Cow
Corner
The published co-ordinates for this cache are
in the middle of a very busy round about. DO NOT GO THERE!!! All the
information that you need to solve the final co-ordinates can be
found within 50m of the published co-ordinates.
A little bit of history about this
area................................
In 1863, Thomas Brady, the publican at the
Howick Arms Hotel sold 103 acres of land at a reputed cost of one
pound per acre to the Somervilles.
The family used the land to build a cottage, and then a two storied
homestead at Cream Stand Corner where the Howick, Whitford and East
Tamaki roads meet. Here a cream stand stood for many years
where the farmers of Paparoa (now known as Meadowlands) and the
Mangemangeroa would leave steel milk cans. They were
collected twice a day and taken to Auckland for separation, until
tankers collected milk from refrigerated tanks.
The Somerville farm was always called
"Paparoa", after the district – the valley from Paparoa Road,
Somerville Rd to the Whitford Rd. It was initially scrub and native
grasses, but was soon producing wheat and oats The last crop was
1930, when they turned to dairy, sheep and beef.
Their 12-byre cowshed can now be seen at the Howick Historical
Village.
Fencible solider John Nicholas bought a farm in Somerville Road in
1851. His was the Howick midwife during the 1850s and it was often
customary to name babies after the midwife when no other was
immediately available, hence many Howick newborns were designated
with the name Nicholas.
Archive Somerville sold his farm in 1988, and in the years that
have followed, Meadowlands has been transformed into an exciting
new residential area, with an increase in population in the order
of 200% since 1991.
The Somerville shopping area is the hub of this attractive suburb
having an exciting array of over 80 shops, with more to open,
catering largely for the well-established Asian community.
To find the final Co-ords solve the
following:
S36.55.ABC
E174.55.DEF
A = last digit in year it ceased
BC = year it ceased minus year it commenced
plus 15
DE = year it ceased minus year it commenced
minus 5
F = second digit in the year it commenced
Please make sure you keep an eye on young
children as it can be very busy around here at times.
At time of placement the cache contained logbook, pencil, GC and
some small SWAG items.