Welcome to the 25th cache by "Keeper of Time".
Note – 20/05/2009, the cache location has been changed to keep
the mini muggles from destroying the cache again.
BLANCHE MURIEL EUGÉNIE ROSS-WATT JP OBE
(1861-1956)
Blanche was born 14th January 1861 in Gisborne Victoria, seventh
of eleven children of Thomas Ferrier Hamilton, a squatter who came
from Scotland, and his English-born wife Elizabeth. Educated
privately at Elderslie the family property at New Gisborne, Blanche
recalled presenting the Duke of Edinburgh with a posy when the
royal train stopped at Gisborne in 1867. She was sent to finishing
school at Hanover Germany in 1882, the first of her seventeen
journeys abroad. Travel enabled her, like others of her background,
and generation, to establish a wide and enduring circle of
acquaintances overseas.
On 8th December 1897 at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Gisborne,
she married her neighbour and second cousin Thomas Riddell
Ross-Watt, a 47-year-old pastoralist. Whilst they lived at his
property Rosslynne, she was prominent in nearly every charitable
activity in the district. Together with her small daughter Betty,
she instigated Wattle Day in Victoria when on 2nd September 1912,
they handed out sprigs of wattle in Melbourne suburbs and raised
£3000 to build a branch of the Church of England, now known as the
Children’s Hall in Station Road, New Gisborne. Within a few days of
the outbreak of World War One Blanche had formed a branch of the
Red Cross in Gisborne, of which she remained an active member until
her death. She led a campaign to have a cottage hospital built at
Gisborne and served for many years on the committee of the Kyneton
District Hospital.
Following the death of her husband Thomas in 1919, she and her
daughter Betty established and ran a small farm, Cathlaw, at New
Gisborne. They planned the house and planted a garden which became
renowned for its beauty. In 1925 she was elected to the Gisborne
Shire Council, and two years later she was one of the initial group
of fourteen women to be appointed justices of the peace in
Victoria. When she was elected shire president in 1931, newspaper
reports referred to her as the first woman to hold this office in
the State, she again served as president in 1939. Appointed O.B.E.
in 1949, she retired from the council in 1950.
Although Blanche was a hard-working and supportive member of the
Gisborne community, she was by no means uncritical of it. She
delighted in debate and controversy, and challenged the patronizing
and self-satisfied attitudes of the local male establishment.
Widely known for her feminist views, Blanche Ross-Watt was a woman
of charm and vision who was admired for her energy and leadership.
She died on 18th May 1956 at her home Cathlaw in New Gisborne and
is buried in Gisborne cemetery.
WPT1 - At the posted coordinates you will be in front of the
Children’s Hall that was paid for by funds raised during the first
Wattle Day fund raiser in 1912.
On the sign on the front of the hall, how many letters are on
the top line (not counting punctuation) = A
WPT2 – South 37 27.(A+1)27 East 144 35.(A-1)60
You should be outside a reserve that has tennis courts, toilets,
barbeques and plenty of room to kick a footy.
On the sign that has the name of the reserve, how many dashes
are there = B
Note - On the drive to WP3 you will see on the right at the top
of the hill (just after the freeway) Ross-Watt Road.
WPT3 – South 37 29.(B-1)56 East 144 35.(B+B)23
Please note – Parking here will be very difficult every 1st Sunday
Sept to May.
This is Pioneer Park, created during 1996 by the local Historical
Society. With Government funding and Local Government support it
provided work for the unemployed youth of the district. This
project included the laying of paving stones from a former heritage
site, the building of a thirty three metre long bluestone wall,
landscaping of the area and the completion of restoration of the
bluestone lockup, the brick stables and the privy.
Walk round the right hand side of the old Court House and down
the tree lined path to the wall and find the plaque for Blanch
Muriel Eugenie Ross-Watt.
If the top row of plaques is 1, what row is Blanch's plaque on =
C.
Whilst here you might want to look at the lockup by walking
round the building on your left (as you look at the wall) passed
the old privy. Also, outside on the opposite side on the slip road
to the Court House is a Heritage Walk, with plaques in the footpath
with historical buildings and points of interest in Gisborne.
WTP4 – South 37 29.(A-2)(9-C)7 East 144 35.2A7
Here you will find Blanche’s final resting place.
Also here you will find an inscription to her daughter
Katherine, what year did she die = 19FG
GZ – South 37 29.(F-C)C2 East 144 35.2G2
The cache is a 1 litre lock n lock container hidden in a typical
geocaching manner, I hope you enjoy the tour of locations that
perpetuate the memory this truly Historic Heroine.
Please ensure that the cache is well hidden before you leave and
I would ask that you help maintain the standard of the cache by
placing quality swaps only. As always, be mindful of the local
wildlife both good and bad.