About this Cache
You will need to complete the companion Adventure Lab to obtain the co-ordinates for this cache. I appreciate that this is a slight ... variation ... on the normal SideTracked cache, although the cache itself is not far from the station, plus I have had numerous occasions to find myself at Gordon Station with sufficient time to find this cache while waiting for the trains to restart.
This cache is a standard bison container. Please ensure that you sign the log - BYO Pen! There is quite a lot of parking in the area, although it can fill up early.
Being a commuter station usage is concentrated around the morning, afternoon and evening peaks, hence be particularly muggle-aware at these times.
About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breathtaking view, but is rather a distraction for the weary traveller (although anyone else can go and find it too). More information can be found at the SideTracked Website.
About Gordon Station
Gordon railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the North Shore line, serving the Sydney suburb of Gordon. It is served by Sydney Trains on the T1 North Shore and T9 Northern lines, and there is a major bus interchange next to the station.
Both the eastern and western lengths of the rail corridor are landscaped with several mature trees and shrubs including poplars, jasmine, jacaranda, palms, agapanthus, camellias and lawned areas.
The station was designed and built by the New South Wales Department of Railways in 1909, with platform 1 completed in 1993, and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. It is significant at a state level as an excellent representative example of an early 20th century suburban station, retaining a high degree of integrity and quality in its architectural detail. The station demonstrates the important role the railway played in opening up the areas of the northern suburbs of Sydney for settlement, and evokes an earlier era of rail travel.
It ranks 47th in the network with about 5,570 daily users (well, pre-pandemic).
About Gordon
Gordon is a suburb of Ku-ring-gai, the traditional land of the Aboriginal clan Kuringgai (also spelt Guringai), and is 15 km north of Sydney. It lies in the centre of Ku-ring-gai Municipality and was the earliest settlement in the area. Formerly known as part of Lane Cove, the name given indiscriminately to the area, the parish of Gordon was gazetted in 1835.
The name Gordon, adopted for the suburb in 1879, is derived from Gordondale Estate, the estate owned by Robert McIntosh, and honours Sir James Willoughby Gordon, Quartermaster-General of the Horse Guards in London in the 1830s.
Gordon Public School, constructed in 1875, is the earliest public building in Gordon. It closed in 1989 and is now the home of the local historical society, next door to Gordon Library.
Gordon is home to Sydney's largest flying fox colony and the Council in conjunction with the Heritage Council of NSW acquired land in Gordon in 1986 to preserve the existing colony of grey-headed flying foxes. Recently a portion of land adjoining Flying Fox Reserve was acquired by Ku-ring-gai Council to further safeguard the flying foxes, which are now listed as a threatened species.
Gordon has a number of small parks and reserves, including the Annie Forsyth Wyatt garden which contains a memorial to the Tree Lovers' Civic League. The garden itself is a monument to Wyatt as the founder of the National Trust in Australia.
At the 2016 census, the suburb of Gordon recorded a population of 7,668.
(sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_railway_station,_Sydney, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon,_New_South_Wales, https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/gordon)
About Adventure Labs
To complete an Adventure Lab you need to download the app for your smartphone. Log in using your regular geocaching name and password, then search for Adventure Labs in your area (e.g. this one!). Click here for more information on the Adventure Lab app.
Congratulations to B@W on the FTF!