Slow coach - Are we there yet? Traditional Cache
Slow coach - Are we there yet?
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Another cache in our series remembering when the only way to travel from Albany to Perth was by stage coach.
In the mid 1800's the sole public transport on the 250 mile journey to Perth was by coach. At this time Western Australia was a convict destination and escapees were a security issue. Freemen could go using their own horses but anyone wanting to make such a journey had to apply to a magistrate for a permit to buy fodder along the way.
The coaches were strictly regulated and, as they carried the mails, they were required to travel at least six miles an hour. If they averaged less than this they were fined. Each coach carried a policeman, armed with his carbine; and besides the driver and trooper there was room for two more passengers on the front seat. The mail was carried inside the coach so, if that was full, any more passengers had to lie on the top of the coach, with their feet hanging over the edge of the coach behind.
The stage coaches were drawn by four horses. Unlike the modern car, horses could not make the trip without a break. A series of stopping points existed - some were inns (where horses might be changed and passengers might buy a meal or an ale), some were merely halting or watering places. At these halts the horses would be given a small amount of feed and water. A longer halt would involve the horses being rubbed down after being taken from their harnesses.
Passengers carried their own food which they ate at the halts. The journey was arduous. Apart from these breaks, which ranged from 15 minutes to two hours depending on what needed to be done with the horses, the trip to Perth was continuous. Records from the time show that children travelled at half the adult fare. It is not recorded if the modern child's cry of "Are we there yet?" was ever uttered.
This cache is set at a "baiting place", so called because the small regular amount of food given to the horses was called a "bait". The location was in old times called the Eighty Three Mile Tree. When you stop you might imagine just which was this significant tree, so welcome to the olden days travellers who had just completed the 17 mile leg from Williams in three bumpy hours.
All that is here now is a plaque and a grave site. Have a stop and stretch your legs. It's only a small cache with space only for geocoins or small swaps. Have fun.
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