Blacks Link Japanese Tunnel [????- ]

Submitted by Craig on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 19:50
Current condition
Unknown
Blacks Link Tunnel

These are about 300m up the path as you leave the Blacks Link road. Look for a notice board on your left and it's on your right-hand side.

Blacks Link Tunnel
Blacks Link Tunnel

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After seeing the layout of the tunnel system on Jardine’s lookout, it reminded me of the one I found on Blacks Link, so I went back today for a another look. I found a couple of interesting things. What first drew my attention to the areas was as up above the path and not very clear but looked like a brick structure with a rounded “turret” corner and some shutters, I had to have a look.

Blacks Link

 

Black's Link
Black'sLink
BLacks Link

While going to look at the structure I found the tunnels under the big boulder (as above). When I got there I saw the remains of some heavy steal windows shutters and it looked like a loophole for a machine gun. The walls were a couple of feet thick and the roof has caved in That is just a guess though..

I then went about looking for the main entrance of the tunnels that went under the boulder, which I found not that far away up the hill. Unfortunately it is blocked up and has lots of soil in it.

Blacks Link

 

I carried on looking around and found another tunnel. It had some Chinese character above the entrance.

Blacks Link
Blacks Link
Blacks Link

 

I have been told they are “Wong Sang”, which means something like “Journey to the next life” or something to that effect. Strange. Anyhow I stuck my head in for a peek

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Blacks Link

 

Blacks Link
BL

It’s only small, with one chamber and a tunnel that leads downward and to the right, but it has all been filled in with soil. It may have once connected to the tunnels under the boulder? On the way out the tunnel I follow the drain down back to the path.

 

Blacks Link

TOP STUFF.

 

 

Last week I went back to have another look and I feel pretty confident that the structure once was a Japanese machine gun position. I then had a look behind and found a tunnel. I took a friend in for a look. It connects to all of the other ones in that area (3) and possibly to the one further away with the Chinese characters but is all blocked up.

Black's Link Tunnel
Black's Link Tunnel

As you first turn the corner (on your belly) it opens into a shoulder high hall around 15m long. A couple of meters in there is a steep tunnel leading downwards on your right. This continues down about 5 meters turns right and down a few more where it turns a corner and leads off to the two holes I found under the big boulder. If you continue along the top tunnel it leads down and kinks right and heads about 15m to the blocked entrance with the white flower pot. This part starts to get silted up. I could see at the very end that there was another tunnel leading off. (I believe it was towards the one with the writing outside). I was crawling along just past the kink when we looked down a saw a whopping big knife half buried in the ground, with another one next to it. It has a rubber handle and doesn’t look like it has been there too long. No idea why they are there. Very strange.

 

At the kink there is a side tunnel which is blocked a few meters in. I would guess the whole length inside about 50-60m. What is interesting was the first 15m there are deep grooves into both sides of the walls every few foot. Similar to what we have seen near entrances of other tunnels that once held the door, but there are about 15 sets all the way down.

Black's Link Tunnel
Black's Link Tunnel
Black's Link Tunnel
Black's Link Tunnel
Black's Link
Black's Link Tunnel
Blacks Link Tunnel
Blacks Link Tunnel
Blacks Link Tunnel
blacks Link Tunnel
Blacks Link Tunnel

P.S. MrB, Thanks for your help with the firing range on the Peak. I haven't been out with my detector for a while, but I'll try to head out before it gets too hot.

Good work Craig. It's another example of how much unknown stuff (well, unknown to me!) is still out there. The knives are a bit creepy, wonder what they were there for?

I wonder what the AMO's opinion of the Japanese tunnels is? It would make sense to keep at least a couple of them as monuments, given their historical significance.

Went today, and after crashing around for a bit I managed to find all the (open) entrances mentioned.   The tunnel that has 'Wong Sang' written at the entrance has collapsed however, but due to the landscape it extends through a tiny ridge out a collapsed side around 1.5 meters. The entrance is still there with the engravings, but not quite a tunnel anymore. It does not appear that small tunnel was still linked to the system you describe, it is likely no longer accessible.

The tunnel with a straight drop down into it is very silted up and it wasnt very pleasant in there. Lot of nasty bugs in the other tunnels too.

The small pb is in the last description you described it. Very interesting to me, a one man loop and rounded turrets on the sides. Ill get some photos up soon.

Hi All. For those that are interested. I have done quite a bit of research and the "Wong Sang" characters. They do basically translate to "journey to the next life".  But it is more complex than that. It is referring to the release of the soul from the body (after death) as part of buddhist scriptures. It basically means half of the "rebirth" cycle of buddhisim. It makes me think of the Japanese war memorial, which was built to "collect" these released souls. The characters seem to me to have serve as a reminder to the men manning this tunnel system, that they should accept death and furthermore the tunnel itself seems to me to be a reflection of the idea of the "passageway to the next life" (rebirth) . I think its interesting that the  fanatasism of the Japanese in WWII is largely attributed to their unwavering nationalisim/pride/belief in the emporer when It seems that religious belief also played a part.