The Brisbane Line
by
HawMorFords
A log only micro cache in Brisbane's CBD. Bring your own
Pencil!
The coordinates etched on the above light are
as follows:
27° 28' 6.5272" South
153° 01' 37.85640" East
Not far from these coordinates you will find
this plaque :
The
Brisbane Line
The Brisbane
Line was a controversial defence proposal allegedly formulated by
the Menzies government during World War II to concede the northern
portion of the Australian continent in the event of an invasion.
The actual location of the "line" demarcating this territory is
unclear. When the proposal was originally revealed to the public in
1941, it was claimed that the "northern part of the country" was to
be surrendered. Douglas MacArthur subsequently claimed that the
line was to run from Brisbane to Perth.
Although the defence of the entirety of Australia's vast and
sparsely populated interior would not have been possible with the
military resources then available, it seems equally unlikely that
any Australian government would have been prepared to concede so
much Australian territory without a fight.
The proposal first came to light when Labour politician Eddie Ward
received confidential information about a plan to abandon northern
Australia from an unknown public servant. Ward then publicised this
information at a public meeting at Preston Town Hall in Melbourne.
The quality of this evidence remains in dispute, with critics using
it in turn as evidence of Menzies' alleged treasonous
sympathies.
A royal commission was held into the alleged absence of documents
from official archives pertaining to the Brisbane Line, however the
commission found that no such documents were in fact missing. The
royal commission and the Brisbane Line controversy played a central
role in the 1943 federal election, resulting in John Curtin's
Labour government returning to power in a landslide
victory.
***** Update *****
Cache replaced 19th February 2009. Micro
container with logbook and stash note only - bring your
pen.
The cache is is less obvious than before
though it is still in plain view - 14 metres east from the
coordinates found on site.
Please protect the integrity of
the cache.
It is clearly visible from the curb so once
located, squat down to tie your shoelace and you will have the
cache in hand.