Cornelius's
Course
In the 1800's our suburb "Figtree" contained one
main road (Now the Princes Hwy) and a couple of branch roads. One
of the earliest roads in the Illawarra over the escarpment was
O'Brien's Road which went from the main road to Appin. It was
discovered by Cornelius O'Brien from Bulli who proposed to develop
it to make a cattle road from the Illawarra to the District of
Appin. This was achieved in 1821 by subscription.
The history of Cornelius O'Brien is available at
http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020600b.htm
It was primitive for many years, the track being
only a bridle track. It was a difficult climb down the mountain for
vehicles, sometimes requiring the aid of ropes passed around trees.
However, vehicles did make the trip so when travellers were being
directed to or from Sydney in the early days, the best way of
describing the route was to tell them to "turn off at the giant fig
tree". O'Briens Road in Figtree today is the beginning of the
original track. The Giant fig tree was cut down in 1996 due to
disease. A portion of the trunk remained until 1997 when it was
also removed. If you would like to visit it's original site you can
complete one of my other caches!
This hunt will take you on an enjoyable
undulating walk approx 1km along a well defined track. It is a
simple hide, suitable for kids under the supervision of adults as
there are some steep declines near GZ.
The area offers great views of the Gong, the
escarpment and a nearby colliery. It also unfortunately shows
evidence of the less caring members of society.
Please ensure you re-hide the cache securely.