Geocaching Australia

As most of you know the first cache in Australia is now a virtual, And from a caching viewpoint it is a fairly non event, Unlike other states oldest.

I propose we do a little fundraising in the caching community, and have a proper hide put in for this. I envisage a hollowed out rock with a plaque placed at the top of the steps to nowhere,so catchers have actually something to sign upon arrival.

My intention is not to downgrade the virtual as it stands but to add a cache to the site, as now NPWS allow caches in non sensitive areas, the virtual could be modified to get a reading from the new cache, thus get a accurate reading for the answer and minimise cacher impact on the area, and cachers would get to sign the commemorative cache log. A two for one deal.

If we had a fund raising to raise some cash I am sure we could get something that can be locked in stainless steel, (less pron to be nicked), I am sure a lot of cachers would contribute to something like this. I would love to see Ceocaching NSW place this and have an event on its unavailing.

Just putting the idea out there to see what others think if this is a good idea for the community or not.- pros and cons

Sounds like a good idea, but I ass ume that the location will need to be agreed

<Geocaching NSW Hat> We have discussed this previously and there has been some interest in a commemorative plaque near the location raised before. Since the reintroduction of Geocaching in National Parks we have been trying to continue to build and maintain a good relationship with NPWS so in the future this sort of undertaking could be on the cards. I suggest raising a topic in the GCNSW Forum to formally put it up for discussion and the committee can then put it on the agenda and take steps to see if it is viable in some form. http://www.geocachingnsw.asn.au/index.p ... orums.html </Geocaching NSW Hat>

It's a bit like my Dad's favourite axe. He'd had it since he was a young man and, although it had had five new heads and twenty new handles, it was still his favourite.

The cache is long, long gone. Allowing it to remain as a virtual was a sop to nostalgia, but trying to claim that a completely new object in a different place is somehow the same cache and has any significance is getting a bit silly.

What are the other States oldest? Being in WA, I'd be interested to know which one is ours.

I ran a GCA Query forcing GC caches & came up with Albany Quarantine GC576 hidden 27/3/01. Comment by the COs in the description has an historical context viz "For those that may not know in the early days of Geocaching Jeremy Irish, one of the co-founders of Geocaching.com approved the caches personally. This is one of ours he published. "

Appears to be the oldest WA cache.

TO find the oldest cache in each state -
Simply do a search in GC.com by Country and then State, and then go to the first cache.

WA's is indeed Albany Quarantine.

Thank peoples!

Out of interest is the original still in place (I know nobody can find it) but has it been removed?

Papa Bear_Left wrote:It's a bit like my Dad's favourite axe. He'd had it since he was a young man and, although it had had five new heads and twenty new handles, it was still his favourite.

The cache is long, long gone. Allowing it to remain as a virtual was a sop to nostalgia, but trying to claim that a completely new object in a different place is somehow the same cache and has any significance is getting a bit silly.

I agree with the bearded one. I often get a chuckle when people raise the pitchforks when an old listing is about to be archived citing nostalgic reasons. Often when you look closer the listing has been changed since it was published, it has been moved because the original cache was muggled (not to mention the subsequent 3 or 4 hides) all that is preserved is a key for a database being the GC code.

I'm happy for the location to remain as a virtual but see no need to add anything back to the location.

akkatracker wrote:Out of interest is the original still in place (I know nobody can find it) but has it been removed?

The original disappeared quite a while ago. I went to the location when I first moved back to Sydney about 6 years back knowing nothing was there to be found andn it was a virtual, but the description was updated after that asking people not to go to GZ and just claim it by being nearby.

I am in in two minds. Yes the original cache doesn't exist anymore and Parks don't want you to go to GZ. At the same time it is the oldest cache in Australia. I haven't checked out the second oldest to see if it is still active or any issues with visiting it, but still the second isn't quite the same.

I guess I could support archiving it if an appropriate replacement can be done nearby paying homage to the original find, but then on most people's lists it won't show up as anything special.

Makes you wonder what is the ACTUAL oldest cache in Australia - i.e. the original container in the original spot.

My dough's on this one:
Frying Pan

Would be a no-no these days as it's 'buried' in the style of early caches. 49 finds in 13 years though!

Yurt wrote:Makes you wonder what is the ACTUAL oldest cache in Australia - i.e. the original container in the original spot.

My dough's on this one:
Frying Pan

Would be a no-no these days as it's 'buried' in the style of early caches. 49 finds in 13 years though!

Isn't this one still the original cache, and a few months older?

Papa Bear_Left wrote:

Yurt wrote:Makes you wonder what is the ACTUAL oldest cache in Australia - i.e. the original container in the original spot.

My dough's on this one:
Frying Pan

Would be a no-no these days as it's 'buried' in the style of early caches. 49 finds in 13 years though!

Isn't this one still the original cache, and a few months older?

You've linked to the same cache?