Wakamarina Gold (Nelson/Marlborough) Traditional Cache
Wakamarina Gold (Nelson/Marlborough)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A small traditional cache close to a monument to the 19th century gold rush that transformed this area for a few short years.
I have driven past here a few times heading for caches further up the valley and wondered why - no cache here?? The question is answered with this cache.
In August 1863, the Marlborough Provincial Council offered bonuses for the discovery of gold and coal in the financially struggling province. In April 1864, John Wilson, Joshua and George Rutland and Hirram Harris, found an encouraging amount of gold at Wilson's Beach beside the Wakamarina River.
The Wakamarina was proclaimed a goldfield on 11 June 1864 and the gold rush transformed Havelock into a bustling boomtown in the space of two months. Tents sprang up at Havelock, Canvastown and settlements up the Wakamarina River. Publicans and merchants arrived to assess business prospects and accommodation houses and stores mushroomed.
The Wakamarina yielded 5000oz of gold in the first four to five weeks. Gold was steadily recovered from the river claims, mostly using sluice boxes. However, while miners continued to arrive during the winter, many failed to secure claims, some left disillusioned, and floods drove others away.
The Wakamarina's easy gold was worked out within a year and the gold rush was soon over. After the rush subsided, mining was increasingly dominated by shareholder companies. For example, in January 1880, a small local syndicate formed the Wakamarina Hydraulic Sluicing Company which held a lease for 10 acres near Wilson's Beach. However the gold was patchy and the company was sold in August 1881.
Nobody knows exactly how much gold came out of the Wakamarina, but records show 44,687 oz were extracted from the alluvial diggings and 17,000 oz were extracted from the quartz diggings.
The monument here is close to the place where the gold was first discovered.
The cache is a 200ml Sistema container with log and room for small swaps. There is a farm house nearby so please use discretion when retrieving and replacing the cache. The road is sealed all the way to here and there is plenty of room to pull off the road.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pbeare ohfu.
Treasures
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