Vanderville- The Oaks History #3
This is the third in a series of caches telling the history of The Oaks.
One of the earliest settlers in the area , John Wild , who had been in charge of the cattle station at Cawdor, was granted 2000 acres of land in 1823. This property was named “Vanderville” and was described as being rich and well watered , covered in part by “she-oaks” from which the district was named. The she-oaks eventually made way for grazing. A homestead was build in 1826, however no description has survived . 17 convict men were employed and crops such as wheat, tobacco, cheese as well as 500 sheep , cattle and pigs
John Wild died in 1834.
His son John Benton Wild took over the property, and with 11 children of his own, the house must have been large.
Upon his death his death in 1857, John Benton’s wife Emmaline Wild took over. In 1858 she released 100 acres of the estate for the private village of Vanderville, the current site of The Oaks.
On the way to this cache, a view rarely seen by travellers, of the southern side of The Oaks township and the airport. Some of the fallen trees are from the storm that passed over the airport in February 2016, which destroyed several airport buildings.
During the 1940’s and 50’s a racetrack was existed in the approximate area of the airfield. Patrons boarded buses at Liverpool, Campbelltown and Camden to journey to the track. It was operated by The Oaks Jockey Club.
The cache is a small bison tube . Log only, pencil required. Please replace geocache in the same position