Grampians History #1 - Forgotten Victory Traditional Geocache
Grampians History #1 - Forgotten Victory
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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An easy find with a short walk through open bushland. There is some light undergrowth and need for care with nearby road and of the natives.
Having lived in this area for some time we noticed how many interesting stories of the development of this area into what we enjoy today are often forgotten in the interest of the natural wonders that the Grampians offer.
This cache is to highlight the fist access track to the Mt Victory summit. It began as a bridle trail for horse or foot traffic. It was gradually widen into a bullock jinker track to bring timber out of the mountains, and then in the 1900's parts of this track were used in the formation of Bluff Road - now the Mt Victory Road.
The first motor car (a Buick - car no. 17490 with 6 occupants) reached the summit of Mt Victory in 1925 with 4 hours of driving from Halls Gap using the old jinker track most of the way and then cutting a path through virgin bush to reach the summit near what is today Reads Lookout.
On that day it passed this cache site were maybe a tent was pitched.
Today it is possible to see were a site was leveled and a structure built at one end that a tent could be pitched against to provide warmth and cheer. There were a number of such sites along the bridle trail were the workmen could rest or camp and they are quickly decaying into nothing. Enjoy it while you can and marvel at the effort and hardship of the early settlers as they built what today we take for granted.
As you travel up Mt Victory Road evidence of the bridle trail can still be seen were it crossed the present roadway between the Wonderland turn and Silverband Falls turn in several places. We hope as you enjoy these mountains you will also appreciate the history, both Indigenous and European, which they are also full of.
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