Bridging Cox Creek Bridgewater, South Australia, Australia
By
Laighside Legends on 08-Aug-15. Waypoint GA7402
Cache Details
| Difficulty: | |
| Terrain: | |
| Type: | Traditional |
| Container: | Small |
| Coordinates: | S35° 0.481' E138° 45.292' (WGS 84) |
| 54H 295129E 6123764N (UTM) | |
| Elevation: | 398 m |
| Local Government Area: | Adelaide Hills |
/138.754867,-35.008017,14/400x200?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoiY2F1Z2h0YXR3b3JrIiwiYSI6ImNqa2l4ZzNzMDE5bjgzdm1sZGpuODF1Mm0ifQ.q8YMzVyzDJJlJHHV8EMjwQ)
Description
Part 2 in an occasional series on little known bits of SA's railway history...
Please be aware that this cache is located close to an active railway line. Approach GZ from the south and there is no need to cross the tracks. If you have small children, please keep an eye on them - some very large trains come through here on a very regular basis and often at quite an impressive speed.
Now onto the history...
In 1883 the Adelaide to Nairne railway opened. At the time it was a single track the entire route and included 9 tunnels and 3 large bridges. This cache is located at the site of the 2nd bridge - bridging Cox Creek just upstream of Bridgewater.
I have been unable to find the exact date, but at some point in the 1910s or 1920s the bridge was replaced with the embankment in order to carry larger trains. All that remains of the bridge today are the abutments and one of the pillars poking through the embankment rubble. (I wanted to put the cache on the pillar but couldn't find any way of getting there!) The bridge spans where reused as the road overpasses at Pinera, Belair and Coromandel Parade, Blackwood where they can still be seen today.
The other noteworthy bit of history nearby is the Bridgewater dam which was located just meters to the north of the railway bridge. This was used to supply water to the Bridgewater mill via a channel which runs along the side of the walking trail. It is hard to determine exactly where the dam was since there is not much left of it - the photos below may help you. However the channel is mostly still intact (although a bit overgrown) and I suspect that large concrete item to the south-west of GZ was part of it. I am unsure if the dam was removed before the embankment was constructed or not...
Facing north - the cache is off the right hand side
Facing north west - photo taken near GZ
Looking to the south west - cache is off the bottom left corner
Facing south, note the dam in the foreground - cache is on the left hand side
Facing north, the dam can be seen behind the bridge - cache is on the right hand side
Facing west - photo taken from very close to GZ. The current embankment is about where that large tree is and I'm guessing that the current information board is on the site of the old dam spillway.
Close up of the bridge structure
Facing south east - cache is on the left hand side. The water channel to the mill can be seen under the bridge and running along the hill on the opposite side to where the photographer was standing.
The above photos are from the State Library's Bridgewater Collection
You are looking for a 400ml Sistema container. Please re-hide it well. Happy Hunting!
Hints
Hc gbc, gura va gur pbeare |
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Decode |
Logs
Now I must go back and find the other one I found 4 years ago near Henley Beach Rd.Recent Cache find dates (2 years then 4 years before that!)
8 May 2023
15 Apr 21
6 Jul 17
I think I'm the first finder for the new year, so that's always a nice feeling. Lovely spot, lovely view, lovely cache
Very slippery little climb following the rain over the last couple of days! All that water has made the creek quite spectacular however
Was a nice simple find at GZ. Enjoyed the view and th old stonework. I never realised this was such a steep valley
Great location for a cache though
Cheers & TFTC LL
I have sebt you a forum message which you need to read ASAP regarding this cache.
Cheers from the Posspet Boys
We had to wait to cross the railway line as a service car was trundling along. The driver gave us a cheery wave.
When we arrived at the car park we noticed that most of the large hole in the big old gum trunks and branches were occupied by pairs of parrots we assumed they were the local rosellas. We were surprised to see a lone duck snuggled down into a large hollow on a high branch of one of the dead trees. It looked as if it was nesting. We've seen videos of tree nesting ducks whose young float down to the ground but have never seen any in the wild.
Congratulation J_and _J on your FTF.
Thanks Laighside Legends for another really enjoyable caching experience
A short stroll along a very muddy path got us to within eyesight of the remains of the bridge. Fascinating to know that this used to be completely open with a bridge in place! It sure must have taken some work to build the current structure. I headed on up, and soon found the hiding spot. As expected, a fresh logbook was found. The last time we had a FTF was over two years ago in Wallaroo.
Awesome location and a fun cache to find. No trains were encountered while finding this cache, but there was simply megalitres of water rushing under the "bridge". Great to see one of the old supports still standing.
Thanks Laighside Legends.
