This
cache will bring you to Buninyong, which is considered to be
one of the first inland towns in Victoria. The town has a
growing population of about 3,700, and is located at the foot
of Mount Buninyong. Buninyong village began to develop around
1840, and grew quickly when gold was discovered near the
village in August 1851. Only a small amount of gold was found
in the Buninyong area, but the first gold discoveries lead to
a large amount of gold which was found in the area near
Ballarat.
The cache is hidden in Desoza Park, which was named after
Buninyong's former "Gold King", Henry Joseph Desoza, who, on the
eve of his departure for Europe in 1883, conducted an unusual
ceremony. Here he dressed in a velvet cap with a purple scarf and a
camellia in his button hole and distributed about 100 gold
sovereigns to various charities. Desoza had contributed more than
200 pounds to charities over the years and so at the conclusion of
the ceremony Desoza was crowned as the Gold King with a circlet of
gold fashioned to depict ferns and forget-me-nots.
There are a
number of other sign boards nearby that provide more detail about
Desoza and the history of the area. There is also BBQ and
playground equipment, which make this a nice spot to stop for a
break in a day of caching.
On to the
cache!
At the listed co-ordinates you should be standing in front of a
small plaque that celebrates the opening of Desoza park.
Behind you is a map of Buninyong with a number of points of
interest marked and described in the legend.
Use the numbers from the legend to make up the co-ordinates of
GZ.
Where the number from the legend is two digits, you only use the
"ones" digit.
For example "The Old Cemetery" is number 21 in the legend, and so
would provide the number 1 in the co-ordinates.
The cache is hidden at:
S37 (Desoza Park & BBQ's) (Tennis Club) . (Toilets) (Gong
Gardens) (Catholic Church)
E143 (Kindergarden) (Library) . (University Of Ballarat) (Bowls
Club) (Police Station)
The cache is hidden within the park.