The cache is not at the published coordinates!
Lake Mac Heritage Series
How to get there: From Morisset, head towards Cooranbong along Martinsville Road, and turn left into Watagans Road. Continue uphill to Watagans Forest Road towards the series.
Road Use and Quality: The roads in the Watagan and Onley State parks are accessible by 2WD in dry conditions only. 4WD should be used at all other times. However, in some circumstances, the best way to approach these caches is on foot, especially on the narrower tracks. Common sense prevails!
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.
Kurra Kurrin Petrified Forest
The Kurra Kurrin petrified forest is a site located in Fennell Bay, Blackalls Park, New South Wales. The location is well defined, situated in a bay at the north-west extremity of Lake Macquarie. The site holds high cultural significance to the traditional custodians of the area. According to mythology, recorded by Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld in the 1830s, this was a place where people were turned to stone for wrongdoings. The associated community resource outlines the project to return the Kurra Kurrin Petrified Forest artifacts to their original place. The site is also geologically significant due to the fossilization of an ancient pine forest from the fallout of volcanic ash 250 million years ago. The following extract is taken from Percival (1985): The remains of the fossil forest commence on the foreshores of Fennell Bay and extend eastwards into the lake for approximately 150m. Access is gained from Narara Street. When Reverend Clark observed the forest, he estimated that the petrified forest contained at least 500 trees. Many attained a height between 0.6 and 1.2 metres, whilst one stump in the lake stood in excess of 1.2m above the surface of the water. This specimen had a diameter of 1.5-1.9m but most stumps were between 0.3 and .05m across. Most bore distinct growth rings. Occasionally, bark was preserved around the woody stump. The Fennell Bay fossil forest was the first site of geological significance to be accorded official recognition and protection in New South Wales, being gazetted on September 17, 1904 as a public reserve for the protection of fossil trees, with Lake Macquarie Council as trustee.
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