James Parkinson was a scientist who had a theory about why moths were attracted to lights.
After much experimentation he discovered that it was the fur on the wings of the Honey Gum Moth which was attracted to bright lights. The Honey Gum Moth can only be found in a small area of bushland in Browns Plains.
James set up a breeding area in a hollow tree in the bushland and found a way to extract this fur from the moths.
He concentrated this fur and to keep it stable he formed it into small pyramid shapes. To stop these pyramids from being drawn to the sun he attached small pins to them.
To perform a number of experiments he attached these pyramids to trees in the bushland.
He could only work on the extraction of the fur of a night in the darkness of the hollow tree and hid his tools and equipment in a nearby safe spot.
One night he was extracting fur in the hollow tree ensuring that it was not exposed to the light of the moon. Unbeknown to him the moon had passed over the tree and the light from the moon lined up with the tall chimney of the burnt out tree. As the moonbeam fell on him he was startled and dropped the container of moth fur which covered his body with the fine powder.
The magnetic effect of the concentrated fur was great and he was pulled up the chimney of the tree by the light of the moon. As he rose he pushed a pyramid tack of fur into the tree to indicate the direction from the tree to his hidden tools and equipment.
His screams faded as he was pulled higher and higher towards the moon and he was never seen again.
To find his hidden cache you will have to come of a night and use a torch and be attracted to the pyramids which he left on the trees. Holding a torch at eye level will give the best attraction from the pyramids.
The area was formerly the site of the Parkinson Crematorium which after completion, was never used and was finally dismantled. You will find remnants to the roadways and parking areas as you walk. It's amazing how fast nature has reclaimed the area.
You will feel the first attraction at the listed coordinates. Take care on the paths as they can be uneven at times and you will have to negotiate fallen trees and patches of soft sand.
You will not always feel the attraction but, by following the paths, you will soon feel the pull from the next pyramid. Follow the trail until you find a tree on the side of the path with a remnant of the professors shirt on it. Turn off the path here and you will be led to the tree in which James had his workshop. Look inside and find the pyramid which the professor placed in as he was drawn up to the moon.The position of the pyramid will reveal the direction to take to find the hidden cache.
Beware if it is a moonlit night that you are not in the tree as the moon passes over as there are possibly remnants of fur dust in the soil in the tree.
The cache contains some of his equipment for collection the fur and also his note book which you are invited to sign.
WARNING: THE CACHE MUST BE OPENED IN COMPLETE DARKNESS. FAILURE TO HEED THIS WARNING MAY LEAD TO EXPOSURE TO MOTH DUST
It would be advisable to have MOTH repellant with you.
A special thanks to Forthferalz for supplying equipment and geocoins to set up the cache.There is a collectors Australian Geocoin for the FTF.