Who Lit No. 2 ? Mystery Cache
Ngaambul: No response from the owner within the time requested and as per the original note this cache has been archived. If you wish to replace it please submit a new cache via this link.
Ministro - Matt
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is not located at the listed co-ordinates!
The listed co-ordinates are those of Port Kembla No. 2 Blast Furnace built by Australian Iron and Steel in 1938.
This is the second of a 6 cache series commemorating the Port Kembla Blast Furnaces. The full series will take finders to locations where six historical blast furnaces operated in NSW. These enterprises met with varying degrees of success.
This cache is not located at the listed co-ordinates!
The listed co-ordinates are those of Port Kembla No. 2 Blast Furnace built by Australian Iron and Steel in 1938.
This is the second of a 6 cache series commemorating the Port Kembla Blast Furnaces. The full series will take finders to locations where six historical blast furnaces operated in NSW. These enterprises met with varying degrees of success.
Blast Furnaces are sometimes known by the name of the person who first lit them. No. 2 Furnace at Port Kembla was first lit on 1938. However, there is no record of who lit the furnace. Mr J.W. Thompson who was Technical Assistant to the General Manager at the time has quite recently recalled “it is unknown who actually lit it. It is possible that because times were financially tough, if there was a lighting event then it was very low key and may have been carried out by Mr Cecil Hoskins or Mr Mortlock (General Manager)”
The combined production of all 6 furnaces that have operated at Port Kembla has quite recently passed the 200,000,000 tonnes mark. No2 Furnace’s contribution was 25,168,727 tonnes produced over 17512 operating days in 7 campaigns. The furnace last operated in for a very successful campaign from 1989 to 1996 producing 5,641,736 tonnes at an average of 2,264 tonnes/day. The furnace was shut down a few days after the successful commissioning of the new N06 Blast Furnace.
The No2 Blast Furnace furnace has since been demolished, and all that remains is the hearth base and the stove shells.
To find this cache, your journey will take you to Mittagong – the site of The Fitz Roy Ironworks and of Australia’s first blast furnace – built in 1863 and blown-in in 1864. The furnace originally operated with cold air blast but was converted to hot blast in 1865. According to company reports, some 2,400 tons of iron had been produced by June 1965 at rates of 60-120 tons per week. This iron was produced at a cost of nearly six pounds per ton (nearly $12/t) instead of the $7/t proposed in the business plan. Interestingly more than 40% of the anticipated operating cost was for transportation of the product to Sydney. The venture was not able to turn a profit and so while it must be considered a technical success in many ways, it was a commercial failure and the furnace was closed in 1866. A second attempt in 1876 replaced high ash local anthracite fuel with splint coal from Lithgow and some coke from Bulli (railed from Sydney after shipment to Pyrmont!). This attempt produced 3,273 ton of iron but again proved financially unviable due to the transportation costs for the various raw materials and product. The history of this venture is well documented and a very useful account can be found in ‘Australia’s Age of Iron’ by Ian Jack and Aedeen Cremin.
To find the information leading to the cache site. Visit the Mittagong site and examine the sign and monument located near S 34 26.877 E 150 26.507.
Let A= the number of Es on the sign divided by the number of Ps on the sign
Let B= the number of Ls on the sign divided by the number of Ps on the sign
Let C= the number of Ws on the sign
Let D= the last digit of the year that the monument was erected
Let E= the month of the monument’s erection minus ten
Let F= The number of men named Thomas listed on the monument times two.
Ground Zero can be found at:
S 34 26 ABC
E 150 52.DEF
Finders should note the three digits on the back of the small photograph of the Mittagong furnace which is in the cache. These provide digits for the south coordinates of the cache commemorating No 6 Blast Furnace, "Jerry”
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ab uvag ninvynoyr
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