There is a clue placed inside this cache in the form of a letter and a number that you will need as it will be used to find the two bonus caches for this series.
Mokare was a Noongar man who was pivotal in aiding European exploration of the south west of WA. He was a frequent visitor to the Albany settlement, staying with the government resident, Dr Alexander Collie.
With the arrival of Major Edmund Lockyer in the brig Amity, in 1827, he showed the Europeans the walking trails that the Noongar people had used and maintained over generations in the Albany region. Many of these are today the roads of that region of Australia. In December 1829 Mokare guided Dr Thomas Braidwood Wilson's overland expedition during which Mount Barker and Mount Lindsay were named as well as Hay River, Denmark River and Wilson Inlet. He served again as the guide for Captain Barker's expedition over the same area.
Mokare was well known in his short life for being a peacemaker, and an effective mediator between black and white communities. He was concerned when Stirling took command of the Albany settlement in 1830, as he had heard of the battles and massacres between European settlers and Aboriginal people, and wished Albany to be maintained as a separate settlement. He was also appreciated for his sense of humour and his mimicry, especially of some of the settlers with Scottish accents.
Mokare died on 26 June 1831. The Aborigines and Europeans had assembled at Collie's house and walked to a site selected by his Mokare’s brother Nakina where the Europeans dug a grave and Mokare was interred with a buka cloak and personal artifacts. When Collie himself was dying from tuberculosis in 1835, he asked to be buried alongside Mokare.
The cache is hidden in Mokare Park an area of natural bushland named in 1978 in honour of Mokare. This part of the Mt Melville area is a traditional site for the local Minang dialect language speaking group of the Noongar Aboriginal people. The traditional meeting site of Mt Melville was an important place for dancing, trading, rituals and marriage arrangements.