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Where, exactly?? The Bathurst Flag Staff (Supp) Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

griz4b: Immediate area has changed.
Can't get around to this location, at the moment, to re-set this cache.
In future... but to today...

More
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


The cache is not at the listed coordinates, but can be found without too much difficulty after following the instructions below.

This contents of this cache will also give you the information that you need to complete
GC4507J the first CHIRP cache West of the Blue Mountains!
in case you find yourself without a chirp-capable device.

The image below shows The Bathurst Flag Staff
in front of Governor Macquarie's tent, 1815

"The Plains, Bathurst" a watercolor drawing attributed to J.W. Lewin 1815.



This cache celebrates the importance of the Flag Staff that was erected on the banks of the Macquarie river, under the orders of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, to celebrate the proclamation of Bathurst as a town on 7 May 1815. The 200th anniversary of this event is quickly approaching!

I encourage you to read more about this famous Flag Staff and its relationship to Bathurst and the exploration of inland Australia, at GC4507J "Where, exactly?? The Bathurst Flag Staff (1815)"


So where WAS this Flag Staff?

The journey by Macquarie was esteemed so importantly at the time that it covered a page and a half of the Sydney Gazette of 10 June 1815: "The Governor desires to communicate, for the information of the Public, the Result of his late Tour over the Western or Blue Mountains..." Therein, it indicates that "the site designed for the Town of Bathurst, by observations taken at the Flag Staff ... is situated in latitude 33° 24’ 30" South, and in longitude 149° 37’ 45" East of Greenwich."

The entire June 1815 Sydney Gazette article can be found the external link above if you're interested, along with an earlier Feb 1814 Sydney Gazette article of interest. These probably won't help you to solve this cache, but they make interesting reading from the beginning of our Australian history! My favorite is the comment: "It is ... strictly ordered and directed, that no person, whether Civil or Military, shall attempt to travel over the Blue Mountains without having previously applied for and obtained permission.... The necessity for the establishing, and strictly enforcing this Regulation is too obvious to every one who will reflect on it, to require any explanation here." Try that in a newspaper today and see the letters to the editor fly!

"Alert: By clicking on the above links you will be redirected to a website that is of interest, but is not needed to solve the cache. As the cache owner, I represent that these sites are safe to visit although they has not been checked by Groundspeak or by the reviewer for possible malicious content. Surf the wwwaves at your own risk."


In any case, those coordinates are certainly not near the original site of Bathurst, on the banks of the Macquarie river! Why not? Of course, the early surveyors had to rely on astronomical observations and/or a chronometer in an uncharted land (uncharted in the Western sense, at least). For every second their clocks were wrong, this was equal to 15 seconds of arc (the earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours). A good chronometer was enormously expensive, and difficult to keep in good nick. Evans’ clock was only wrong by about 10 seconds, but that put him over 4 kilometres out of position!



How to find this cache in four easy steps!


1) Bring yourself as near as legally possible (without crossing any fences)
to the site of the gazetted (and listed) coordinates.

2) At this location, you'll need to find a sign that looks like this:
(but the sign actually has a number on it... Remember this number)


3) Proceed from the sign that you have just found, by the distance and (approximate) direction that Australia
will have moved due to tectonic motion since Macquarie first walked these Bathurst plains.
(A bit of research needed here, perhaps on-line, perhaps on location at the related puzzle cache GC4507J ...)

4) At this location you will find your goal!
Again, there is no need to cross any fence lines.
Sign the log and grab a super smilie!
(after a short search of course!).


Finally, inside this cache you will find the instructions that you will need to
'unlock' the puzzle of GC4507J the first CHIRP cache West of the Blue Mountains!
This information will not help you find GZ for GC4507J,
but you'll know to do with your new knowledge when you get there!

Note that I don't intend to provide a geochecker for this cache.
If you're on site, and you've done your research, it should be obvious.
All the best, and happy caching!


Additional Hints (Decrypt)

fgnl sbe n juvyr... naq rawbl gur ornhgl! N snzbhf fheirlbe bapr erznexrq ba svefg ynlvat rlrf ba guvf cynpr: "vg erdhverf n pyrire crefba gb qrfpevor guvf Pbhagel cebcreyl, V arire fnj nal guvat rdhny gb vg... guvf cynpr vf jbegu fcrnxvat bs nf tbbq naq ornhgvshy"

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)