B&W (C) Queens Park - Moonee Ponds Moonee Ponds, Victoria, Australia
By pwags on 20-Aug-10. Waypoint GA2500

A codeword multi-"cache" (no physical container) hidden in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Burke & Wills expedition of 1860.

Queens Park is the location where the Burke and Wills party spent their first night. To claim a find, you need to collect clues from a number of places around the park, all leading to a secret hidden small metal label in the park, containing a "codeword" that you must use to log your find online.

Background:

Moonee Ponds was the site of the first overnight camp for the Burke and Wills Expedition. After finally setting off from Royal Park at 4pm, they had already experienced the loss of one wagon in coming even this far. This was only the beginning of the immense run of bad luck that would dog the expedition.

The distance covered in the first days travel amounted to less than ten kilometres. Although this rate improved as the expedition progressed, it did point to a major difficulty faced by the party: they were over-supplied. Beyond basic stores and scientific equipment, they carried with them an immense amount of other material far beyond that carried by any other Australian explorer. Among other things, the Expedition carried a Chinese gong, a bathtub, two dozen pairs of goggles, and a writing desk. Burke soon became frustrated with the delays caused by hauling all of this equipment across the country. He would often ride ahead with a small advance group, leaving the wagons to follow as best they could, sometimes up to three days behind. He also sold off equipment at several major stops along the way. Burke finally divided the group in two at Menindee, leaving the majority of the supplies to be moved up to Cooper’s Creek at a later date while he pressed on ahead. He divided the group again at the Cooper, taking only four men, six camels and a horse on his fateful dash to the north coast.

WP1: S37 45.780 E144 55.356. Here you will find a stone and plaque which marks the first camping site of the Burke and Wills expedition.

• It was presented by the Mayor of Essendon, Cr. L.T.Thompson in what year? Answer = ABCD.

WP2: S37 45.713 E144 55.343. Cross the road for a very short walk to another site commemorating the expedition. Read the information board and the plaque on the large rock, and look at the camels in the garden to answer these questions.

• How many large camel sculptures are here in this garden bed? Answer = E.
• How many of the camels are standing? Answer = F.
• How many of the camels are kneeling? Answer = G.
• How many of the camels are sitting? Answer = H.
• How tall was John King? Answer = IJK centimetres.

WP3: S37 45.714 E144 55.394. Stroll over to the Queen's Park curator's cottage, built circa 1890, thirty years after the Burke and Wills visit. Find the plaque marking the restoration of the cottage.

• What is the Historic Building Number of this cottage? Answer = LMNP.
• Now one quick calculation before you find the final location: F + K  = ? Answer = Q.

GZ - The Codeword! Make your way to the final location at S37 45.NBG  E144 55.EHQ where you will find a small metal tag (approx. 2 metres above ground-level) containing the codeword that must be entered to claim this find. (There is no physical container, just the codeword to find.)

Please do not include the codeword in your log, it should only be entered into the relevant input box you'll see when you are logging your find. Any attempts to claim a find without the correct codeword will be automatically rejected by the system.

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