The cache is not at the published coordinates!
Lake Mac Heritage Series
How to get there: From Morisset, head towards Cooranbong along Martinsville Road, and turn left into Watagans Road. Continue uphill to Watagans Forest Road towards the series.
Road Use and Quality: The roads in the Watagan and Onley State parks are accessible by 2WD in dry conditions only. 4WD should be used at all other times. However, in some circumstances, the best way to approach these caches is on foot, especially on the narrower tracks. Common sense prevails!
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.
Burwood Colliery
In 1835, Dr James Mitchell, a former British naval surgeon acquired 900 acres south of Newcastle and a further 456 acres in 1849. It was named the Burwood Estate after the ancestral home of Dr Mitchell's wife Augusta, nee Scott. Mining began soon after 1848 on the estate when William Donaldson took a lease of fifty acres on the eastern extremity. Late in 1851 James and Alexander Brown leased fifty acres from Dr Mitchell, opening a mine. photo: burwood colliery An 1850 report by Geological Surveyor Stutchbury informs that the mine, developed by William and Alexander Donaldson, was well laid out and movement below ground for men and horses was easy. The coal seam lay close to the surface and could be cultivated by tunnels, thereby reducing costs. By 1854 there were six mines in operation on the Burwood Estate Construction of a tramway from the mines to the Port of Newcastle began after an Act of Parliament was passed on September 20, 1850, granting Dr Mitchell to do so. Proposal of the railway had caused some problems as it was to cross over into land held by the Australian Agricultural Company. This dispute led to the passing of the aforementioned Act. An amendment to the Act was passed on December 3, 1853 for an extension of time for the line to be completed by December 1855. The tunnels constructed for the line were the first in New South Wales.
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