MMMM-Our Hobbies #03 Tasmania, Australia
By 2y'stassies on 01-Jun-23. Waypoint GA27296

This cache is the third of a group of 5 mystery caches hidden as part of GCA's Mid-Year Mystery Madness Months. The caches feature some of the 2y'stassies hobbies.

Photography is another of Mr y'stassie's hobbies. It started at a very young age, encouraged by his father and a professional photographer who lived across the street in Devonport. Highlights included time in the darkroom developing film in the large Huon Pine tanks (this excellent timber was virtually impervious to photographic chemicals). Opportunities waned during teenage years but were revived when there was a darkroom in the college when he went to university in Hobart. That love for black and white photography never waned - colour was OK but B&W was king. In our early married years, with a young family, the bathroom was often commandeered as a darkroom and our four children, in particular the boys, became equally addicted. Unfortunately B&W photography became less accessible (mainly due to cost and others wanting to use the bathroom!). However the appreciation of the detail, texture and warmth of B&W photographs never diminished. When we started caching, we attempted some very interesting puzzles created by Bob From Elsewhere (BFE) in Adelaide and these were based on B&W photos from the State Archives in South Australia. That refocussed Mr y'stassie's attention to photographs from the Tasmanian Archives. Whilst the amount of digitised material available online is small compared to some other states, there is still a rich collection. This puzzle is a superficial introduction to the photographs available online from the Tasmanian Archives.

Items in collections have unique identification numbers - the archives are no exception. For most of the tasks in this puzzle, you will be given an ID and you will be required to use the number to locate a specific photo and then answer a question. There is one question where you will not be given the ID number but information about a particular photograph. You will be required to use the Search functions to locate the photo and then answer multiple questions from that photograph. These tasks will give you an introduction to the Tasmanian State Archives, in particular historic and quality B&W photography. 

Use this link to the Tasmanian Archives Home Page. Select SEARCH at the top of the Home Page. You should be presented with a screen like this:

The tab Tasmanian Archives should be highlighted - select the tab if it is not highlighted.

To locate an item, enter either the ID or some keywords and press the Search button to the right. 

Have fun as you begin to explore the online archives. We hope that you enjoy your exploration and please take some time to look at the B&W photos in detail - there is just so much to appreciate in addition to the subject.

Now for your tasks. Where applicable, the ID number for the photo is given at the start of the task and is in the format of 2 or 3 letters followed by some digits - the hyphens or slash are important.

Task  1:  AA193-1-307   This photograph of the Royal Flying Doctor Service plane arriving on Cape Barren Island captures many emotions.

• G = digital root of the last three letters in the aeroplane identification code

Task 2:  AB713-1-11128   This photograph is of a M-Class steam locomotive unloading cement into the silos at Devonport (M4)

• E = subtract 2 from the digit on the front of the steam engine

Task 3:  NS1714/1/22   Prior to being flooded, Lake Pedder had a magnificent quartz beach on which planes landed in the summer months. This photograph shows one of the earliest larger planes on the beach. The model of the plane is handwritten on the bottom right of the photo - "de Havilland xxxxxx Rapide"

• J = digital root of the missing six letter word

Task 4:  LMS5726-1-56   This photo is of a H-class steam engine pulling a passenger train near Launceston. 

• D = digit on the front and the side of the engine

Task 5:  NS1553/2/2   This photograph is of a commercial plane which landed in Hobart, probably at the Elwick Racecourse. 

• H = digital root of the location written on the tail plane

Task 6:  PH30-1-409   This is a photograph of a steam locomotive which operated between Hobart and Launceston for the Tasmanian Main Line Railway Company

• C = digit on the side of the locomotive

Task 7:  NS1231/1/92   This is a photograph of a military seaplane on the Domain in Hobart

• A = value of the third character in the aircraft identification number

Task 8:   ????/?/????  The Festival of Britain was held in England in 1951 as one of many celebrations of the end of World War II and to focus on the nation for the future. One of the many diesel locomotives purchased by the Tasmanian Government Railways and built in the United Kingdom, was taken from it's place of manufacture to the Festival of Britain before being shipped to Tasmania. The photo shows the diesel engine on the back of a Pickfords' low loader going under a bridge. Locate this photo.

• F = the value of the fourth character in the ID
• K = sum of the first 4 digits in the ID
• B = digital root of the first three characters in the ID (include any digits)

Once you have completed your tasks, you can find the cache at

S41 AB.CDE  E146 FG.HJK

Trust you have enjoyed your trawl through the archives - much more rewarding that trawling through social media.

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