Round and round they go, and have done such in Australia for almost 2 centuries.
Yes I’m talking about the Windmill – an Aussie Icon seen all over Australia.
Windmill – Aussie Icon
This is one of a planned series of great Aussie Icon hunts. Travelling around Australia you undoubtedly see windmills: Dead ones, Rusted ones, High ones, Spinning ones, Coloured ones, Huge ones, all seen along the roadside, adjacent farm houses, along river banks, in gullies, in country town parks, in museums, in fact wherever…
This series of geocaches is designed to help you when travelling around Australia, by breaking up the trip, and to discover a bit of a history lesson as you seek windmills in locations with a written history of the windmill and/or local region adjacent.
With each of these trips, I’ll be giving the actual coordinates of some of the relevant windmills along the route – you then have to visit them enroute and determine the vital statistics and any other required info at the location. This will then be put into a formula to determine the final location of the cache. All windmills are accessible by car (no bush bashing required), they are all just a few metres off the highway, or in the centre of towns you will pass through, eg town parks. If there is limited access (to the base of the windmill) due to the time of day a park closes, I’ll mention that for the relevant windmill. All can be easily seen from road though.
Street view and/or satellite view could be useful .........
Use that (& your time machine) and all is revealed, 100%.
In many of the windmills, you will be required to count the number of blades on the fan. This will be difficult to impossible depending on the strength of the wind.
Therefore, a digital camera IS ESSENTIAL.
Also, if you live in Canberra, when
you come back to Hobart, you can track down "Great Aussie Icon
Hunt # 5.6" – Canberra to Hobart (to Canberra)
GC2TR90 - Great Aussie Icon Hunt # 5.6
Finally, as with all windmills, from time to time a blade may fall off and you may see the windmill before it is replaced. So, count how many blades should be there. (unless told otherwise).
These two caches, when on the mainland, take you through the Gippsland and Cann river regions of Victoria and Bombala & Cooma in NSW.
Now onto this particular geocache:
HOBART to CANBERRA
Windmill A
S42º 53.011 E147º 19.942
Look up, very high, and to the East – You see some vertical axis windmills.
Number of windmills divided by 2 = AA. Total Number of blades divided by 2 = AB.
(Number of windmills is divisible by 4) (The green text above may be useful)
Windmill B
S 42º 46.930. E 147º 33.968
Total Number of blades = BA. Number of windmills = BB.
If BA+BB is not divisible by 6, add one more identical windmill so that BA+BB is divisible by 6.
Windmill C
S 42º 32.743 E 146º 46.640
Look 150m NE - Number of blades = CA.
Location of next windmill
S 4(BB-AA)º (CA-BA-BA) (BA-BB) . (BA-BB) (CA-10) (8)
E 146º (BB-AA-1) (BA-BB-AA) . (AA/2) (BB) (7)
Windmill D
Number of blades divided by 2 = DB.
Number of steps up to the windmill – 7 = DA. (DA is divisible by 4)
Number of white pickets in the picket fence – 8 = HC. (divisible by 4 again).
The water wheel was added in 19?3. HB=?.
Number of vowels in Abel’s middle name = HA.
Location of next windmill
S 42º (HA-DB) (HB-HA) . (DA/2) (DB) (8)
E 148º (CA-HC-2) (BB-HA) . (DB) (HC-HB-HA) (3)
Windmill E
The tail: If green EA=18, if yellow EA=16, if silver EA=12, if white EA=24. The ladder: number of horizontal ladder steps BETWEEN horizontal members of the tower, multiplied by 2 = EB. EC=number of legs + 1. ED = number of water pipes going up the middle. FA=EA+8. FB = number of sides on each panel making up the tail + 1. FC = number of panels making up the tail + 1.
Location of next windmill.
S 42º (EC) (FC) . (EB) (EA-EB-EC) (2)
E 147º (EB-EC) ( (FA+1) - EA) . (FB) (EA-ED-10) (7)
Windmill F
Beautiful mural Burnt down. See windmill E for F's numbers.
Windmill G
Number of blades = GA. Shape of blades. GB = 1 if square, 2 if triangular, 3 if elliptical, 4 if rectangular.
Windmill H
HA. HB. HC. (from Windmill D)
Location of next windmill
S 42º ( HC-EA+EC) (HC-EA+DB) . (HB-GB) (HA-BB) (2)
E 147º (1) (ED) . (FC) (HB-GA) (7)
Windmill I
Look 100m East, Number of blades = IA. IB = number of water tanks at the base.
Location of next windmill
S 42º (IB) (HB-GB) . (IA-HB) (EC-DB) (7)
E 147º (GA-HA) (GB) . (EC) (BA-AA) (3)
Windmill J
Number of large blades = JA. Number of small blades = JB.
Location of next windmill
S 42º (HB-JB) (EA-CA+JB) . (JA-AA-DB) (JB-BB) (8)
E 147º (JA-GB) (EB-JA) . (IB) (EA-HB) (8)
Windmill K
Check out what this sign was in AUGUST 2022. Number of large blades = KA. Number of permanent words directly under the windmill = KB.
Number of letters in the first of these permanent words = LA.
Location of next windmill
S 4(HB-LA)º (AB-BA) (JA) . (EC-DB) (HC/2) (3)
E 147º (JA-KB) (FC-KB) . (JA/2) (HB-KB) (2)
Windmill M
Number of blades = MA. Colour of blades. MB = 1 if blue, 2 if yellow, 3 if red, 4 if black.
Location of next windmill
S 41º (MA-FC+1) (FB-FC+4) . (HB-EB+1) (JB-MB) (8)
E 14 (JB-GB+1)º (AB-LA-4) (BA-LA+JB-2) . (MB+5) (EB-MA+2) (8)
Windmill N
An information plaque mentions “Hard Rock” in the 4th line. Number of letters in the E word directly below Hard Rock = NA. Number of letters in the T word directly above Rock = NB. Number of times the letter A appears in the last line = NC.
Location of next windmill
S 41º (NA-GA-ED) (HB-NB) . (EC-ED) (NA-FC) (8)
E 147º (IB-ED) (HB-NB+1) . (HC-NA) (EC-NC) (8)
Windmill O
Number of large blades = OA. Number of these blocks required to make 1 ton = OB.
Location of next windmill
S 41º (EB-KA) (AB-OA-GB) . (HA-GB) (EA-HC+1) (8)
E 147º (BA-OB-EC) (LA-GB+AA) . (EA-OA-EC-GB) (NA-NB-AA) (1)
Windmill P
Number of blades = PA. Date of “photo” = ?? PB = 3rd digit in year. PC = 4th digit in year.
Distance (in km) from “Low Head” to “Mount George” = RC.
“ …operated for more than 2? years until it was replaced by the electric ….”. ? = RB.
RA = (distance from your current location to Mt Direction) – (distance from Mt Direction to Mt George).
“From Port Philip” PLUS 1 = SA, SB = From No. 2 fan positions, value at 45º. SC = Vessel has female prisoners, number is 21?, ?=SC.
Location of next windmill
S 41º (NA-DA) (AB-PA-1) . (AB-EB) (PC) (0)
E 146º (OB-NB) (PB) . (NA-MB) (JB-FB) (5)
Windmill Q
Number of blades = QA. Number of ladders up the windmill = QB.
Location of next windmill
S 3 (QA-AB+1)º (EB-NC-1) (HB-PA+RA-1) . (EA-HB-PA-PB) (PB-RA-1) (6)
E 147º (QB+RC-RA) (PB-RB-4) . (QA-HC+2) (BA-NC-3) (2)
CHECKSUMS: Adding up all S digits, Sum = 32, adding up all E digits, Sum = 29.
Windmill R
For RA, RB, RC see windmill P above.
Windmill S
Number of blades = SA. Number of tails = SB. Number of ladders up the windmill = SC.
NOTE: if windmill S is missing, you got the values for S from Windmill P.
Location of next windmill
S 3 (QA-AB)º (EC+SB) (JB-KA-SC) . (RA-NC-SC) (AB-NB) (8)
E 149º (IB) (SA-QA+SB+MA) . (FB+SC) (SC) (2)
Windmill T
Number of blades = TA. Number on weather satellite directly above = TB.
Location of next windmill
S 3 (LA-DB)º (TA-SB+ED) (SC) . (OB) (BB-MB) (3)
E 149º (IA-CA) (HB-IB+SB+NC) . (PB-TA) (NA-JA+PA) (3)
Windmill U
Number of blades = UA. Number of Large font words on one side of the tail = UB. Number on tail = UC.
Location of next windmill
S 35º (UA-HC-NC) (UC-SC-IB) . (UA-SA) (TA) (9)
E 148º 5 (JB-SC) . (UB-PB+BA) (HB-UB) (9)
Windmill V
Number of blades on windmill 200m westwards = VA. Number of sides to the tail = VB. Number of large plastic tanks at the windmill base = VC.
Cache is located at:
S 35º NP.QRS
E 149º VW.XYZ
Where
N = (UC-JB+IB)
P = (FA+VB-QA-JA)
Q = (CA+OB-AB-NC)
R = (BA+HA-KB+OA-PC)
S = (IA-SA+BB+DB+PA)
V = (FB-MA+QB)
W = (RB+RC+NA+ED-HB-NB)
X = (UA+VA-HC-KA-DA-PB-AA)
Y = (EA+FC+GB-LA-EC-RA+TA+NC)
Z = (EB+GA-MB-SB-VC-PC-UB)
Finally, as with all windmills, from time to time a blade may fall off and you may see the windmill before it is replaced. So, count how many blades should be there. (unless told otherwise).