Broken Tree [Commonwealth Star GeoArt 1] Altona, Victoria, Australia
By caughtatwork on 01-Jan-21. Waypoint GA19538

Broken Tree

A series of geocaches that, when viewed on the Geocaching Australia map, outline the Commonwealth Star.

This geocache is a micro geocache, but that should not perturb you as that only describes the container that holds the log. The geocache itself is about 200ml in size and when you see if you will know how nearly all of the remaining geocaches in the series are hidden. The series is set around Altona Coastal Park and it should only take an hour or so to collect the series. In the warm weather, watch out for snakes and wear a hat and sunscreen as there is no shade in the area. There is a cooling breeze that comes off the bay so be prepared, especially in colder months and take a light jacket with you if the wind is onshore.

The geocaches are all easy geocaches with the fun of this series intended to mark off the Commonwealth Star.

Altona Coastal Park is a 70 hectares intertidal and salt marsh area located 11 km from Melbourne CBD in the western suburb of Altona, is an important recreational and nature conservation area, providing habitats for a large biodiversity of flora and fauna. It is part of the Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area and has a large open space consisting of coastal saltmarsh communities as well as important mangrove habitat and mudflats that sustain resident and migratory shorebirds. There is also a large fenced area featuring some walking tracks through open woodlands and grasslands. The park is being rehabilitated primarily through weed control and revegetation. This reserve is strictly dog on lead and includes an area where dogs are not authorised, which is clearly signed. There are no facilities at this reserve. Access into the reserve is via Altona/Racecourse Road with parking either at the ford carpark or adjacent to the Pines Scout camp.

The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901. Six points of the Star represent the six original states of the Commonwealth of Australia, while the seventh point represents the territories and any other future states of Australia. The original star had only six points; however, the proclamation in 1905 of the Territory of Papua led to the addition of the seventh point in 1909 to represent it and future territories. The Commonwealth Star is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Australian flag.

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