The ship that first brought granite to Launceston was the Amboyna.
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The span of Kings Bridge is 60 metres.
And the fountain at Home Point was sculpted by the musically-named Mirek Marik of Carrick.
All these fun facts are freely available to learn at assorted locations around Launceston.
However, all are easily overlooked or ignored.
That is, until one enters the Gorge Us Rogaine.
It will also explain why on Sunday city residents may have noticed groups of people frantically waving colourful pieces of paper and engaging in hearty discussions bordering on arguments while staring at a wall and deciding whether it is white or cream coloured.
All 140 of them were in the 56 teams entered in the four-hour metrogaine organised by Rogaining Tasmania which took competitors from the Trevallyn Dam boat ramp to Tailrace Park, Machens Reserve in Kings Meadows and Duck Reach Power Station.
Fun fact: Launceston's reticulated water supply began in 1857.
For the uninitiated, rogaining is a form of orienteering (known as map trekking in the US) involving long-distance navigation using a topographic map and usually held over periods from two to 24 hours.
The last one held in Launceston was in 2008 so Rogaining Tasmania decided a 16-year hiatus was long enough.
After extensive course setting and vetting by David Cole, Andrea Schiwy and Paul Pacque, competitors gathered at Trevallyn's Max Fry Hall at 8.30am on Sunday with 90 minutes to plan a route around as many of the 54 control checkpoints as possible.
Points were awarded for each question answered with the furthest flung locations generally reaping the biggest scores.
Fun fact: The name of the masonic lodge on Penquite Road is Heather.
All competitors were required to carry everything from essential stationery, compass and whistle to appropriate clothing, water and snake bite bandages.
Teams consisted of two to five members in five age groups from under-23 to ultra-veteran. The adult entry fee was $35 and included a hearty spread of food to accompany post-race debriefs and presentations.
I teamed up with two regular bushwalking mates and we were quietly confident of achieving a podium finish in the super veteran category, not least because there were only three teams competing.
Fun fact: The estimated walking time from Kings Park to Seaport is 15 minutes.
Between 10.00am and 1.48pm we meandered through Trevallyn, Invermay, Newstead, East Launceston and the CBD, visited 22 controls, amassed 1280 points and covered 18.93 kilometres (that's 23,054 steps) with an elevation gain of 353m.
We were quite happy with that. That was until we learned that Ken Mclean and Darryl Smith won the super veteran category by visiting 12 more controls, scoring 2020 points and finishing a hugely impressive third overall. Freaks.
Meanwhile, Joe Dickinson and Euan Best were the overall winners with a score of 2750 from 42 controls. Interestingly, second-placed Sam Woolford and Niko Stoner actually made it to one more control (43) but recorded a lower score of 2560, demonstrating the tactical value of targeting higher-scoring checkpoints.
Sussan Best and Sophie Best won the women's category, finishing sixth overall with 1860 points from 32 controls.
Fun fact: The year on the front of East Launceston Primary School is 1907.
Perfect weather ensured a hugely-successful event which prompted organisers to promise it would not take another 16 years for the next one.
Entrants ranged from parents with kids to three old duffers who spent the rest of the day texting each other about how sore their feet were, but all were in agreement about what a splendid way it was to spend a sunny day in Launceston.
At least now the residents of 9 Trotsford Crescent know why so many strangers spent so much of Sunday staring at their garage door.
And all competitors can rest their weary feet and sleep easy in the knowledge that the bore of the gun in the north-east corner of City Park is seven-and-a-quarter inches.