This is an EarthCache and has special requirements for logging it. You cannot log a Found It without responding to the logging requirements set out below.
Only one find claim per Message. Each Geocacher claiming a find must submit an individual response. One team can not lodge a response on behalf of a group of people.
Alpha's tribute to the forests of yesteryear - sculputres and petrified wood.
The Capricorn Highway bypasses the main street of Alpha, Take a look at a map of Aplha, and you will find that the streets, bar a few, are named after the major figures of English Literature: Shakespeare, Burns, Milton, Byron, Tennyson, Swinburne, and Scott, to mention a few. But anyone driving off the highway into the main street, Shakespeare Street, would find no monument to the great English Bard Instead, you will find a rather remarkable tribute not to literature but to geological time through some remarkable fossils embedded into a most wonderful series of sculptures.
The Alpha area has a rich collection of fossilised wood - and the sculptures here reflect the treasures and mysteries of these ancient fossilised materials, revealing a glimpse into the prehistoric life of the area. Fossils such as the 50-million year old turtles of Gladstone to the East, through to the huge dinosaur bones found near Winton in the west bear testament to bygone years, but the petrified wood of the Alpha area are claimed to be much older that these.
These remarkable sculptures were created in 2012 by an artist by the name of Antone Bruinsma, from Cedar Creek near Mount Tamborine in south-east Queensland, Here's what he wrote of "Fossilised Forest of Alpha"
“This stone sculpture installation represents a boulder, opened to present its mysteries and treasures - a fossilised tree. Like a thunder-egg, the inner beauty of the earth and stone are revealed, while the rough outer crust stands in contrast. For me, this also represents the character of the community of Alpha.
The central “tree trunk” of petrified wood is the core of what holds a community together, its essence flowing out to the three larger elements. These can also be seen as a family group, with the two vertical pieces standing watch and welcoming friends and visitors. The horizontal piece appears to be resting and can also be used for sitting on and invites contemplation and touch.
The tree forms carved into the stones are symbolic for the flora and fauna which thrived here in ancient times. They have left an impression and we can only wonder what it may have been like back then. The petrified wood give hints to a rich and varied past. The black granite represents transformation (into coal), and connects us to the present. The pink stone, zeolite, placed in the heart space, is symbolic of purification and mineral wealth.
“The Fossilised Forest of Alpha” sculpture tells a story of our connections with the past, present, future and this land. It is about continuity.”
When wood is simply preserved in the stone, it is called "fossilised wood" i.e. when the wood becomes buried under sediment or volcanic ash and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits aerobic decomposition. But when mineral-laden water flows through it deposits minerals in the plant's cells; as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay, a stone mold forms in its place.
To log this cache you must supply the following to me via the "Message this owner" link at the top of the page. Then log your find as usual. If I have any issues about your supplied information, I shall contact you back. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your visit to “The Fossilised Forest of Alpha" just as much as we did back in May 2015.
1. Sit on the "horizontal piece" and touch the various surfaces. Describe what you can feel. (two or three sentences will suffice.)
2. How many pieces of fossilised wood can you count (in total) on all three sculptures.
3. Sometimes these pieces are called Petrified Wood instead of Fossilised Wood. What is the difference between petrified and fossilised wood?
4. Aside from Helidon Sandstone, list the other materials used in the sculptures, and against each briefly describe what they are.
5. Explain why you think sandstone was chosen for these works
6. Take a "selfie" photograph of yourself (OR your GPSr) against the sculptures. Comical poses earn more smileys. Attach your photo to your log.
Now that you have done all that, pop into the Visitor Information Centre, grab a cuppa and tell them why you are here.