William Mobbs (c.1763-1839) was born in Middlesex, England, and married Ann Grover in 1790. By 1796 the couple had three sons and one daughter, and in that year William was committed to trial at New Gate on a charge of stealing salt petre. Convicted for seven years, he was kept in gaol for more than a year before being transported via the Barwell to New South Wales. His wife, Ann, together with their children William (b1791), Isaac (b.1793), Ann (b.1795) and George (b.1796), came out to Australia as free immigrants aboard the Earl Conwallis in 1801. The family was completed following the birth of John at Parramatta in 1802.
Mrs Felton Mathews, the wife of a surveyor, kept a journal of her travels with her husband. She wrote:
June 24th 1833
"....the country is flat and uninteresting till the Pennant Hills are gained; when it becomes of the same undulating and fertile description as in the neighbourhood of Campbell Town, and many of the fine slopes are Orange Groves in full beauty; Mobbs' orchard and gardens are among the finest, as I have before described".
June 25th 1833
"Took a walk in the evening upon the ridge overlooking the orange plantations of the two Mobbs father and son; the orchard of the younger has the advantage in appearance, being laid out with some taste, but the old man's trees are the finest I have seen......the Mobbs' make it is said, upwards of a thousand a year by their orchards.....Old Mobbs was among the first convicts who arrived in this country, and was for years employed in the Government garden, from whence he obtained a cutting from the first orange tree brought from Rio: this tree he shews with some pride as the parent of his whole orchard, either by cuttings, layers or seedlings. He has also cultivated English fruit trees very successfully, Apples, Pears, Cherries and Apricots as well as peaches: he was the first possessor too of the last, though they are now so numerous in every part of the colony that the inferior sorts are used to feed pigs".
To solve this cache you will need to visit several graves of randomly chosen people and look up some information inscribed on the tombstone.
The published coordinate will take you to a suitable access area to the cemetery.
WP1: The grave of a person with the surname Robinson. How old was this person when they died? Record this as C1.
WP2: Here you will find the grave of William & Elizabeth Mobbs. In which month did William die? Jan=1, Feb=2, Mar=3 etc. Record this as C2.
WP3: At this location you will find the grave of William Thomas Moore. On which day in June did he die? (1...30) . Record this as C3.
WP4: Here you will find the grave of Thomas ??? What is the value of the 5th letter of his surname? A=1, B=2, C=3 etc. Record this as C4.
WP5: Here you will find yourself standing at the final resting place of George Mobbs? How old was he when he died? Add the two digits of this number together and record this as C5.
WP6: Here you will find the grave of Henry Mobbs. On which day did he pass away? (1..31) Record this as C6.
WP7: Here lies the husband of Marjorie Keeler. What is the initial of his middle name? A=1; B=2; C=3 etc. Record this as C7.
WP8 : Here you will find the grave of Edwin White and his wife Sarah Ann. What year did Edwin depart this life? Discard the first digit and record the remaining three digits as C8. What year did his wife depart this life? Discard the first digit and record the remaining three digits as C9.
WP9: Here you will find the grave of William J. Mobbs. What year did he leave this life? Record this as C10. How old was he when he died? Record this as C11.
WP10: The coordinate for this location is not given. You will have to search the area for this location. Look for the grave of Ivy Midson. How many months old was she when she died? Record this as C12.
The FINAL cache location can be found at :
S33 XX.XXX E151 YY.YYY where :
XX.XXX = (C9*C11) + (C8*C2) - (C1*52) and YY.YYY = ((78+C6) * C3) + (C4*C5) + C10 + (C7*3) - (C12*13) + 1
Adjust the decimal place as necessary, eg, if the calculation results in a number, say 4237, then the answer becomes 04.237
The cache is a small 500ml plastic container which can accomodate small items for exchange. Please replace the cache exactly how you found it.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.