Welcome to my Virtual Cache - The North Arm Series: The Entrance
The co-ordinates for this virtual cache will bring you to a very popular fishing spot and viewing space on Bullock Island. Once at G.Z. you will be staring straight through The Entrance to Bass Strait. You won't be alone, there are always people fishing here. This is a great spot to be able to watch the boating population parade by on their way to different destinations across the Gippsland Lakes or out to Bass Strait. During the working week, the Gippsland Ports' dredge, The Tommy Norton, may even be working keeping The Entrance free of sand build up.
You may even be lucky enough to be treated to a syncronished swimming display by either the resident Gippsland Burrunan dolphins or the local seal population. AND - look down on the rocks - when it's low tide, crabs can been seen scuttling around.
If you are venturing to this cache, why not bring a picnic (my go to is fish & chips) and spend time watching the world float by.
NOTE: If you have children with you, please keep a close eye on them as the water is quite deep and there are very, very strong water currents in this area.
The Entrance: A Little History
The Entrance is man made. Plans for the artificial Entrance were drawn up in 1866 and approved by the State Government. Tenders were called for in December 1869. John Carpenter of Maffra was awarded the initial contract. Construction on the Entrance began in 1870 with the first stage being completed in 1872. The Entrance project was then hit by a series of bad luck incidents. The project was abandoned until 1877 when harbour engineer, Sir John Coode, submitted a written report of how to proceed with the works and it wasn't until 1884 that the build work continued.
The entire Entrance structure had to be rebuilt. Granite was used to reinforce both sides of the Entrance. It was mined from a quarry in the Colquhoun State Forest (just north of Lakes Entrance) and barged down the North Arm on the Lady Harriet Barge. Moulded concrete blocks were also manufactured on site and this was an innovate process for the time. In that time, a small town named Carpenter Town was established to house workers and their families. Carpenter Town had a bakery, a school, boarding houses and a blacksmith's shop. As you look from G.Z. across Cunningham Arm towards the Entrance, you can still see several Carpenter Town houses. These are now privately owned. During the second stage of the build, the whole area became know as "New Works" and this name is still in use today.
The Entrance eventually opened on the night of June 14th, 1889 following one particularly ferocious storm. This was not how the final opening was planned. The strong waves from Bass Strait pushed through the final, thin barriers. The strength of the incoming water washed away a barge and dredge and flooded several Carpenter Town houses.
To this day, there are still a few rusting machinery relics scattered around the Entrance. And the remains of the Lady Harriet Barge are housed in an undercover shelter in the New Works area. (summarised information from The Victorian State Library and the Lakes Entrance Historical Society)
Bullock Island today:
Bullock Island has also been built up overtime as it was once just a small sandy island. Today, it is the home of Gippland Ports Lakes Entrance Office and works area, Southern Eastern Marinetime Education Centre and the Lakes Entrance Fishermans' Co-Operative (which includes the Off The Warfe Fresh Fish Shop - at the time of creating this Cache, fish & chips could not be purchased here)
Logging requirements to prove you actually did venture to The Entrance 
:
I'm asking you to complete two tasks as you write your "Found It" log:
Task One: At GZ, Take a photo of the very tall sign with the Entrance included in the background and submit this with your "Found It" cache note. I sat at the picnic table to take my photo example with my GPS sitting on the edge of the picnic table.
Please Note: you do not have to appear in this photo (you can if you would like too) BUT something identifying that it's you MUST e.g. your gps showing GZ or your printed caching name held up in such a way that you can still see the very tall sign with the Entrance in the background etc.
AND
Task Two: Include a quick weather report and pelican count or dolphin count or seal count. How many people fishing did you have to pass through to get to GZ?
Logs that do not meet the requirements will be deleted. (A photo example is included to help you.)
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.