Let’s follow LPT 23
- Flood Planes
McKee Clan’s cache
Let’s follow LPT (Little Para Trail) is a series of caches along the trail for you to find. Please enjoy the walk or Ride as we have and happy hunting.
Due to the number of caches in carisbrook park and Howie bowie reserve we decided to start in salisbury and continue out to sea. Enjoy the walk or ride.
FTF – The4Zimmers STF – Calumphing_four TTF – Millsmob
Please follow the: 
Local point of interest
interest – South Australia’s first flights were here
Wittber - 13th March 1910, Bolivar, South Australia.
Houdini’s other competitor was a Bleriot monoplane, which had been purchased by an Adelaide businessman who had visited Europe and England in the hope of finding an aircraft capable of being demonstrated and sold in Australia. While he was in England, the French flier, Louis Bleriot had flown from France to Dover in England, creating a storm of controversy about the vulnerability of England to an Armada of flying machines and gained himself, and his aircraft, a great measure of excellent publicity. Mr. Jones, the Adelaide businessman concerned, recognised the achievement of Bleriot and his aircraft and paid ₤1,000 in advance, for a Bleriot type XI monoplane, number 37, powered by a 24hp Anzini rotary engine. This aircraft, an advanced type for the time, employed primary flight controls, which would be recognisable today. A control column was used with a series of levers and cranks to “warp” or alter the shape of the wing, in order that the amount of lift developed by the wing to be increased or decreased, a rudder bar operated by the pilot’s feet, allowed the aircraft to veer right or left, and a forward or rearward movement of control column would cause the nose rise or fall in flight.
The Bleriot arrived in South Australia and Mr. Jones engaged an engineer, Bill Wittber, to assemble and rig the aircraft. Bill’s ability as an engineer and his interest in aviation, wetted by such magazines as “Flight”, made him an excellent choice for the job. Assisted by Fred Custance, the machine was assembled and displayed in John Martin’s store in Rundle Street, Adelaide. From there it moved to Bolivar, a country town outside Adelaide, where the first attempts at flying it were to be made. At this point, none of those involved had ever flown an aircraft! The Bleriot manual was consulted carefully and on 13th March, the aircraft was run around the paddock with Wittber at the controls. The machine struck a tussock, lurched into the air and after about 15 metres, landed. Whilst it was only a short distance and Wittber never claimed it as a flight, it was landed without damage.
Custance - 17th March 1910, Bolivar, South Australia.
On the morning of 17th March, 1910, Custance is believed to have taxied the aircraft around the same paddock several times. It is claimed that he later was able to make a successful take-off and achieved a short flight circling the paddock, however that flight was un-witnessed, and claimed to have occured at 5am in the morning, prior to sunrise. Another attempt in front of witnesses resulted in the aircraft apparently stalling and crashing causing extensive damage to the propellor, undercarriage and wheels. Subsequently, it was returned to Adelaide for repairs and was later destroyed by fire while in storage that winter.
Years later Bill Wittber's version of events and a dedication on a plaque only acknowledges one flight by Custance on the 17th of March, resulting in a crash, and correspondance from Jones adds further concern including a claim by Jones that it was he, not Custance, who was the first to fly in Australia on that day in Bolivar..
Unfortunately some confusion and dispute therefore exists in respect of these claims, and the reliability and independance of witnesses, but they are certainly deserving of being recognised as some of the first attempted powered flights to take place in Australia. It seems clear flight in a straight line briefly was achieved by both Wittber and Custance, however of no greater outcome than the earlier flights by Defries in December 1909.
Little Para Trail
The Little Para Trails follow the Little Para River, which has many attractions for all to enjoy. Flowing from the City of Salisbury's hilly escarpments to the plains, it meanders through many significant sites that played an important role in the early development of the City. Of great importance are the remnants of natural landscapes present along the river's edge. Varieties of eucalyptus woodland and native golden wattle still exist and some of the earliest almond trees and orange groves are still blossoming.
Points of interest along the trails include Deal Court, Paralowie House, Pitman Park, the Old Water Wheel, Harry Bowey Reserve, and Carisbrooke House.
Little Para River
Origin – near Lower Hermitage
Mouth – Globe Derby Park
Avg Discharge – 3590 m6/year
The Little Para River is a seasonal creek running across the Adelaide plains of South Australia, whose catchment fills reservoirs that supply some of the water needs of Adelaide’s northern suburbs. It runs from its source near Lower Hermitage in the Mount Lofty Ranges, flows north westerly to the Little Para Reservoir and then westerly to the Barker Inlet of the Gulf St Vincent at Globe Derby Park. The lower portion of the river is badly affected by human activity and storm water runoff but the upper reaches have a good range of biodiversity.
The river attracted John Harvey to form his settlement at Salisbury in 1847 and was crucial to the development of the citrus industry from 1852. In the 1960s the City of Salisbury began acquiring land for public space, and a belt of parklands with biking and walking trails now borders the river. The river’s name derives from the Kaurna word Pari which roughly translates as a stream of flowing water.
As the river flows down from the Adelaide Hills over the Para fault escarpment, it has formed a large alluvial fan on which Salisbury is built. The river is narrow and winding, formerly flooded in heavy rain and rarely reaches its sea outlet. Over time the river has been widened and levees added to reduce this flooding. In the 1800s lack of consistent flow in the river and the absence of an organised water supply system led to the digging of wells. The Little Para refreshes the well's water, mostly held in clay, sand and gravel layers up to 200 feet (61 m) deep. The Little Para Reservoir is built in the path of the river for water storage and flood mitigation. As the river's catchment is insufficient to fill the reservoir, it is mainly used to store water pumped from the River Murray. Periodically water is released from the reservoir into the river, enabling refreshing of ground water.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the First to find there is a certificate and a unique FTF path tag. They are not swapped or given out so the first to find pathtag will be a unique item that no one else will have.