It was 1908, and Carlo Catani of the public works department, proposed “a temporary wooden Government Hospice estimated to cost three thousand pounds” to be built up on mount Buffalo, which was soon to become known as the Mount Buffalo Chalet.
Frank Grossman, a saw miller from North Wangaratta, was contracted to cut timber for the structure.
In an amazing feat of endurance, Frank and his saw millers manhandled a steam traction engine up the mountain, and established a mill on the Long Plain. Using the steam engine to drive a 4 foot circular saw, they milled woolybutt logs brought to the site by Jack Usher and his bullock team.
Frank announced to the powers that be at the time, that he needed a constant supply of water to run the mill, so the Public Works Department chose the last day of 1908 to slip through Contract No 1676 with Messrs Young and Howitt for construction of a weir to dam the Underground River at the entrance to the Haunted Gorge at a cost of 2355 pounds. Unsurprisingly, no-one opposed the plan as they had all gone home for the day.
Contrary to popular belief, the lake which formed above the weir was not created for scenic purposes, but to provide water for the saw mill, and it allowed the mill to operate all summer without a danger of fires.
Unfortunately, the pressure of the work was too much for Frank Grossman, who became seriously ill and was unable to complete his contract, and he eventually died in 1913. The milling machinery was sold and removed after his death.
They named Lake Catani after the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department who did so much to make Mount Buffalo a popular holiday resort.
To locate the cache
At the sign the first paragraph has numerals which are represented as:
A B C D E F G H I J K L
GZ is located at:
S 36° 43.(F - A) K G
E146°48.(J - E) D (H + E + A + I)