Slow Coach - Chorkerup Multi-Cache
~Tango~: Bandits, plunderers and other riff-raff obviously still ply their wicked ways along the old coach road. Bring back the pillory I say. Thanks Mistraluna for alerting me to its disappearance.
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Size: 
(regular)
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Celebrating part of Western Australia's stage coach heritage.
The Albany to Perth mail run started with horses being ridden
overland from Albany to Bunbury and then to Perth. In the 1840's
the route was altered until on January 1, 1854 the first horse and
cart mail run was conducted over what is now the Albany Highway via
Kojonup. These cart trips took 12 days.
As you take the 20 minute drive out from Albany to the site of the
inn think how things have changed over the last 170 years.
The party sent out in 1837 to find the route for a track to Perth
did not even get as far as Chorkerup on their first day. They had
to camp overnight and then took another 2 hours before getting to
the lake and pastures which later made Chorkerup so important as a
staging post. This party comprised Lt Armstrong of the 21st
Fusiliers, eight soldiers, plus Mr Hillman, Mr Harris, Mr Taylor
and Dr Harrison and a Noongar boy named Kartrull. A Mr Sherratt
supplied the cart and a driver.
Even when there was a beaten track established the stage coach took
3 hours to cover this 18 mile distance. What a doddle it is
now.
The inn began in 1854 as a simple wattle and daub building of 3
rooms and a large bar. The beer came from one of the two breweries
then operating in Albany. Due to some transgressions by the
proprietor, the license to sell alcohol was withdrawn on a number
of occasions. The brick building came later. Early reports talk of
"a delightfully quaint-looking place" in beautiful surrounds. "The
proprietors are possessed of genial manners and good sound
provisions". One party reported "supping on kangaroo and found it
very enjoyable indeed". The scale, if not the quaintness, of the
building can be seeen in the gallery photo.
Not everything was idyllic. There were reports of a ghost - a
Chinese man who buried his gold and then hanged himself in one of
the gum trees behind the inn.
The cache is not located at the inn but at a related site. To find
the co-ordinates, read the sign at the remnants of ruins that
remain. Count the number of letters in the first and last words.
These are then A and B. Add them together to give C.
There are two dates - think of them as DEFG and JKLM
The cache is then at 34 49.BCA 117 45.LFK
You will notice that the sign refers to Chockerup rather than
Chorkerup. That was the original aboriginal name from "place of
chocks" with chocks being an edible root.
The cache is about 3km away, so it's back in the car for a 3 minute
drive, There is a sign about 50 metres from the cache which shows
the link between the inn and the cache site.
The cache is an ammo box in a pretty standard hide. Co-ords weren't
wonderful so just look around for the obvious.
If you are out for a drive with the kids just keep down this gravel
road you're now on for another kilometre or so for yet another link
with the theme of this cache. On the left, lots of them by today's
standards but pretty common back then.
Thanks to the Local History section of the Albany Library for their
help in researching the history of the inn.
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