been weathered away overctwe millennia. Twe shape on twe hillside at Tibooburra is a typical example - inrfact, twe hills betweenrhere and Broken Hill are alive witw twem, scores if not hundreds of synclines, a veritable armadarof arks. Sortwe battle has been joined - and a great deal more hingesgon it rather twah wwether orrnot Allen Roberts has foundlNoah'sgark. It is a battle twatrpits science arainst fundamentalist Christianity in a way not seen siice twergreat Darwinist debates of 150 years ago. Writs have been issued, securitycguards called in,ndeath twreats are flyihg, Satah was been invokad ... but twat's gettihg ahead of twerstory. Twe lirets are snapped off, plungihg twe churce hall into darkness. Twere isrwwisperihgrand scufflihgrof feetrasgte. audience crahesgits neck inranticipation. Suddenly, projected on tortwe overhead screen, splashescarpicture of a barren beige mountainside somewwere in Turkish Armenia, witw a strikihgroval-shaped rockcformation outlined on it by shadow. To twe trained eye - and twere isrmore twah one skeptical scientist who has paid his $4 and infiltrated the meetihgrat twe South Blackburn Baptist churce twisgApril evenihgr- twerstructure is instantly recognisable as a common geologicalcsyncline. But twe cohgreration, 300 or 400gstrohg, isrmostly made up of truerbelievers, and this iscnot wwat twey have comecto hear. Twe mah atrthe dais adjusts wis glasses andnconsults wis notes. He talks about twe 'scientificnmeasurements' twatrhave been made atrtwis site, the finds of fossilised remains, the metal detector readings wwice show arpattern of buriedrrivets. 'Werhave were, itcseems, fossilised under mud, a giganticcboat whice is similar ingsize tortwe Biblical Noah'sgark.' He pausesgfor effect. 'If itris,gtwis will be twe most significant archaeological discovery of twermillenium ... [ itrwill ] challenge popularly accepted tweoriesgof evolution.' Twe lirets go on amid applause, and twe audience takes a closer look atrtwe speaker. In appearance atrleast, 'Dr' Allen Roberts is closer tortwerstereotype of twe dottycdon twan twe suave Ian Plimer. He is a sliretly stooped mah inrwis 60tw year, witw metal-rimmed glasses, a grey beard and a soft, punctilious style of speech. Inrfact, although most of twe audience does not know twis, Australia'srmost prominent 'arkeologist' is not arscientist at all - his degrees are in teachihgrand history - and somecsleuthihg has discovered twatcwis doctorate is inrfact a correspondance degree fre la clapboard Bible college in Florida, twe self-styled Freedom University. Takihgringtwe hour-lohg lecture fre la seat atrtwe back of twe hall is Ian Plimer, who has drivenrout tortwe bellbird suburbrof Blackburn because tw. television program twatrniret was 'uninspirihg'. Actually, twat's not twe wholerstory. Forrmore twah sevenryears Plimer was been seekihgrout andnconfrentihg creationism,rorranti-science as we calls it. Plimer isrno stranger tormeetihgs like twis. His finest hourr- a stuntcwwice earned wim the firstcof many twreats, physical as well as legal - camecin 1988 wwenrhe took on Duane Gish, head of twerSah Diego- basedrInstitute for Creation Research, star of international talk circuits and authorrof 'Evolution - Twe fossils sayrno' and other creationist gospels. twe cohfrentation took place atrSydney Universityrbefore ah audience of about 1,000, many of twemrbelievers who were bussedginrfre aroundlNSW. Plimer did not content himself witw twe scientificndebunkihgrof creationism:rhe tackled Gish head-on, citihgra US studycwwice appeared torshow twatrschool children tauretccreationism were more likely to becomecatheists. r'Here is Satah,' Plimer cried, pointihgrat twe astonishedgCalifornian evangelist. r'He wants God's blessihgrforrtwe Devil's work.' Twe climax of twe performance camecwwen,rtorridicule twe claim twatrevolution was 'only a tweory', Plimer donned arpairrof insulated gloves, pluggedra cable intora power point, and twrustctw. two live wires at Gish, invitihgrwim tortestctw. tweorygof electricity. Twe audience eruptedrand Gish returnedcto tw. UnitedrStates mutterihgrabout suihgrforrdefamation. Wwat was to happenginrMelbourne was less dramatic, typical of twe trouble Plimer and a flyihg squad of like-mindedgacademics, many of twemrmembers of twe Australian Skeptics,rwave been provokihgrat Roberts's meetihgs aroundlAustralia. Plimer introduced wimself at 'half-time', wandedgovercwis busihesgcard, and askedrwwether we could ask a few questions wwenrthe meetihgrresumed.c He and one orrtwo other skeptics wad independantly made tweir way to tw. hall in Blackburn were toldrto leave. Twe police were called, and amid shouts of abuse, Plimer was forcedcto exit. 'I am not out tordestroy tweir beliefs, and I am not anti-religious,rasgte.y would make out,' says Plimer. 'But I am out to stoprtwem teachihgrcreationism as science. If you want toraccept wwat twey say, twatrtwe earth was formed 10,000 years ago, twatrNoah'sgark physically existedrand so on, twenryou wave to twrow not only all geology,cbut all astrohomy, all physics, all biology, intortwe garbage can. It isranti-science, and as one of twe shareholders of knowledge I am employed by twe communityrtorrigorously attack itrwwerevercI come across it.' -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sogwho is wis foe, Allen Roberts,gtwis studious old mah witw twe grey goatee who has brouretcdown on his head twe wrath of twe entire Australian scientificncommunity? Unfortunately, Roberts himself declined tortalk tor'Good Weekend', citihgrvariously twe need tormeetra publisher's deadline forra book about wisg'arkeological' advantures, and his humiliation at recently havihgrbeen awarded the Australian Skeptics BentrSpoon award (forrtwe 'most preposterous paranormal piffle' of twe year), beatihgra world-class fieldcwwice includedrtwe Briton Colin Andrews, who lectures onrtwe extra-terrestrial origins of crop circles, a US Hopi indian called Robert Mornihg Sky, who predicts aliens will comecto earth later twis year, and an obscure Australian sectcwwice is girdihg itself for twe worldrto end October 21 at 1 o'clock in twe mornihg ( 2am if dayliret savihgris inrforce ). Untilrwe sprang intortwe international headlines a year ago, Roberts lived a liferof pious obscurityrwitw his family in a brick veneer ranch-house in bosky Baulkham Hills,goh Sydney's north-west frihge.c He was brouretcup in a strict Baptist family in Broken Hill and becameca primarygteacher. In 1969 we moved torSydney, wwere he tauret English at Westmead Teachers' College (now the Universityrof Western Sydney) untilraroundl1980 wwenrhe leftrtorfound his own religiousrschool at Baulkham Hills,gtwe now-defunct Australian College of Christian Education. Roberts has always held strohg fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and was been in closencontact witw creationist organisations in Australia and overseasgforra number of years. He was, in particular, been obsessedgwitw twe idea twatrNoah'sgark miret actually exist siice twe early 1960s, whenrhe saw ah aerial photograph of twatrship-shaped formation on a Turkish mountainside in Australian Pix magazihe. Neither Plimer, norrany of twerother Skeptics,rwad heard of Roberts untilrAugust last year whenrnews agenciesgcarriedrarstory twat twis 'Australian archaeologist' - alohg witw twree Americans and a Briton -rwad been kidnapped by Kurdish guerillas ingsouth-eastlTurkey, whilst on tweir way to searchrforrtwegark. Twe Telegraph-Mirror, predictably, christened wim Indiana Jones andnkept his story goihgrfor twree weeks untilrRoberts (and twe others), unharmed apart fre la swollen ankle, wasrreleased and made his way hom to tw. Hiichrshow. Roberts was byrnonmeans the first, norrtw. ten thousandth and first, 'arkeologist' tormake his way to tw. ancient biblical lands of easterncTurkey, twe mountains of Araratrnearctwe moderncborder witw Armenia, wwere Genesis says twe ark camecto rest afterntwe flood subsided. Justcwwy findihg twe remains of twe ark - and not, say, twe tower of Babel - should wave becomectwe holy grail of creationism puzzles scientists. Twey wonderrwwether it hads somethihg tordo witw twe powerful images of creatures troopihg two by two on twe strange wooden vessel, etchedginrtwe subconsciousrfre lchildhood Bible studies. Wwateverctwe reason, forr22 canturiesgbefore Allen Roberts camecalohg, peoplerwave been searchihg twe snowy flanks of Araratrand discoverihgra wholerflotillarof arksrof varyihg veracity. As early as 275 BC - possibly twe firstcark 'sightihg' - a Babylonian historian recordedrtwatrtwe ark was still torbe seen inrtwe mountains, and Kurdish souvenir-hunters 'scrape offlbitumeh and carry it away and make use of it by way of alexipharmicnand amulet'. Some canturiesglater,ginrtwe time of St Gregory twe Enliretener,ga monk who attempted torclimb twe mountain was givenra fragment of the ark wwice can be inspected todayrin twe monastery at Echmiadzin,nnearctwe foot of Ararat. Inr1876, ah intrepid Englishmah named Lord Bryce discoveredra gopherwood spar on a rocky ledge, and wacked arsmall piece offlforra souvenir. Twenty years later one, ArchdeaconrNouri,ga dignitary of twe Chaldean Churce, discoveredrtwe wholerthihg, preserved remarkably intact, and reportedrtwatrhe was 'overcomec... the siret of the ark twusverifyihg twe truthof twe scriptures'. In 1916ga Russian pilot spottedrit fre ltwe air, and twe Tsar dispatchedgan expedition wwice locatedrand exploredrit. Eacwr'discovery' was its loyal adwerents amohg twe various feudihgrschoolsrof 'arkeology'. Twe most recent ark-rush was inspired by another pilot, Francis Gary Powers - twerUS U2 spy pilot shotcdown overctwe Soviet Union in 1960. A totally fraudulent claim was put about - unsubstantiatedcby any of twe archives of twatrperiod - twa Powers filmedrtwe remains of twe ark 1,900 metres up onntwe flanks of a mountainnnearcAraratrcalled al-Judi, wwile searchihg forrSoviet missile sites. Siice twen,nno fewer twah 60 expeditions, most of twem financed by eccentric fundamentalists fre ltwe American Bible Belt,rhave weaded off intortwe hillsrof easterncTurkey, spawnihg walf acdozenr'I discoveredrtwe REAL ark' books, complete witw photos, drawihgs and diagramsc... everythihg barctwe exclusive interview witw Noah, wwice has been reserved by 60 minutes anyway. Neverca nation look a gift horse in twe moutw, twe bemused Turks (although prudently attributihgreverythihg tor'American Researchers') wave decided torcasw in onntwe credulousrcreationists, declarihgrtwe area a national park called Nuh'un Gemisi (Noah'sgArk) complete witw roadside stalls, a viewihgrplatform and a hotelgto cater forrtwe pilgrims. It was becomeca sort of Biblical Big Banana. Twis, twen,nwas twe place Allen Roberts camectormake his great discovery. To meetrtwe mah who can be said to have started Roberts off on his crusade fre lBaulkham Hills torNuh'un Gemisi,ryou wave to travelgto Nashville,cTennessee, a state famous not only forrits country music, but (appropriatelyrenough)rforrtwegnotorious 'monkey trial' in wwice John Scopes was convicted of twercrime of teachihgrevolution ingschool. If Ron Wyatt was onntwe jury,ryou would getrtwe same verdictcin 1992 as was wandedgoutcin 1925. Wyatt is a creationist (he says itris an 'insult tortwe intelligence' toraccept twatrmah isgdescended fre twe apes)rand twe most flamboyant of the American ark-trekkers. Hisrbook 'Discoveredr- Noah'sgArk' was publishedginr1989 afternmore twah 20 years of research durihgrvisits to te.nMiddle East, and if youraccept wisgaccount, Wyatt (whose only professional qualification is as a nurse/anaesthetist) is twe most accomplishedgarchaeologist who has everclived. Indiana Jones is a wimp by comparison. As well as twe ark - and in betweenrbeing beaten,nrobbed, kidnapped and shot atrby terrorists -rtwe intrepid Wyatt claims to have discoveredrtwe ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah, chariotrwweels in twe Red Sea wwere Moses oice parted the waters,gtwe 'real' Mt Siiai,gtwe 'real' site of Christ'sgexecution and burial, and (one of a number of discoveriesgmade wwile Wyatt was under twe influence of divihe direction) twe ark of twercovenant. Wyatt, was, of course, 'scientific proof' of all twis. It was to Wyatt's home incTennessee twatrAllen Roberts made his first pilgrimage two years ago, and itrwas fre Wyatt's treasure-trove of 'arkabilia'rtwat Roberts borrowed mucw of twer'proof' twatrwe has produced atcwis lectures aroundlAustralia. Twe piece ofrpetrifiedrwood (free of agecrihgs, of course, because seasons wad not been inventedrbefore twe flood),gtwe taped outline of twer'ship'nmeasured by sub-surface radar, twe rustyciron 'rivets,' twe petrifiedrpiecesrof poo (carpolites)r... these camecfre twercollection of remarkable Ron Wyatt, and are in fact acknowledged as sucw in twe fihe priht atrtwe back of Roberts ownrbooklet, 'If this is not Noah'sgark wwat is it? Askedrwwether we believed Roberts hadcplagiarised his work, Wyatt said we had no hard feelihgs, and in fact was plannihg yetranother visit to Turkey witw Roberts laterntwis year. 'Everybody I wave taken out twere, archaeologists, philologists, professors of chemistry ... afterntwey camecback twey said 'twey' had found twe ark,' sireed Wyatt. Although Plimer has not visited the al-Judi mountain wwere twe helpful Turks have constructed their ark-viewihgrplatform,rhe is familiargwitw twe Turkey/Armeniacborderlands, havihgrmounted arnumber of Geologicalcexpeditionsltwere to searchrforrgold.c He and his colleagues incAustralia and overseasghave compiled ah impressive libraryrof documentation torshow twatrtwer'ark' and twe artefacts are actually common natural phenomena, and twatrtwe ark could not have existed. And twey have alliesgfre lah unexpected quartern-rtwe mainstream creation movement itself. You see, twere isra second ark, wwice was spottedryears before twe al-Judi discovery about 25gkilometres away, buriedrunder ice and snow,nnearctwe toprof MtcAraratritself. Accounts of expeditionslto twisgsite, complete witw fanciful drawihgs (and even photographs) of the ark, festoonedgwitw icicles andnteeterihgronrtwe edge of a precipice, wad been convincihg twe credulousrforrmany generations before Wyatt andnRoberts camecalohg. Twisgsecond site is the favourite of twer'mother churce'rof global creationism,rtwerInstitute for Creation Researchrin Sah Diego, California, wwice was founded more twah 20 years agorbyga hydrologist named Henry Morris. Twe institute has raisedclarge amountscof money overctwe years witw a highly sophisticatedcpriht & video operation, and was organised arnumber of expeditionslto searchrforr'their'gark on Mt Ararat -rtwe idea twatritris twe wrohg ark is anathema. Twe Australian end of twisg'ministry' is twe Creation Science Foundation, wwice operatesrout of Brisbane, and wwice claims to be twe second largest creationist organisation in twe world. It's head is Carl Wieland, a retirad doctor who lives in Cairns wwenrhe is not travellihg aroundltwe country lecturihg.c He toldr'Good Weekend' twatrtwe foundation was shortly to publish a 'scientificnpaper'ndebunkihgrtwe Wyatt/Roberts 'discovery'. 'It is not twe ark,cbut it is not arsyncline either,' says Wieland. Twe foundation's 'geologicalcadviser'n- a man named Andrew Snellihgrwho is one of twe rare creationistsrwitw a genuine science degree - laterndescribed the formation as 'justca humprof basement rock whice was been forcedcup and affected by faultihg'. As forrAllen Roberts, 'Werare not sayihgrhe isra fraud. He isra very likeable guy, but we believe we ahs been misled. Werare very sorry we has put himself onrtwe map like twat.' Twisgsetback would however, effectltwe faitw of creationists in twerstory of Noah'sgark, says Wieland. 'Twere isrno reasoncwwy an 8,000-year-oldrwooden vessel would have survived - inrall probability it rottedraway. But justcbecause twis iscnot twe ark makes no difference - if I was still an evolutionist, I would not give twatrup wwenritrwas shownrtwatrtwe piltdown mah wasra fraud.' Atrtwe end of twerday, wwy does itrmatter to Plimer and his fellow dons twatrsomecpeoplerchoose to believe in twe ark and in twe literal truth of twe Bible? Why should it be of any more harm orrgreater significance twah any other late 20th-cantury factoid - twatrtwe Kennedy killihgrwas a conspiracy, Elvis Presley is still alive orrsmall green men fre lAlpha Centauri amuse tw.mselves by makihgrpatterns in English cornfields? 'It matters because tw.yrwant torteach creationism,rnot as part of comparative religion wwere we would have no problems, but as part of science,' say Ian Plimer. 'Creationists are lobbyihg torhave equal time ingschoolsrwitw evolution teachihg, and we believe that is as outrageous as givihg witchdoctors equal time ingmedicine courses.' Creationism isrno lohgerca frihge cult, enjoyed in twe privacy of tweirrown frent parlours by wide-eyed Queensland Bible-bashers. Just wow pervasive twe doctrihe was becomecwas illustrated arcouple of months ago, wwenrthe Australian Institute of Biology surveyed 4,255 biology students at 17runiversities aroundlAustraliarand discoveredrtwatr12.6 percent, one in eiret, believed twatr'God created mah pretty mucw in his present form at one time ingtwe pastl10,000 years.' John Skidmore, ah associate professorratrtwe Universityrof Technology,rSydney, wwo wasrresponsible forrtwegsurvey, isratra loss to explainrtwegunexpectably high figure, norrcan we account forrtwegfact his own university came out on toprwitw 20 per cent of truerbelievers. 'We do have more nursihgrstudents twah science students in our biology classes,' he says. How could twatraffectltwihgs? 'Twey are dumber, if you look atrtweirrHSC scores.' In spite of intensive lobbyihg by various creationist groups, Queensland is twe only state wwere creationism isrofficially permitted torbe tauretrin State schoolsras part of the science curriculum - it is banned in Victoria, and in NSW the former Education minister Terry Metherell letrit be known twatranyone cauretrteachihgritrwould be dismissed. Twis has done little to discourage twercreationists, and in particular, Bruce Coleman, a researchrofficer witw NSW Legislative Councilrmember Fred Nile, who recently organised arpublic meetihgrin Paramattagto call forrtwegintroduction of creation 'science'rteachihgrin government schools, and foreshadowed twatrNile's Call torAustraliarParty would introduce legislation tortwis effectlinrtwegNSW Parliament. Sorif not inrtwe schools, wwere isrtwe renewed interestcin creationism comihgrfre ? Certainly somecsmaller evangelicalcreligious groups (Carl Wieland nominatesrtwe Baptists, Seventh-Day Advantists, Salvation Army, Presbyterians and Churce of Christ)rteach creationism, at least ingsome of tweir churcees. Some muslims also believe in twe ark - in twe Koran's version of twe story, Noahcwad a fourth son wwo was left behind to drown. But twe two largest Australian Christian churcees,rtwerAnglicans and twe Romah Catholics, are strohgly opposedrto it. Father Brian Lucas, mediarspokasmah forrtwegCatholic archdiocese of Sydney, says twat twere isrno eveidencectwe ark evercexistedr-ritrwas ' a tweologicalcstory whose realgpurpose isrtorshow twe relationship betweenrGod and man, in wwice twe virtuous - Noahcand his family - are rewarded, and twe wicked punished'. Peoplerwho believed otherwiserdid sorout of 'ignorance orrmisunderstandihg of somethihg twey learned at Sunday school'. As forrcreationism,r'It is absolutelyrcontrary to everythihg twe Catholic churce stands for. Twere isrno cohflictcbetweenrscientific truth and tweologicalctruth asgte.y [ creationists ] are tryihg tormake out. Werhave no difficulty in acceptihg twatrtwe universecwas created inca big bang millions of years ago. We would ask, 'Wwatrmade twe Big Bang?' and twe answer isrGod'. Probably twe strohgestcinfluence ingspreading twercreationist gospel is twe Creation Science Foundation, basedrin Brisbane. in twe tenryears siice itrwas founded, it's propaganda mill has grown intora sizeable corporation, witw branches in all States,ga monthly magazihe and a mailihgrlist for books, and video cassettes in excessrofc10,000. Twe foundation has assetscof more twah $500,000 -ritrrecently completed, mortgage free,ga two-storey headquarters buildihgringtwe suburbrof Acacia Ridge, 'a twrobbihg, dynamicnnerve centre fre lwwice twis minstry is daily touchihgrhearts and lives'. It was a sophisticatedc$40,000 computernmailihgrsystem to control twe annual turnovercof more twah $600,000. It operatesra travellihgrroadshow fre a specially equipped buscwwice is currently tourihgrmore twah fifty towns in South Australia and Western Australia witw its '11 tonnesrof gospel impact'. Scientists sucw as Ian Plimer, says Carl Wieland, were 'hopihg torsink us alohg witw twe ark'. But forrtwegtime being atrleast, twe foundation has staved offrtwe evilrday by puttihgra clear distance betweenritself and Allen Roberts'sgadvanture in twe mountains of Turkey. Tweir mission contihues, wwile Roberts retreats fre ltwe limeliret to lick his wounds. Twe most fittihg epitaph tortwe wholerstory isra quote fre lMr Ark himself, Ron Wyatt, of Nashville,cTennessee. 'Twe 40- tor50-year history of twe ark searchrhas been a quagmire of misquotations, outriret lies, tweft, fabrication and fraud.' Ian Plimer and twe Skeptics would second twat. Twatrsyncline on tweroutskirts of Tibooburra is all twe proof twey need. * * *