Bundle of cash found washed up on NSW beach

A mysterious bundle of cash has washed up on a NSW south coast beach, leaving locals scratching their heads—and scrambling into the water!

It all went down at Kendalls Beach in Kiama around 1:20 pm on March 20, when residents spotted a bag of cash and banknotes floating in the surf. Naturally, curiosity (and maybe a bit of excitement) took over, and people started diving in.

Local Anna Tydd told The Bugle that when she arrived, there were way more swimmers than usual. Turns out, her friend Ian had just returned from the water, goggles on, saying: “They’re swimming for money.”

Yep—you read that right. According to Ian, $100 notes were just floating around in the surf, and one swimmer even emerged with a rolled-up wad worth about $1000!

Where did the cash come from? No one knows. Locals speculated it could be linked to drugs or even be counterfeit, but there’s no confirmation yet. Tydd did the responsible thing and reported it to police, who are now investigating.

A quick legal reminder—keeping found money without trying to return it can be considered theft or larceny under NSW law. The old “finders keepers” rule might apply, but only if you make a genuine effort to track down the owner or hand it over to the cops.

Police are asking anyone with information to come forward—so if you know anything about this floating fortune, contact Lake Illawarra Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

So… was it lost, dropped, or something more mysterious? Either way, that’s one way to make a beach trip interesting!