The members of the Coal River Working Party at the University of Newcastle have been sifting through early colonial archives in their search for the Macquarie Pier Foundation and Inscription Stone laid in 1818 at the Newcastle breakwater. They plan to combine a number of strategies to find the inscription stone including Archival Research, Ground Penetrating Radar and an Archaeological Dig. Their site states:

In recognition of Macquarie 2010, The University of Newcastle’s Coal River Working Party and Newcastle City Council will embark on the quest to find the Foundation and Inscription Stone laid in Newcastle by Governor Lachlan Macquarie back in 1818, and believed lost for over 190 years.

Governor Lachlan Macquarie laid the foundation stone for the Newcastle breakwater, named in his honour by Commandant Captain James Wallis as “Macquarie Pier” during one of his three visits to Newcastle on the 5th August  1818

Visit their blog to view the work so far and keep up to date with the investigation as it progresses!