I was once told that most Australian towns are built around a water supply. That and minerals like gold. Dubbo is no different although the source of water for which Dubbo was chosen as the location of the town was not the kind found in the river. It was a much smaller watering hole - one with liquid gold. There are two different stories as to how Dubbo ended up where it is, and having done a bit of research on Australian history and culture, I believe this story sounds most truthful. It all starts with river crossings...
In the 1820s there were two good river crossings in the Dubbo area. One at Robert Dulhunty's property called 'Dubbo' and one close to this cache's coordinates, Dusty Bob's property and Inn. Dulhunty ran a respectable business. Dusty did not. Dulhunty was shrewd with who he allowed to cross at his property and it is said that Dusty's crossing was by far the more preferred option, with people staying a night or more to enjoy his wild and hilarious company... and a few drinks.
Dulhunty was petitioning for a town however, drinking liquor not being allowed at Dulgunty's (it was illegal after all), when the surveyor came to view the site, he chose to stay at Dusty Bob's Inn. Shortly after, the area around Dusty's Inn was declared the site for the new town, the name of which was none other than the property where Dulhunty originally hoped would be the town. Talk about rubbing salt in your wounds.
Dusty Bob, also known as George Smith, was a real character. He declared he was the son of King George IV and he looked the splitting image of him too, as seen on the back of a shilling. This is most likely where he got his name. Dusty had a character based on him in the novel 'Robbery Under Arms' written by Rolf Boldrewood (not his real name) whilst 'Rolf' lived in Dubbo. Dusty married an Aboriginal woman, Mattie, after saving her tribe from a bush fire, and had 5 children with her of which there are still many of the descendants living in the Dubbo region. Mattie died giving birth to their 5th child.
Dusty Bob's death as reported in the newspapers said more about his character than any reference books. Dusty Bob passed away a few days before Christmas after an accident with two friends which occurred whilst racing full speed, full spirited, and full of liquor around the town streets on a horse and cart. Sadly Dusty didn't make it. One of his mates survived. The other did not. Read all about it here: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18742442
The saddest thing of all was that upon his death, Dusty Bob was the owner of quite a number of parcels of land. Although he had a will stating that it all be split among his children, his wife having been aboriginal and children therefore being 'half-caste', his family lost THE LOT!
When you find this geocache you will be facing toward approximately where The Carriers Arms once stood. The geocache is at S32 15.2AB E148 36.0CD. The missing coordinates (A,B,C and D) are in this description.
A= Numder of letters in the surname of the owner of the property named Dubbo.
B= Number of letters in the surname of the author who modelled a character in his book on Dusty Bob? Subtract 2
C= When Dusty Bob died, how many parcels of land did his family inherit? Add 1.
D= The number of letters in the given name of the royal Dusty Bob claimed to be the son of. Add 1
Please let me know if you are having any trouble finding anything at the coordinates and I can confirm your coordinates and give you a hint.
*** PLEASE REMOVE GEOCACHE BY GREY YELLOW BIT ***