Credit River - Moltke Traditional Cache
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Credit River - Shipwreck Series
Moltke
1891 and 1911
There are many shipwrecks around the world. Some very famous and others not so. Each however has it’s own story to tell. As you travel along the Credit River doing this series of caches, we have highlighted a number of these shipwrecks. During low water levels on these parts of the Credit River, you need to be careful in a canoe or kayak so as you don’t wind up in your own shipwreck. Besides the many large rocks along the way, there are also some other obstacles such as dams which should be avoided. All of the geocaches in this series have been placed by tubing, inflatable boat or on foot by walking in the water along the Credit River. Whichever way you choose to search for these caches, use caution and common sense.
More information about this series can be found here: Credit River - Shipwreck Series
Moltke
The Moltke was a three-masted, iron hulled, barque. The vessel sailed from Germany to Townsville, Australia in 1890 and was described as "beautiful, spotlessly clean and expensively furnished.". Having docked at Townsville to unload cargo and passengers the vessel continued onto Rockhampton.
On 1891-04-03, en route to Rockhampton, at the northern end of the Flinders Channel to the east of Cape Bowling Green, the vessel ran aground upon a reef. The crew abandoned the vessel and returned to Townsville.
The vessel was then refloated and returned to service as a coal hulk. In 1911, Dr McCabe, a local dentist, purchased the hulk with the intent to scuttle the vessel in Geoffrey Bay, Magnetic Island, to protect the jetty located in the bay. An explosives expert, William Bright, was contracted to sink the vessel. Accounts of the event suggest that while the vessel was being towed into place, the fuse for the explosives was lit prematurely by an intoxicated Bright. The tug boat pilot was able to release the tow lines and pilot clear of the vessel. However, the explosives aboard the vessel detonated and scuttled the boat in the wrong location and 10m depth.
The wreck of the vessel now hosts a wide range of underwater life and is a popular open-water dive site.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
fcrpvny gbbyF erdhverq