Alsume's 21st cache brings you to a site that commemorates the Annexation of Strathmore to the City of Essendon. It is a short one step multi-cache.
Prior to 1979 Strathmore was part of the Municipality of Broadmeadows. However this relationship was not always a happy one and there was a number of attempts by various groups for Strathmore to separate from Broadmeadows.
There have been two organisations with the name Strathmore Progress Association in Strathmore's History. Both were involved with succession movements. The first Strathmore Progress Association together with the Pascoe Vale and Glenroy Progress Associations agitated for the separation of Strathmore, Pascoe Vale and Glenroy from Broadmeadows to form a new Municipality to be known as the Borough of Devondale. Their main argument was for the separation of the rural section of the Broadmeadows Municipality from the rapidly developing urban areas. They petitioned the Public Works Department. The petition was rejected on a technicality and the Progress Associations had to go through the procedure again.
The proposition was eventually put to a poll of ratepayers in 1947. The Broadmeadows Council opposed the separation and campaigned strongly against the proposal. The "Borough of Devondale" plan was defeated 1242 votes to 885 with the main negative vote coming from Strathmore residents, (Glenroy and Pascoe Vale residents narrowly supported the proposal).
The second Strathmore Progress Association was set up a lot later. It also promoted separation of Strathmore from the Broadmeadows Municipality however this time proposing the Annexation of Strathmore to Essendon City Council. The reasons put forward were that historically and at that time Strathmore residents associated more closely with Essendon than they did with Broadmeadows, that there were lower rates in Essendon and that rates from Strathmore subsidising works in Broadmeadows which would not be used by Strathmore residents.
Also at that time the suburb had recently been divided by the construction of the Tullamarine Freeway (in the late 1960's). The original annexation plans would have seen the area south of the freeway being annexed to Essendon with the remainder staying with Broadmeadows. This proposition was also put to the ratepayers in the southern part of Strathmore in 1976 and this time residents voted in support of the proposition two to one. At this stage the areas of North Strathmore and Strathmore Heights also jumped on the bandwagon, not wanting to be left behind in Broadmeadows. When Annexation finally occurred in 1979 the whole of Strathmore (and some of Essendon Airport) was transferred to Essendon Council.
Essendon Council including Strathmore was incorporated into the newly formed Moonee Valley Council towards the end of 1994 as part of the then State Government's policy of council amalgamations. (Main Source: "Broadmeadows, A Forgotten History" Lemon, 1982).
At the first Waypoint you will be in front of a plaque commemorating the Annexation. From this plaque you need to obtain the following information:
Number of letters in the month the plaque was unveiled = A
Number of letters in the surname of the Councillor listed third in the second column = B
Number of letters in the surname of Councillor listed second in the third column = C
You will find the coordinates for GZ by adding A+B to the decimal minutes of the South coordinate of the plaque, and adding C to the decimal minutes of the East coordinate.
WHILE THE PLAQUE IS MISSING YOU CAN ADD 5xM-1 TO THE SOUTH COORDINATE AND 2xM-1 TO THE EAST COORDINATE, WHERE M IS HALF THE NUMBER OF LIGHT TOWERS AT THE ADJACENT CHRIS LANE FIELD.
The cache is a micro (not nano) in size and tubular in shape. It is camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings. It does not have a pen so please bring your own. The cache is effectively on the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail so there are lots of other caches not far away.
Hope you enjoy this little bit of local history and the cache.