The Cache Location:
Preston, a residential and industrial suburb 9 km north of Melbourne has now been subsumed into the City of Darebin, but it was a municipality from 1885 to 1994.
The area was surveyed by Robert Hoddle and subdivided into farm allotments in 1837. In 1850 Edward Wood opened a store at the corner of High and Wood Streets. Wood, who came from Sussex, England, is thought to have named Preston, after the town of the same name in Sussex.
Not all of Preston's land was good for farming, dairying, and market gardens. Building material was cut from the basalt and the non-basaltic areas yielded clay for potteries and bricks. A bacon-curing factory began in 1862 and a tannery in 1865. Several larger factories followed, notably Huttons Hams and Bacons and Zwar's Parkside Tannery.
In 1889 a railway line from Collingwood was opened via Preston to Whittlesea. During the 1890s numerous subdivisions for residential development were released in Preston, relying on the extension of the railway to promote sales. However, Preston's urban growth spurt came in the 1920s. The railway journey to Melbourne had been improved by a direct connection between Collingwood and Melbourne in 1904, and a tram service to Melbourne was opened in 1920. On 14 March 1922, Preston was proclaimed a borough, two months later a town, and on 14 July 1926, a city. The 1930s depression adversely affected new home-dwellers and the new council, although a bright patch was Roy ("Up There") Cazaly's coaching of the Preston Football Club in 1931.
Preston and its neighbouring suburbs of the Darebin municipality are in the shadow of the highest peak in the metropolitan area. Named for the first farmer in the region, Horatio Cooper, Mt Cooper is part of Bundoora Park. Located on the site of a horse stud established by Samuel Gardiner in 1877, Bundoora Park is a remarkable green oasis in the heart of inner north-west Melbourne suburbia. However, the cache is not located there.
Preston Market has been successfully running for over 30 years and remains one of Melbourne's traditional markets. The unique atmosphere is spread out over two street blocks with a diverse mix of traders and multi-cultural performers playing on every corner. It is noisy, but that's part of the experience as market traders compete with each other shouting their prices and bargains. The market has a good number of fruit and vegetable stalls, meat, fish and poultry stalls, as well as Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern Delis and Vietnamese groceries. There is also a large general wares section for clothing and general goods. Visit the market's web site here. The cache is not located there either, but it is close by.
Getting There:
This description assumes that you are a business traveller, that you are staying at a hotel in or near Melbourne's CBD, and you are starting from Flinders Street Station at the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets.
Option 1: Walk north up Swanston Street to the intersection with Bourke Street (S 37° 48.810, E 144° 57.940)470m. Take a No. 86 tram to Bundoora RMIT. Get off at stop 48 (40 mins). This will put you at the corner of Gower Street and Plenty Road.
Option 2: Enter Flinders Street Station and take an Epping Line train. Get off at Preston Station (20 mins).
The cache is 330m from the tram stop (option 1); a 730m walk from the railway station, or 480m as the crow flies (option 2).
Melway street directory reference for the cache is: 18 G12
UBD street directory reference for the cache is: 7 K1
What you need to do:
Follow your GPSr along Gower Street until you arrive at GZ and start looking.
The Cache:
The cache container is a 200mL Sistema clip-top box.
The initial contents are:
Emu
Brass padlock
Four marbles
Two dice
No Junk Mail sign
Boomerang key ring
Canadian GeoCoin 1777
Clue for the Business Traveller's Cache
Log book, stash note, and pen
There is a high probability of encountering muggles around the cache site during normal business hours. The difficulty rating reflects this. It will be difficult to retrieve and replace this cache if there are people about. Be discreet! As always, please replace the cache exactly where you found it to discourage accidental discovery.
Activities at or Near this Location:
After you've found the cache, here are some other things you can do in the area:
- Visit Bundoora Park and climb to the highest point in metropolitan Melbourne. Go to the tram stop at the corner of Gower Street and Plenty Road (S 37° 44.460, E 145° 00.590); take the No. 86 tram and get off at stop 61.
- Visit Preston Market (S 37° 44.370, E 145° 00.090) and enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere.
- Take a walk up or down High Street and enjoy the eclectic miscelany of shops.
Nearby Caches:
There are currently no other caches conveniently close to this location.