William Ricketts Sanctuary Letterbox Hybrid
Paul_the_Hippy: Decided to archive. The final gz will need to be rebuilt. They aren’t that far into the cleaning process. It could be years before it reopens and then with the damage I will need to rewrite it all. Hopefully I can put an adventure lab here.
Beyond heartbroken to see what is left after the June storm.
Don’t know what else to say.
William Ricketts Sanctuary
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William Ricketts has always been a hero of mine. Current open hours are 10.00am to 4.30pm
Growing up in the area and going to the primary school around the corner in the early 80’s, my first memories of William Ricketts, was of this old man walking up the middle of the road. A line of cars waiting patiently behind him. He never missed the bus that way. It was his way of protesting against cars in the Dandenong Ranges. As I grew up, I was to become a close associate of Bill. I don’t know if you could ever say that he had friends. He was certainly known for being eccentric. This eccentricity will become evident if you watch the videos in the original residence. Back then as he is now. He was known for his sculptures in the William Ricketts Sanctuary. An area of 10 hectares of forest on Mt Dandenong, that he purchased and later gave to the Government to be managed and protected for all time. The property is one of very few pockets of Old Growth Mountain Ash Forests in the Dandenong Ranges. With less then 1% of the original pre-European forests left in Victoria, the significance of this Sanctuary cannot be underestimated. Some of the tallest trees in the world are along the creek system below the carpark. Some visible from the sanctuary are 87m tall. There are also endangered Galaxis fish in the creek, undescribed fungus and slender tree ferns. On the personnel level, this is very much a spiritual home for me. I have worked here as a Ranger and completed many thousands of hours of volunteer hours on the maintenance of the forest. I always try to visit whenever, I am in the area. Privately it is my sanctuary. THE SANCTUARY GROUNDS ARE ONLY OPEN FOR 6.5 HOURS EACH DAY. ACCESS IS NOT POSSIBLE AFTER HOURS. The fence is electrified. It is accessible by wheelchair, but they will need help to reach the cache and get some of the information. PLEASE RESPECT THE VEGETATION AND THE SCULPTURES BY NOT TOUCHING AND STAYING ON THE PATHS. Culturally, please be aware that images and likeliness of deceased indigenous people are in the Sanctuary. THIS CACHE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT TO MOST CACHES THAT YOU WILL DO, HENCE A HIGH DIFFICULTY RATING. YOU WILL NEED TO PRINT THE NOTES AS PHONE RECEPTION IS VERY PATCHY AS IS GPS RECEPTION. It has been designed to walk you through the Sanctuary, looking at the sculptures. They portray the way Bill saw life in Australia and the Aboriginal people of this land. Time will vary, but expect a minimum of 0.5 hours and up to 3 hours to fully appreciate the sanctuary. The coordinates are the start point which is the front gate. From there concise instructions to get to each point for information occurs. YOU WILL FIND THE CACHE AT; SOUTH JD° BG.GEH EAST ABK° CF.BJC On the letterbox is number .....AB02..... (Letterbox missing. Number is 1402) You have now entered the sanctuary grounds and headed into the visitor centre. You might want to buy a book or a postcard, but you don’t need anything here to complete the cache and the exit is through here as well. Head out the doors. If you start heading up hill, you have gone out the wrong door. Immediately outside the doors are some large rocks with MALE ABORIGINAL HEADS. How many large rocks with these heads are there? This is .....C..... On a smaller rock on the left hand side is some children’s faces. HOW MANY FACES ARE THERE?. This is .....D..... Continue for 40m along the path, where you will find a sculpture headed “SANCTUARY KURUNBA YANKARA” On this sculpture, there are some hands reaching up to a child’s face. How many fingers are there excluding thumbs reaching up to the child’s face? This is .....E..... Continue along the path to where it splits. How many possums are on top of the child with broken wings. This is .....F..... CONTINUE AND GO INTO THE HUT. This used to be my office. Mind you it still had a dirt floor back then. It was Bill’s home with his mother until, they built the brick building you will come across soon. Enjoy the video of Bill and his totem. The Lyrebird. On the walls are some information boards and a timeline. Find the year that Bill’s mother Susan died. It is .....1G51..... What number month did Bill die in. The year was 1993. This is .....H..... At the back of the hut was one of Bill’s most prized sculptures, as well as the unfinished Eagle that now sits outside the kiln at the gallery. From here head through a little archway and the up the hill and some stairs. Probably no more then 20 metres in total. You come to a dead end, but here is a sculpture called “REVERENCE FOR LIFE”. How many trees are in this sculpture? Add 1 to this number and this becomes .....J..... From here, there are many small paths to take. If you continue uphill and take left turns (you will meet some dead ends). You will find your self at a hut and a gallery. This is at the highest point of the public areas in the Sanctuary. Before you get to the hut you will find a controversial sculpture (as many are) called “BETRAYED” How many Rifles are a part of this sculpture? You will need to know this for the next question. Up to the left of the glass doors is a sculpture called “AUSTRALIA CRUCIFIED” There are some crosses as religious symbols as a part of this sculpture. On the left hand cross are some concentric circles. How many are there? Add this to the number of Rifles found at “Betrayed” This is .....K..... The cache is outside the sanctuary, but close by. I hope you enjoy this very special place I choose to share with you.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq jnyy