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.

Coal Mining

The first official recording of coal discovery in Australia was by a party of escaped convicts in 1791, travelling in an open boat from Port Jackson. The party was led by William and Mary Bryant and included their children. The actual location is not certain, however a likely spot is speculated to be near the entrance of Glenrock Lagoon. photo: coal loading gantry, swansea Judge Advocate of the Colony, David Collins, noted in his diary in June 1796, that people in a fishing boat had returned from a bay near Port Stephens bringing several large pieces of coal, which had been lying in large quantities on the ground. In 1797, Lieutenant John Shortland, was sent north to recapture a party of escaped convicts. On his return he entered a river, which he then named the Hunter River, after the Governor of the day. Here he found considerable quantities of coal. In September 1800, Captain William Reid was sent with official instruction to obtain coal from this site, initially called Coal River, then Newcastle. Mistakenly, Captain Reid entered into Lake Macquarie, remarkably also discovering coal on the southern side of the inlet. Hence the area was known for many years as Reid's Mistake. The 1800s In 1801, in an attempt to separate Irish political prisoners, Governor King sent some of the leaders of the unrest to Newcastle to work in a newly commissioned coal works. The mining operation temporarily closed in 1802, when Governor King withdrew troops and convicts. After another uprising in 1804, Governor King reopened the settlement and coal works, issuing an order that private mining was not allowed unless a permit was obtained from the Governor. This remained in force until 1820 when commissioner Bigge made a recommendation to the Home Government to allow private leasing. After several years of negotiations the Australian Agricultural Company brought their mine to Newcastle, now a free settlement. From 1838, the company was given monopoly rights for 31 years. A borehole was sunk in 1848, which ran into coal and later became known as the Borehole Seam. Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld set up a mission for the local Awabakal people, on present day Belmont, moving to the western side in 1829. It was here that Rev. Threlkeld started mining coal (Coal Point), having won the right to do so after challenging the monopoly of the Australian Agricultural Company. Coal and Allied founders, J. A. Brown, opened a mine at the Burwood Estate in 1852 after successfully operating a mine at Four Mile Creek, near East Maitland since 1843. Doctor James Mitchell and others formed the Newcastle Coal and Copper Company in 1853. Along with the smelting works started by Dr Mitchell, the company bought the Brown's established colliery. The extent of the Victoria Tunnel Seam at Burwood is seen in a geological map of the district, drawn up in 1855. The opening of railway corridors was the single most important factor affecting the production of coal, as they allowed for better transportation of coal and other minerals to the wharf at Newcastle Harbour. The Newcastle-Maitland line was opened in 1857, with the first section of the Richmond Vale Railway extending from Hexham to Minmi. In 1904, the J and A Brown Company further extended the railway to the Richmond Main Colliery and to the Pelaw Main Colliery near Kurri Kurri. Safety and technology were sadly lacking in the early mining industry and between 1898 and 1926 there were 47 fatalities in underground mine explosions. The 1900s saw an improvement in and focus on safety as well as heralding in new technology to mine the coal.

Rice is known as a primary staple food throughout many countries all over the world. There are 40,000 varieties of rice and they vary in shape, colour, and size. This puzzle will help you know and understand the flexibility of this wonderful staple.

A1	A2	A3	A4	A5	A6

A porridge made of rice

B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	B6	B7	B8

Rice is often thrown at these

C1	C2	C3	C4	C5	C6	C7

A dish of short grained rice cooked with a hot broth or stock

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5

A dish of long grained rice initially cooked in fat then in a liquid

E1	E2	E3	E4	E5	E6

A dish of rice usually cooked in an uncovered pan

F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	F6	F7	F8	F9	F10	F11

A dessert made from rice

G1	G2	G3	G4	G5

A dish with fish and japonica rice

H1	H2	H3	H4	H5	H6	H7	H8	H9	H10	H11

A trendy alternative to rice (not really)

I1	I2	I3	I4	I5	I6	I7	I8	I9	I10	I11

Botanical name for the species

J1	J2	J3	J4	J5	J6	J7	J8	J9

Daughter of an Indonesian Rice god.

The cache can be found at C3 A2 G2 C6 G4 J1 G4 B5 F1 I8 I3 J8 G4 H11 E3 A5 I4 H10 C1 H8 C5 G4 H11 E3 B2 C5 H9 I1 C6 J6 F4 A3 I8 I3 A5 D4 G3 J1 C4 B6 A6 H6 D2 I10 B2 C7 J4 H10 B8 E3 I10 H10 A3 I8 E3 B2 J4 H10 F2 B7 G4 J1 D5 I1 F6 I2 C5 B2 A6 F10 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