Tide & Time (Wellington) Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Growly Bear: No response from owner. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.

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Hidden : 1/24/2010
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:



I saw a ship a-sailing,
A-sailing on the sea;
And oh, it was all laden.
With pretty things for thee.

In this case that ship was the brig ‘Gertrude’ and her cargo included Wellington’s founding father, Sir John Plimmer.

Plimmer - born in Shropshire, England in 1812 – came to the capital with his first wife Eliza and their children as steerage passengers on the 217-ton brig as part of the New Zealand Company's emigration scheme, arriving on October 31, 1841 after a four-month voyage.

Less than a week later, Plimmer had built a cabin for his family - unlike many new settlers who lived in tents for months - and was soon in high demand as a builder and carpenter.

It was this No 8 wire mentality that would see him also become a land speculator, importer (from his infamous warehouse, Plimmers Ark, formed from the 'Inconstant' wreck), merchant, barkeep, landlord and civic leader – being one of the first to serve on the new Wellington City Council in 1870. He was a founding member of Wellington Chamber of Commerce, and helped create a company to construct the railway between Wellington and Manawatu – for which the seaside town of Plimmerton was named after him.

His permanent family home was on the hill above “Clay Point”, now the corner of Lambton Quay and Willis Street. The alternative to going around that point was climbing the hill and walking down Boulcott St, a route that has become Plimmer Steps. The oak tree Plimmer planted still grows there near the vivid, tiled fountain that records his arrival on the ‘Gertrude’.

Other landmarks in his honour include a bronze statue of him with
his dog Fritz on Lambton Quay, Plimmer House on Boulcott Street
and the bell from the ‘Inconstant’ which hangs in St Alban's
Church at Pauatahanui.

Plimmer, who died on January 5, 1905 aged 92, is buried in Bolton Street Cemetery.

To find this cache, you must sail to the watery resting place of the ‘Gertrude’ on Plimmer Steps.


Published with permission from geocaching.com

Update: Difficulty rating amended to reflect user comments.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Bss gur fgneobneq obj.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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