The Lake Mac Heritage Series was placed to pay homage to the people, places and events that contributed to building and pioneering the Lake Macquarie region. The pick and shovel were chosen in this geoart series to symbolise the hard work the people of Lake Macquarie put forth into the region.

The Martha:

The Martha was recorded as being built at Bennelong Point Sydney Cove in 1799. Co-owned by Reid and Boston & Co, and registered in London as a 301/2 ton schooner, Reid was her only recorded Master. Boston & Co was a partnership of John Boston, James Ellis and the Rev Thomas Fyshe Palmer. It is believed she was probably built by the private shipbuilder James Underwood, but could also have been built by Thomas Moore at Governor King's dockyards. The Martha was built by the government as a replacement vessel for the ship Elizabeth, a private ship commandeered by the government to assist the Francis (captained by Reid) with the rescue of the 'Sydney Cove' in 1797. She was wrecked and never returned to Sydney. The government then paid for the timber to replace her, and the new ship was launched as the Martha. Prior to accidentally sailing into Lake Macquarie in1800, the Martha had sailed to Bass Strait several times and returned with cargoes of seal skins and seal oil, and also to Norfolk Island with cargoes of supplies for the penal settlement there. On it's return trip from "Reids Mistake", a storm caused Reid to have to sail the Martha to shelter in the north part of the harbour, at Little Manly Bay. While anchored there, the cable parted in the storm and the Martha was driven on a reef of rocks and bilged. The officers and crew of another ship, the Buffalo, helped re-float her with empty casks, and towed her to Sydney, where it was found that her damages were not irreparable. There is recent speculation that the Martha was repaired and relaunched as the schooner 'Endeavour'. This ship together with the schooner Mercury (as illustrated on the $20 bank note) was totally wrecked on the 2nd March, 1813 at the Shoalhaven River. The Martha is depicted on Lake Macquarie's Coat of Arms.

The puzzle

All historical and heritage information courtesy of Lake Mac Libraries

Any questions regarding this puzzle cache or the LMHS geoart series will be answered by clicking HERE

*** The LMHS geoart was placed in conjunction with the OzGeoMuster 2018 mega event. The OzGeoMuster 2018 committee would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this series. ahomburg, day1976, sedgwickDave, The Morris, bobbiesgirl, and the_garbageman.***

Enjoy!

Marcus Vitruvius