In the late 1970s Roy Cazaly D.S.M., ex Leading Seaman and son the legendry VFL footballer, and Bob Boyd, ex Able Seaman, both original crew members of H.M.A.S. Shropshire, met in Ulverstone to discuss a memorial to their old ship.
As Ulverstone was developing a war memorial park theme and a particular piece of land was being reclaimed by the Ulverstone Council, what is now Shropshire Park seemed an ideal site.The Tasmanian Branch of the Canberra/Shropshire Association subsequently applied to the Ulverstone Council for permission to build a memorial. With financial aid from other Shropshire groups and the Government of Tasmania, and technical support from the Ulverstone Council, the park was developed. As the Superintendent of Parks and Gardens for the Ulverstone Council, Bob Boyd was the driving force behind the project.
Shropshire Park was only the first stage of Bob's vision. With the active involvement of many other ex-naval groups, the scope of the project in Shropshire Park was extended to remember all men and women who served in the Royal Australian Navy and their ships and the site is used regularly to commemorate anniversaries of both specific and wider ranging events involving members, deceased and living, and ships of the Royal Australian Navy.
Bob's passion extended well beyond the Royal Australian Navy and Shropshire Park. In his role with the Ulverstone Council, and then the Central Coast Council, Bob instigated and oversaw the establishment, development and maintenance of ANZAC Park, Tobruk Park, Air Force Park and Legion Park. As a near neighbiour of Bob, we saw just a little of Bob's commitment as he headed off every day of the week, all times of the day, to attend to something in "his" parks, as he saw these parks as living tributes to those who had served their country in numerous theatres of war.
Shropshire Park is quite small. This multi cache will guide you around the memorials. If you just concentrate on data collection, 30 minutes should be sufficient. However, as there are so many things that will engage your attention and encourage you to reflect, it could take much longer. The published coordinates will take you to the centre of the park. Coordinates have been provided to each of the main areas but are probably not needed as all areas to be visited are within eyesight and a few steps. We trust you will enjoy this visit to Shropshire Park.
The waypoints can be visited in any order.
Shropshire Memorial (S41 09.173 E146 10.189)
A = The mass of the anchor in hundred weight (cwt)
B = The number of funnels on H.M.A.S. Shropshire depicted in the mural
C = The year informal discussions started about a memorial to H.M.A.S. Shropshire
D = The year in which H.M.A.S. Canberra was sank in the Battle of Savo
E = The number of Bombardments in which H.M.A.S. Shropshire was engaged
F = The number of Sea Actions in which H.M.A.S. Shropshire was engaged
Corvette Corner (S41 09.182 E146 10.170)
G = The month in which H.M.A.S. Armidale was sunk
H = Teddy Sheean's Service Number (digits only)
J = The number of Japanese torpedo bombers which attacked H.M.A.S. Armidale
K = The number of Japanese fighters which attacked H.M.A.S. Armidale
L = The size of the complement of H.M.A.S. Armidale
R.A.N. Ships (S41 09.172 E146 10.169 and S41 09.145 E146 10.177)
M = Year in which H.M.A.S. Australia was commissioned
N = Year in which H.M.A.S. Sydney III was commissioned
P = Ship ID for H.M.A.S. Anzac (digits only)
Q = The year in which H.M.A.S. Sydney I sank the Emden
R = The number of members of H.M.A.S. Voyager who lost their lives in the collision with H.M.A.S. Melbourne
S = The number of ships captured by H.M.A.S. Kanimbla
Globe Showing Australian Naval Campaigns (S41 09.159 E146 10.182)
T = The total number of officers who lost their lives (for any reason) between 3/9/1939 and 15/8/1945
Now that you have collected the required information as you walked around the park, the coordinates of the cache can be calculated.
South [B * (M - Q) - F]° [G - K] . [A + P + S] East [B + C - H - T-2]° [D + E - N] . [J + L + R]
The cache is a short walk away.
We trust you enjoy your exploration of Shropshire Park.
***** Congratulations MAKKS on the FTF, in particular your first FTF *****
UPDATE 04 December 2020:
Since we last checked this cache, there has been considerable vegetation growth and what was quite accessible is now very difficult to find - much more than intended. We have relocated the hide and replaced the container. It is now a cammoed 200mL sistema. The coordinates are slightly different as is the hint.
Adjust your final calculations by: S +0.004 E -0.002
Refer to the new hint.