The Cache Location:
Think Parkville, think leafy streets, beautiful heritage houses, and the University of Melbourne’s bustling campus.
Parkville is also home to major hospital, research and institutional facilities including the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Children’s Hospital.
The City of Melbourne’s largest area of open space, Royal Park, can be found near this cache. Royal Park consists of 180 hectares of parklands two kilometres north of the city, set out between Royal Parade and Flemington Road. The parklands largely comprise sports ovals and sporting fields, including the State Netball and Hockey Centre, home of the Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels National Netball teams. However, it is probably best known as the home of Melbourne's Zoological Gardens, which are set out on 22 hectares.
The Melbourne Zoo has more than 350 wildlife species on view every day of the year. Special attractions at the Zoo include the African Rainforest, Asian Rainforest, Butterfly House, Great Flight Aviary, the fur seals pool, and penguins pool. The Zoo is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a Zoo Twilights program extending the viewing hours on selected evenings in January, February, and March .
Trams run directly to the Zoo. You can catch a No. 55 tram from William Street (Monday to Saturday) and a No. 68 tram from Elizabeth Street on Sundays. The Royal Park railway station is situated next to the Zoo.
Getting There:
This description assumes that you are a business traveller, that you are staying at a hotel in or near Melbourne's CBD, and you are starting from Flinders Street Station at the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets.
Walk west along Flinders Street to the intersection with Elizabeth Street (S 37° 49.090, E 144° 57.900)—230m. Take a No. 19 tram to North Coburg. Get off at stop 13 (15 mins). This will put you at the corner of Royal Parade and Gatehouse Street.
The first waypoint is a 30m walk from the tram stop.
Melway street directory reference for the cache is: 2B B4
UBD street directory reference for the cache is: 13 J5
What you need to do:
At the published coordinates you will be standing in front of a monument about George Hawkins Ievers (see BT XIII – More Leverage? for another GHI monument). In fact, the monument was presented to the people by this august gentleman. Gather the following information:
- The number of granite columns on the structure is A.
- The number of years he lived amongst the people of Smith Ward is BC.
- The year the monument was unveiled is DEFG.
- The year he was first returned unopposed as their representative is HJKL.
The cache is located nearby at:
S 37° 47.(A+C)(D+F)(J–B)
E 144° 57.(E–G+L)(H+K+B)(G–C–L).
The Cache:
This is a log-only micro cache. The cache container is a plastic DDS tape box (about 8cm × 6cm × 1.5cm). Bring your own pen!
The initial contents are:
USA GeoCoin TB89A7
Clue for the Business Traveller's Cache
Log sheet and stash note
As always, please replace the cache exactly where you found it to discourage accidental discovery.
Activities at or Near this Location:
After you've found the cache, here are some other things you can do in the area:
- Take a stroll around the nearby Australian Native Garden.
- Walk around the Melbourne University campus (S 37° 47.820, E 144° 57.680) and take in the atmosphere.
- Visit Melbourne General Cemetery (S 37° 47.510, E 144° 57.700) and find the graves of some of the famous people buried there. You can use GCG427 as a good starting point.
- Visit the Zoo (S 37° 47.120, E 144° 57.190). Friends of the Zoos volunteer guides offer free tours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily. You can find more about the Zoo here.
Nearby Caches:
You might also consider the following nearby caches that are also reachable by public transport or on foot from this cache: