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Terrain:
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Size: 
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This cache is located a a quite rest stop with a bit of history. This should be an easy find so you can have more time to enjoy the scenery.
As is the case with much of Australia's early history, the flickering details of the Gin's Leap story have been passed down over the years by word of mouth and have, of course, varied much in their content.
"The best known story is that a young Aboriginal girl, promised to an elder of her tribe, the Kamilaroi, ran away with a young Aboriginal man from another tribe. Hotly pursued by Kamilaroi tribesmen, the lovers jumped to their death from somewhere along the top of this rock.
"The historic Rock Inn, built by a Mr Baldy Adams, was originally to have served (as) the hospital. However, in 1854, he changed his plans and it opened as the Rock Inn, Namoi River, an important stopover point for the bullock teamsters and Cobb and Co coaches. The inn was then situated on the northern side of Main Road 72, between the Namoi River and the road and traded until about 1875.
"The best remembered operators of the inn were Mr David Grover (whose descendants still live in the Boggabri District), his wife Maria and family. It is reported that ... adjoining the inn (they) also operated a store which was well stocked with all descriptions of Drapery, Hosiery and Grocery of every article for domestic use at the lowest prices.
"The Grover family had a home on the southern side of the now main road, very close to where this sign stands. Parts of an old outside lamp from the inn are housed in the Historical Museum in Brent St, Boggabri.
"The four people buried in the vault on this site are Mrs Russell, her 2 year old son, John James, and Mr David and Mrs Maria Grover. Mrs Russell, the 21 year old daughter of Mr and Mrs Grover, and her husband, James, conducted an inn at Mungindi. An unfortunate accident occurred involving the handling of bulk spirits in the cellar one evening, with them igniting from an open slush lamp of that period. Mrs Russell and her son received fatal burns in the inferno which resulted. The child died on the day of the fire, October 3rd, 1866. Mrs Russell died 2 days later on October 5th, 1866. Word was brought back to the Grover family of the tragedy by a man on horseback. The ride is reported to have taken a night and a day to complete.
"Twenty five years later, in November 1891, the late Maria Grover was buried next to her daughter and grandson, followed by the late David Grover in October, 1892. From the original grave site, which was situated some 200 metres west of the present site, the bodies were transferred to the present vault which was constructed by a tradesman of Danish ancestry, Mr Christy Hansen, in 1895.
"The small headstone to the left of the vault belongs to Mary Ann Mein [sic], a young girl employee at the Rock Inn, who died on January 17, 1858, aged 19 years. Mary Ann was buried in close proximity to the old Rock Inn but, with reconstruction of Main Road 72 some years ago, the headstone was relocated to its present site. Unfortunately some damage occurred to the headstone in the moving.
"The untimely deaths at such young ages of Mrs Russell, her son and Miss Mein serve as a reminder of the harsh living conditions of our colonial past. The presence of the graves in the company of the old clump of Aloes, obviously once part of the garden at the Grover's house, represents the transience of human life when compared to these hardy old plants which have defied the ravages of time and the elements and still flourish."
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