ICEM - Wollondilly – Wallacia - Wollondilly Shire Wallacia, New South Wales, Australia
By HansJJ on 25-Dec-18. Waypoint GA13363

I've Cached Everywhere, Man is the largest cache series hidden in Australia. It is made up of the locations made famous by Lucky Star in the song "I've been everywhere" in 1962, lyrics by Geoff Mack

https://www.ivebeeneverywhere.com.au/the-song/australian-version/

On the ICEM map Wollondilly comes up as Picton which is part of the Wollondilly shire.

Using info from Wikipedia

Wollondilly Shire is a peri urban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Wollondilly Shire is named after the Wollondilly River. The area is traversed by the Hume Highway and the Southern Highlands railway line. Wollondilly Shire contains several small towns and villages broken up by farms and sandstone gorges. To its west is wilderness and includes the Nattai Wilderness and the Burragorang Valley. The majority of the Shire is either national park or forms part of the water catchment for Sydney's water supply. The Shire provides 97% of Sydney's water supply.

Towns, villages and localities in the Wollondilly Shire are:

Appin              Bargo              Bingara Gorge            Belimbla Park             Brownlow Hill                  Buxton

Camden Park  Cawdor           Couridjah                    Douglas Park              Glenmore                                    Lakesland

Maldon           Menangle        Mount Hunter             Mowbray Park            Oakdale                                    Orangeville

Pheasants Nest                        Picton                          Razorback                   Silverdale                                    Tahmoor

Theresa Park                           The Oaks                     Thirlmere                    Warragamba                                    Werombi

Wilton                                     Yanderra                     Yerranderie

The Local government areas of this shire are – Blue mountains, Penrith, Camden, Oberon, Campbelltown, Upper Lachlan, Wingecarribee & The City of Wollongong.

So, to give the justice Wollondilly deserves, I will be doing a series of caches & Virtual caches in this greater shire area.

Wallacia, New South Wales

History of Wallacia from Wikipedia

Originally the region was called Riverview, but later became known locally as Wallace after Robert Wallace who grazed cattle on the 2,000 acres (8.1km2) that he rented from Sir Charles Nicholson. His house became the unofficial Post Office from November 1885, situated at the rear of what is now the Wallacia Store and Newsagents. By 1897, a school built in the area was known as Wallace School. When the Post Office became official in November 1905, the G.P.O. named the area Boondah, as the name Wallace was already in use elsewhere in New South Wales. However, local people objected and to retain the link with Wallace, they suggested that the area be called Wallacia. This name was officially approved on 1 June 1906. On 25 March 1908 the John and Ethel Mary (née Murphy) Fowler family moved from Mulgoa where Elizabeth Fowler née Holt had the PO Licence. John Fowler accepted the Wallacia PO licence from 1 April 1908 which has been in continuous Fowler family management for 100 years, celebrated 1 April 2008[citation needed].

Wallace Post Office opened on 16 January 1891 and was renamed Boondah in 1905 and Wallacia in 1906.[2]

John Blaxland had built an original wooden weir at "Grove Farm" for a sandstone flour mill and additional brewery. When rust got into the English soft wheat, the flour mill failed and George Edward Cox of Winbourne (now Christian Brothers Retreat Mt Zion) at Mulgoa across the Nepean River, a teetotaller, bought Grove Farm to stop further brewing. Grove Farm was subsequently purchased by William "Billy" Baines hence Baines Hill on Silverdale Road over the Blue Mountains monosinclinal foothills. In 1873 the highest recorded Nepean River flood was marked by Billy Baines with a brass plaque on a sandstone block at Grove Farm near the barn which still has a water mark on a wood trunk pillar.

The region was chiefly one of dairying and grazing during the 19th century, but in the early 20th century - because of its rural atmosphere and proximity to Sydney - tourism developed as people opened their homes as guest houses. After the Second World War however, the increase in car ownership and the availability of air travel saw a decline in the local tourist trade. Wallacia was once home to Bullen's Animal World, a theme park and circus, for several decades.

Growth in the area in the past few years has mainly occurred with the development of hobby farms by people seeking a retreat from city life. To celebrate the centenary in 2006, the suburb had a parade with floats, line dancing and vintage trucks.

Landmark’s

Wallacia sits beside the Nepean River and landmarks include the Weir, Wallacia Bridge, Little Bondi and Wallacia Hotel - mock Tudor design by the Fowler family. It was the first place in Australia to introduce a fish ladder next to a weir. Wallacia’s tourism is centred on the day-tripper trade with the Wallacia Hotel and the Wallacia Golf Course, the chief attractions.

Blaxland Crossing Reserve is a prominent parkland with picnic tables and barbecue areas. It is proximate to Nepean River. An annual social event held by Assyrian people, which commemorates Saint Zaia, takes place in the Reserve annually in September. Usually visited by around 1000 people, the occasion would feature live Assyrian singers and Assyrian folk dancing.[3]

A few kilometers south of the suburb is Bents Basin, a nature reserve which features a large swimming hole.

So, to the cache – well Wallacia is on the edge of the Wollondilly Shire so the cache is kissing the edge of the shire.

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