The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates, so read on ...
Although they are few and far between these days, drive-in cinemas were a very popular way to go to the movies back in the BC era (that's Before Computers, as well as before colour TVs and DVDs). At their peak, there were more than 330 drive-ins across Australia, including one on the Central Coast. Gosford Drive-in Cinema was located just off Terrigal Drive in Penrose Crescent, Erina. It opened in February 1958, and the first movie shown was a B-grade romance, "Green Fire", starring Stewart Granger and Grace Kelly.
Once people started getting colour TVs and video cassette players (the forerunner to DVD players) in their homes in the mid/late 1970's (enabling them to watch whatever movie they liked, when they liked, from the comfort of their own lounge), the days of the drive-in cinema were numbered. This drive-in actually lasted until March 1985, and on the final night, the newly released Arnold Schwarzenegger film, "The Terminator", was screened along with Sylvester Stallone in "First Blood". The property was subsequently purchased by Erina Fair to facilitate expansion of the shopping centre.
There is an interesting photographic display of the history of Gosford at the starting point (WP1) for this cache, where you will see an aerial photo of the drive-in theatre dated 19AB ... it is quite interesting to compare this photo with a similar shot displayed here of Erina Fair that was taken around 19CD after the drive-in had disappeared.
There's quite a few other interesting historical photos on display here, including:
- Ploddy, Australia's first "big thing" in 19EF
- female lifesavers at Terrigal in 19GH
- the Terrigal Hotel in 19IJ, and
- MV Erina K.
The cache is located at:
S33 26.KJ(A+F) E151 23.GEI
Please note that WP1 is inside Erina Fair and can only be accessed during shopping centre hours. The cache itself is accessible 24/7 but looking for it when nothing is open may well attract unwanted security attention.
BYO pen. There is no room in the cache for swaps or trackables.
Enjoy!
