In the 1950’s, when the Cement company employed over 500 people, Railton was a busy little town. The main street was home for 2 general stores (one owned by the Field family the other by the Kellys), 2 milk bars, 3 butchers shops, a bakery, an electrical store, 3 garages (service stations), 2 banks, a post office and a bookmaker as well as the hotel, police station, small library and child health clinic. There were also 2 timber mills in the immediate area. The railway junction was a centre of activity and the 4pm train always held up the school bus from Devonport for what seemed like hours as carriages and goods wagons were added or removed. The Cement company now has fewer than 50 employees and most businesses were forced to close as the increasingly mobile community began to shop in the larger towns and the city near by. The Railton community looked for ways to encourage visitors and to get tourists travelling from The Spirit of Tasmania to Cradle Mountain to stop for a short time. Turning Railton into a “Town of Topiary” was one such idea. There are many topiaries in all stages of development. As someone who enjoyed finding the topiary hawthorns on the way to Hobart as a teenager we enjoy watching the Railton topiaries taking shape. This cache is designed to take you on a tour of the Railton Topiaries. They are at their best from mid spring through to early autumn, but a visit at any time of the year will be rewarding. We hope you enjoy these living sculptures.
The cache will be found at S41 AB.CDE E146 FG.HJK with the values of the letters obtained when you visit the following topiaries around Railton.
Note: As of 18 January 2023, the waypoints have undergone an extensive review. Some topiaries have not been maintained and new ones have been added in the town. The hide remains at the same location.
Stage 1: Cement Australia
(S41 19.962 E146 25.407)
This topiary consists of two letters and a slowly emerging design.
- G = the sum of the letter values of the two letters
Stage 2: Lions Park
(S41 20.775 E146 25.374)
The coordinates will take you to a topiary animal. Find the best match from the list below and use the associated value:
- Deer => H = 0
- Eagle => H = 1
- Elephant => H = 3
- Giraffe => H = 8
- Horse => H = 6
- Lion => H = 9
Stage 3: Spiral Trees
(S41 20.775 E146 25.348)
There are a number of spiral trees on either side of the main street.
- Z = Number of spiral trees on the western side of the main street from the Police Station to the corner of Crocker and Foster Streets
- E = 2 * Z - 1
Stage 4: Service Station
(S41 20.806 E146 25.324)
There are a number of topiaries at the service station. The coordinates will take you to the southern most one. Find the best match from the list below and use the associated value:
- Deer => D = 0
- Eagle => D = 1
- Elephant => D = 3
- Giraffe => D = 8
- Horse => D = 6
- Lion => D = 9
Stage 5: Topiary Heart
(S41 20.822 E146 25.338)
- A = Number of topiary characters there with the heart.
Stage 6: Going Into Town
(S41 20.898 E146 25.274)
- J = Number of animals in this collection of topiaries - 1.
Stage 7: The School
(S41 21.147 E146 24.881)
- B = Number of dogs walking home from school with the family.
Stage 8: Fisher
(S41 21.480 E146 24.619)
- F = Number of eyelets on the fishing rod
Stage 9: Steeplechase
(S41 21.517 E146 24.601)
- K = Number of horse legs on the road side of the fence
Stage 10: The Dragon
(S41 21.857 E146 24.393)
- C = Number of feet plus twice the number of wings on the dragon.
Now, head off to S41 AB.CDE E146 FG.HJK - hopefully you will find the cache.