“Sally” Well remembered in the history of The Basin is Mrs Mary Anne Morris, better known as 'Peggy' or 'Sally', who arrived at The Basin prior to 1872 and resided there for some 50 years. In her youth she lived at Parramatta. 'She came from Sydney . . . to see whether she would like The Basin as a place of residence. She made the journey in a fishing boat, and the Pacific was so unkind to her that she felt she had no choice' but to stay. Mrs Morris had the role of caretaker of the Jackson property, ‘Beechwood’, at The Basin, she was paid one pound a month and permitted to run her cattle on the land. Mr Jackson continued to pay Mrs Morris as caretaker for some 30 years and also paid her additional money for rendering services in the house for his family. Mrs Morris became well known and highly regarded by the yachtsmen for she welcomed their arrival. The yachtsmen affectionately called her 'Sally'. She sold fresh produce such as milk and eggs to her yachting friends and cooked and laundered for them. They in turn brought her supplies. Mrs Morris was 78 years of age when the Trust took over The Basin and she continued in her caretaker role to look after 'Beechwood' cottage for the next six years. Mrs Morris died at The Basin on 6 June 1921, aged 84. She is buried in an unmarked grave at Manly. After Mrs Morris' death her hut, adjoining premises and boatshed passed to the control of the Trustees. In October 1921 a site was approved by the Trust for a memorial to Mrs Morris. In tribute to Mrs Morris the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and Sydney Amateur Sailing Club erected a sundial on a stone pedestal by the beach near her hut and the unveiling ceremony took place at Easter 1922. On the memorial these words are inscribed: “Erected by the yachtsmen of Sydney in memory of Mrs Morris (Sally) who resided on this spot for over 50 years 1922”.
“Lucinda” Easter 1891 and the work done on the Queensland Government vessel, the 'Lucinda', did perhaps more to bring Australia to nationhood than any other single weekend in our history. There is little doubt that the sub-committee of colonial leaders which met on the 'Lucinda' over Easter 1891 led, in large measure, to breaking the deadlock over contentious issues and to the success of the convention of 1891, and the subsequent conventions which led to the adoption of the Australian Constitution and the establishment of the Australian Nation. No doubt, 'Beechwood', the home of Mr F.J. Jackson, would have provided then the hospitality for which Mr Jackson was well known among yachting fraternities and that 'Sally', that most extraordinary lady, who had then lived at The Basin for 20 years would have charmed the colonial leaders on that weekend, as she had done before, and after, charmed so many of her contemporaries.
Now how to find the cache:
Find the memorial for “Sally” and measure the height of the inscribed part – to the nearest mm. Add this height (in mm) to S 33° 36.115(ignore the decimal point).
Find the plaque commemorating the visit of the ship “Lucinda” and measure the height of the plaque – to the nearest cm. Subtract this height (in cm) from E 151° 17.575 (ignore the decimal point). This will give you the final location of the cache.
We hope you enjoy this area, and a little about the history of this beautiful spot. Access is available by a ferry from Palm Beach. Don't forget your measuring device.