Pioneer NQ #3 Mystery Cache
Speedmistress: Unable to maintain as people maintaining no longer live in the area.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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BRING YOUR OWN WRITING INSTRUMENT.
Watsonville Pioneer Cemetery
1882 - 1942
From the Atherton Tableland town of Herberton you travel in a general westerly direction to Watsonville & Irvinebank.
When you find a windmill in the middle of the road turn you GPS on (that is if it is not on already) and continue your journey towards Irvinebank.
At the above coordinates turn onto a dirt road.
You will recognise your destination from the Short Description above. Ample parking area is provided and if you are lucky you will even score some shade.
The cemetery has some very interesting examples of Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea glauca, Xanthorrhoea pressii, Xanthorrhoea johnsonii) growing within its area. These plants are very slow growing with mature plants being centuries old. Grass Trees only grow in Australia.
These remarkable plants have a lifespan of 600 years but are very slow-growing. The trunk takes a decade to form initially as it is composed of a mass of old leaf bases held together by a natural resin. It is then a further 20 years or more before the mass of thin, linear leaves rises above it. From then on, it grows only about 1-2cm (0.4-0.8in) in height per year. We have observed plants which have taken 27 years to grown 30 centimetres (one foot).
This plant grows to a height of over 4 metres and often has branches. It’s growth rate is only about 1 metre every 100 years. However, the flowering stalk grows at a rate of 2 – 3 cm per day reaching to a height of over 3 metres. Mature plants will result in flowering every 2 – 3 years. The Grass Tree attracts a wide range of lizards and insects that shelter in the plant’s massive foliage. The flowering spear of the plant attracts honey eating birds, bees, ants, and butterflies.
Now you have had a flora lesson lets get on with the caching business. Answer the following question to discover the final target of your quest.
THE QUESTIONS:
To complete these questions, please use the number (in hours, months or years) stated on the plaque as the one required.
When each of the following people died, how old were they?
(A) Phelip Halpin.
(B) Thomas Stainslaus Vandeleur
(C) William Harold Cleland
(D) Petra Marie Monson
(E) Marguerita Todd
The locality of the cache is inhabited by authentic Australians many years the senior of any person buried here.
S 17 22.AB
E145 18.EDC
Thank you for visiting our third offering in the Pioneer NQ series. We hope you have enjoyed the experience.
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Treasures
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