“A Page from History”
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Take a Break from the Track to Remember
This geocache is just off the Birdsville Track, about 85km or so south of Birdsville. If you have ventured this far, the last seven kilometres off The Track shouldn't prove too difficult. This geocache is sombre in nature and intended not so much as a fun distraction from the dust but more as a timely reminder that life out here was and still is a tenuous existence.
The geocache is located near a memorial/grave to a family who did not take the dangers of the Australian outback seriously enough and paid with their lives. Ernie Page and his family ventured along The Track in December 1963 and it was just a track back then, indistinct and easy to wander away from, which is precisely what the Page's managed to do in their Ford Customline. The car ran out of fuel, so they foolishly left it and tried to walk for help and all five of them perished in the heat of the summer sun. The five family members are buried here in a single grave, where their bodies were found. Their story can be read in detail at:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/one-wrong-turn-and-their-fate-was-sealed/story-fn3o6wog-1226019019536?nk=b93108dcbdcd2c02c5c92902385292a2
The turnoff to the grave is not signposted although if you know where to look it is easy enough to find. It is shown on this page as Waypoint 1. It is on the left when travelling from Birdsville.
Follow this new track for approx. 2.5km then veer north on a smaller track. Follow for a further 4.2km until you see a yellow marker post on your left. Turn right here. There is a track although quite hard to see. You may need to just follow your instincts here and is where you will be glad you are in a 4WD. If you are not in a 4WD you may wish to walk these last few hundred metres.
Please treat the area with respect and leave no trace of your visit. It would be great if you could straighten a few stones and carry out a general tidy up in the true CITO tradition. A recent photo uploaded shows how much the grave surrounds have deteriorated in such a short time. It would be great if geocachers could become the unofficial "keepers of the memorial"
Footnote: It seems the geocache has gone missing before being found even once. My thanks go to Hercs & Pinky for placing a new one. But to overcome the distinct possibility of it going missing again with little chance of it being replaced, if you cannot find the container then simply take a photo of the memorial grave and upload it to this page to claim your find. If you can include a picture of yourself or your car or something to identify you actually made it then that's good enough for me. Not strictly according to the rules but this is a location that no one who gets there deserves to be robbed of a find.
I have also uploaded a photo of the original cache in its hiding place. It was in the remains of a horizontal branch about a metre off the ground. Probably a bit exposed I guess but I wanted it to be an easy find. Too easy it seems.