Space Invaders Mystery Cache

The above coordinates are false (they will take you to a relevant spot though). Instead you will have to do a little research before starting off.

A Bit of History

Murchison, situated on the Goulburn River, is a fine example of a small Victorian rural town with a big heart. With a population of approximately 600 people, Murchison is located about 150 km north of Melbourne on the old Goulburn Valley Highway, between Nagambie and Shepparton. The Ngooraialum tribe occupied the land around Murchison before being dispossessed by the arrival of the European settlers. The first Europeans to pass through the future townsite were probably the drovers Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney who were overlanding sheep and cattle from Mitchellstown to Adelaide along the river system in 1838. The first white men in the district belonged to the party of explorer Thomas Mitchell which crossed the Goulburn River to the south at what is known as Mitchellstown.

An Aboriginal Protectorate was transferred from Mitchellstown to Murchison in 1840 with squatters beginning to take up land at that time. A school was also established in 1840 and a native police force in 1841. In 1850 the Protectorate closed and French vigneron Ludovic Marie settled at Murchison, establishing vineyards. The site became a river crossing used by goldminers travelling between the Bendigo and Beechworth fields in the early 1850s and Marie was clever enough to establish a hotel and a punt service over the Goulburn River. The township, the first in the Lower Goulburn Valley, began to develop around the crossing which was surveyed and named in 1854 after a Captain John Murchison. The first post office was built in 1855, a flour mill in 1858 and a Presbyterian Church and school in 1859. Land along the Goulburn was first opened for selection in 1865 with small landowners moving into the area in the 1870s. A bridge replaced the punt service in 1871 and the first newspaper was established in 1873. A courthouse and mechanics institute were built in 1874.

The town benefited greatly from the river trade which began with the arrival of the first paddlesteamer in 1875. At that time it had six hotels, a number of general stores, two flour mills, a post office, a sawmill, cordial factory, two blacksmiths and numerous other stores and services. In 1878 the Murchison police station temporarily became the base for operations against the Kelly bushranging gang.

The railway reached Murchison East in 1880. The building of the Goulburn Weir from 1887-90 dropped the water level and so finished off the dying river trade. It also enabled irrigation projects to proceed in the area, thereby enabling the agricultural development of Shepparton, Tatura and Dhurringile as Murchison declined. Murchison East grew as a wheat depot on the branch line.

Between 1941 and 1947 some 4000 POWs were interned at Murchison. These were overwhelmingly German, Italian and Japanese POWS although the German officers were held at the Dhurringile mansion to the north of town. By 1942 the POW camp was employing 675 people, including 64 officers, to guard the prisoners. The prisoners were used as a local source of labour. In 1943 the Italians and Japanese were used to pick fruit and the Italians were also used to cut wood. There was such a suspicion of the Germans that they were not allowed out of the camp. The camp was closed in 1947 and the main hall and clubrooms were relocated to Murchison for the use of the RSL.

On to Business

The name of this cache is not only the name of a video game that many spent a degree of their misspent youth on, but also the name of a song released by an obscure Aussie band in the late 1970’s. It may also be found on some early 80’s compilation albums.

The name of the band is 2 words with the last word actually being a digit... the number one (1) to be exact. Prior to commencing the cache you will need to find the first name of the band which contains 6 letters. Your favourite search engine should help.

The name of the band is ------ (1)

Using the method A=1, B=2, C=3......X=24, Y=25, Z=26 you will need to total the numbers of the first name to calculate the coordinates to the first way point.

S 36 37.0(Total-60)

E 145 13.0(Total-38)

These coordinates will bring you to WP1 which is a little spot that will shed more light on what dropped from the sky and gave the residents of Murchison a bit of a start. Since the cache's original placement, some of the original information has gone missing. There is still a collection of interesting newspaper clippings, however, this is the lowdown.

The Murchison Meteorite Meets Earth

September 28, 1969, about 10:45 AM

The Murchison meteorite landed in Murchison, in 1969, only two months after the first man landed on the moon. Eyewitnesses saw the bright orange ball with a smoky blue trail passing through the night sky before it broke apart above the Earth with a sonic boom. Several hundred pieces fell around Murchison, ranging in size from a few ounces up to 113 pounds. The dramatic meteor shower caused only minor property damage, with one fragment puncturing a hay shed roof.

"We heard a loud noise like an airplane flying low over the house in Weir Road, South Murchison. We rushed out but couldn't see anything. I wasn't keen to have pieces of the meteorite in our home, at that time nobody knew what harmful elements it may have contained"
Mrs. Jan Hillgrove.

From where you are standing a small path heads behind the information boards. A few steps down this path there are two plaques, one a little further down than the other near a tree. You will need to gather some information from these 2 plaques:

Murchison was the Premier Smaller Town from 198A to 8B?

Find the 2nd number in the year that The Time Capsule was placed = C

The tree was planted in 19D5

On the tree plaque, count the number of letters in the last word on the top line = E

The cache can be found at:

S 36 37.ABC

E 145 13.DEA

I am also fond of the bridge in Murchison. It's a nice steel structure and has also popped up in a couple of films recently including 'Kenny' and the lesser known Guy Pearce film 'Til Human Voices Wake Us' - a bit creepy that one but interesting.

The Cache

The cache is a short drive away and will take you to a nice little fishing/picnic spot. Please take caution if it has been raining as the ground may be slippery/muddy and a few previous finders have met a couple of odd horses enroute. There is also a river close by so again take caution if you have young children with you.