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.
Wangi Queen
Boats on the lake were once a common sight, and were one of the earliest forms of transport in Lake Macquarie. Initially these were used mainly for transporting goods - primarily coal and timber - but passenger services gradually developed.The earliest passenger services began in the mid 1870s and were advertised heavily in newspapers of the day to attract tourists. Residents also used these commercial services or provided their own private transport into the 1890s. Even when roads were provided, most people still caught the train to Toronto and then a ferry to Wangi.
Early ferry transport started 1876 at the northern end of the Lake at what's now Edgeworth. William Walker Johnson and 'Fisho Jack Richardson ran one service which was later taken over by the Ayar brothers. These early ferries often had beautiful names - Phoenix, Rose, Auroka, Azile, Thistle, Little Pinafore, Big Pinafore, Wangi Pioneer, Palm Beach, Swansea, Toronto and Maggie Johnson.
The Wangi Queen was built in 1922. George Beattie built it for Norman D. Hagarty at Brisbane Water. Its' original name was Ettalong. In 1938 it was registered as the Ettalong Star. In the 1940s to the 1970s, the ferry was used in Sydney Harbour and changed companies twice. The name was changed again to Profound in 1951. The ferry was brought to Lake Macquarie in 1975 and its name was changed to the now iconic Wangi Queen. In September 2012, the Wangi Queen left Lake Macquarie to return to Sydney Harbour. Its now berthed at Campbells Cove, The Rocks. A floating restaurant has been planned to replace it on the Marmong Point Marina pontoon. More than 900 weddings have been held on the Wangi Queen. The SolarSailor, a solar and wind powered vessal, replaced it.
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 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