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.
Maurice Marks
Maurice Marks was born in Bristol, England on the 8th of January, 1837. Maurice is an important Lake Macquarie historical figure because of his family's early settlement of the land at Belmont and Marks Point. At the age of twenty-three, Maurice, unhappy with his future prospects in England, headed to America. However, after spending only a short time in New York he soon returned to Britain. Once home, Maurice almost immediately determined to set off to Australia, this decision being met with displeasure from his family. After making the 100-day journey to Australia on the American ship, S. Curling, Maurice arrived at Melbourne on the 11th of June, 1860. Not finding much of interest in Melbourne, Maurice set off again on a small ketch to Sydney. Arriving in Botany Bay, Maurice soon found work carting firewood. However, he was drawn to Newcastle through the promise of more work opportunities. After travelling to Newcastle and finding no paid employment, Maurice worked at the Old Customs House for food only. Eventually though, Maurice found a job working at either the Hamilton Pit or a Borehole Colliery.
Sadly, on the 24th of November, 1924, Maurice died at the age of 87. Six years later his wife, Mary Ann Marks died on the 28th of July, 1930. The pair had nine children, a number of whom survived them and continued to live on and cultivate the land. As one of the very first settlers in the Belmont area, Maurice Marks is a very influential figure within the history of Lake Macquarie. Marks Oval is a remnant of his original holdings and Marks Point is named for the Marks family orchard established there by his brother Charles.
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 Oz GeoMuster 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