Does anyone know what these are?

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Goldenwattle
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Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Goldenwattle » 03 July 16 11:36 pm

They are in the centre of SA between Woomera and Coober Pedy. The three trig like structures I have included coordinates in the photographs for. And the rock mound with post at top is about (coordinates not accurate, as I didn't enter what appeared to be private fenced land): S31° 10.837 E136° 10.077
They appear to be some sort of survey marks, or the trig like structures do. The rock mound could be a memorial or trig.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/76039553@ ... 776135320/

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by caughtatwork » 04 July 16 9:18 am

What does the sign say in front of the rock pile? Do they have a marker at the base of the pole / vanes indicating whether it's a survey mark or Trigonometrical station?

This is close to one of your co-ordinates, but looks different. http://geocaching.com.au/cache/tp0267

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Goldenwattle » 04 July 16 10:00 am

caughtatwork wrote:What does the sign say in front of the rock pile? Do they have a marker at the base of the pole / vanes indicating whether it's a survey mark or Trigonometrical station?

This is close to one of your co-ordinates, but looks different. http://geocaching.com.au/cache/tp0267
The trig example you gave I also visited and I logged it. I noticed it looked different. It was also easier to visit as there was a dirt track to it. The other tripod markers didn't have tracks to them, but they were easy short off road drives. I did photograph the ground under one of the tripod markers and I included it. It looks like what a trig marker would look like, minus any name. Perhaps they might have military origins, as it's that sort of area?
I didn't get to the rock pile because of the fence and didn't notice the sign until later when I looked at my photograph. If I knew the sign was there I might have slipped through the fence to check it out.

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by caughtatwork » 04 July 16 10:28 am

Ah, gotcha.
They look different to the other TPs out there. They look rather flimsy and with square vanes they don't look like standard TPs. I don't doubt that they are some type of survey equipment, but what, we don't know.
If you think they're TP(ish), then create a listing and see what others have to say when they find them. It's only a few pixels and a record in the DB.

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Goldenwattle » 04 July 16 9:03 pm

I created a listing for each of the three metal ones. The rock mound I am inclined to guess might be a memorial, because there is a sign there, so I didn't list this one. And besides, I didn't get exact coordinates for the rock pile.

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Now_To_Morrow
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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Now_To_Morrow » 04 July 16 9:38 pm

I found info on the Cairn at http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/m/ ... #mungarooH

"Mungaroo Hill
Nomenclature
An aboriginal name; meaning unknown.
General Notes
Five kilometres south-east of Wirraminna railway station on the east-west railway.

In 1960 Mr Barron's brass name plate, formerly attached to his saddlebag, was found by Mr W.A. Wilson of Lake Callabonna Station; it was apparently lost by its owner in 1879 while surveying the SA/Queensland border. A photograph is held in the Department of Lands of the relic and a note says: "He died at the age of 31, due to ill health ensuing from hardships suffered whilst surveying in remote areas." A photostat copy of the plate and caption is in the Mortlock Library - refer PRG 412.

A plaque erected on the hill in May 1990 reads: This plaque commemorates the erection of this stone cairn by Surveyor Barron in 1878 for the trigonometrical survey of land adjacent to Lake Gairdner, and pays tribute to those surveyors who endured the hardships of exploration in the remote areas of our State... In 1960 Mr Barron's brass name plate, formerly attached to his saddlebag, was found by Mr W.A. Wilson of Lake Callabonna Station; it was apparently lost by its owner in 1879 while surveying the SA/Queensland border. A photograph is held in the Department of Lands of the relic and a note says: "He died at the age of 31, due to ill health ensuing from hardships suffered whilst surveying in remote areas." A photostat copy of the plate and caption is in the Mortlock Library - refer PRG 412."

And here is some info about Surveyor William Barron: https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/arts/ ... ey-qld-sa/

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Now_To_Morrow » 04 July 16 9:39 pm

Goldenwattle wrote:I created a listing for each of the three metal ones. The rock mound I am inclined to guess might be a memorial, because there is a sign there, so I didn't list this one. And besides, I didn't get exact coordinates for the rock pile.
Maybe it could be listed as a virtual?

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Goldenwattle » 04 July 16 9:54 pm

That's good detective work. Actually it sort of sounds like it could be listed under trigs, because what you found says, "This plaque commemorates the erection of this stone cairn by Surveyor Barron in 1878 for the trigonometrical survey of land".
Unfortunately I didn't get accurate coordinates for it and I can't see the cairn on Google Earth, or at least on the laptop I am travelling with. If I listed it, the best I could do would be to list, say the coordinates on the nearby hwy and ask the next person who logs it to get more accurate coordinates and update the entry. The stone cairn can be seen easily from the hwy. What do people think? Would this be okay, or is this too vague.

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by MavEtJu » 04 July 16 10:44 pm

Goldenwattle wrote: Unfortunately I didn't get accurate coordinates for it and I can't see the cairn on Google Earth, or at least on the laptop I am travelling with.
Google Maps shows it at the coordinates you provided earlier: S31° 10.837 E136° 10.077 provided.

Go to the location, straight to the road, street view et voila.

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Now_To_Morrow » 05 July 16 3:23 am

Goldenwattle wrote:Actually it sort of sounds like it could be listed under trigs, because what you found says, "This plaque commemorates the erection of this stone cairn by Surveyor Barron in 1878 for the trigonometrical survey of land"
I thought so too until I read somewhere that a number of his measurements were off due to a worn measuring tool (excuse my lack of correct jargon and forgetting where I read it), which could explain why it is not listed as a trig in the sa maps site but there is a trig a little further off the road in that direction. However, the guy was a trig creator - deserves some kind of recognition in GCA either way I reckon.

[EDIT] - Never mind - that was the guy who followed, Poepple.

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Goldenwattle » 05 July 16 8:47 am

Okay people, I could make an entry for this stone pile...so shall it be, taking No_Tomorrow's research into account - as a trig or a virtual? What does everyone think?:D

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Re: Does anyone know what these are?

Post by Goldenwattle » 07 July 16 7:22 pm

For better or worse, I added the rock pile as a trig :? .
http://geocaching.com.au/cache/tp7403

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