"No course hand of progress
will ever tear from Mallacoota
and it's surroundings the mystic
beauty that still clings to
it like an enchanted veil, showing
under the soft transparency
of sky and air a loveliness
amongst the rarest in picturesque
Australia." EJ Brady

What a top spot this is! To the casual visitor this is a sensational view of the coast from Bastion Point to Cape Howe, the lakes, Gabo Island & the bar. But it has a greater history than that.

It can justifiably be stated that this was headland was discovered on the same day that Captain Cook discovered Australia. From Captain Cook's log:

" 20th April, 1770, 6am. Sighted land extending from
NE to W at a distance 5 or 6 leagues. Continued standing
to Westward until 8am then bore away NE being at that
time in the latitude of 37 degrees 58 minutes S and in
the longitude 210 degrees 39 minutes W. The
Southernmost point of the land we had in sight which
bore from the W. 1/4 S, I judged to lay in the latitude
211 degrees 22 minutes W from the Meridian of Greenwich.

At noon we were in latitude 37 degrees 50 mins S,
longitude 210 degrees 29 minutes W, the extremes
of land extending from NW to ENE, a remarkable point
bore N 20 degrees E distant 4 leagues. This point rises
to a round hillock very like the Rame Head going into
Plymouth Sound on which I called it by the same name.
Latitude 37 degrees 39 minutes, longitude 210 degrees
22 minutes W Magnetic variation 8 degrees 7 mins E.

At 6pm brought to for the night, Northernmost land
in sight bor N by E 1/2 E, and a small island (Gabo Island) close to a point on the main bore W distance 2 leagues.
This point named Cape Howe, was identified by coast
trending N on one side and SW on other, and also by
round hills just within it. (Howe Range)"

Captain Stevenson's Point (where you now stand) is named after a later Captain to visit the area. The first European to settle in the area, Capt. John Stevenson took up the Mallacoota Run as a cattle station in 1841.

He came to the area from Twofold Bay where he commanded a whaling vessel in the 1830's and harvested whales with the Imlay Brothers, and later became associated with Ben Boyd. (This links this cache topically with A Whale of a Time #2 a little further up the coast.)

It is likely that he was the first resident of Gabo Island which can be seen from here, possibly as a base for his whaling operations in the 1840's.

Like other settlers Stevenson attempted to grow wheat for food supply, and was amongst the first to grow the crop anywhere in Victoria.

After a short time here he blazed a trail 90 miles up to Bondi Station via Warangarabelle and took up the Bondi Run. He stayed there for the rest of his life until he died at the remarkable age of 95 in 1874.

Enough of the history however, you are here to admire the view and find the cache. This area is popular with muggles, particularly fishermen checking the conditions on the notorious bar which has taken so many lives over recent decades. Please be careful retrieving the cache, maybe leave it for sometime quieter to retrieve it if it's busy. In summer time the 700 site caravan park which surrounds the site of the cache guarantees muggle activity in the hundreds at times.

The posted coordinates will find you at a plaque & your final history lesson at this spot.

From the plaque which gave this cache it's name you need some Monumental information. It may not be obvious at first.

The year the incident occurred = ABCD

The time of day the incident occurred = E am

The number who died = FG

You will locate the cache a short walk away at

S 37° (F) (G).(C) (D+E) (D)

E 149° (E) (C).(B-A) (A) (C)

I hope you enjoy it. Please respect the cache contents and trade even or trade up. Please replace it as you would hide one of your own - well I hope! And please don't compromise it by doing it under the nose of muggles.

Thanks,

DJ