Welcome to WELLYWOOD, a series of caches designed to enlighten you and show you around some of the wonderful locations in 'the coolest little capital of the world'.
You will be required to do some 'pre-work' to complete and find some of these caches, while others will require you to do some exploring 'out in the field', and some will require a combination of both. Most caches can be found in the greater Wellington area, although there may be a few that are further afield. We hope you enjoy the series.
Golders Cottage
The Golder Cottage originally named "Straven Cottage" is one of the earliest pioneer homes of Upper Hutt. For those who like a glimpse of the past, Golder Cottage, is a window into the life in the 1870 - 1940’s. John orginally named it Straven Cottage because his father William Golder was born and lived in Strathaven, Scotland before immigrating to New Zealand in 1840.
The cottage was built by John Golder in 1876 (additions made up until 1920), the preserved cottage and artifacts, reflect early life in New Zealand. The cottage has a fascinating collection of memorabilia from the era. Much of the furniture exhibited was made by John Golder himself and other items on display have always had their home in the cottage. The additions to the house in 1880, 1900 and 1920 reflect the growing size of the Golder family. The property also contains a hen house, laundry, toilet, dairy, water pump, and foodstore.
This is an historic house and museum all in one. Stroll around the cottage and grounds and view the beautiful native kowhai, estimated to be at least 100 years old, and some of the original shrubs and trees that can be seen in the garden. the swing attached to the Kowhai features in a family photograph taken in 1900 and can be seen from the hallway.
There is also a spiral herb garden, fruit trees and old fashioned roses that are featured in the front and back gardens.
The Family
John Golder (1849-1902) was a man of many skills, housebuilder, woodturner, furniture maker-the ultimate "DIY" man. John built this cottage in 1876 and with his wife, Jane, brought up a family of 12 children.
It was lived in by members of the Golder family for over 100 years until 1985 and was then restored externally and has operated as a museum since 1990. It exhibits original furnishings, memorabilia and photographs of the family. There have been many donations of artifacts etc. from others.
The original form of the cottage was a simple gable, shingle clad roof with two rooms upstairs and two down, and a veranda across the front. It has had three additions to form the dwelling now standing on the historic site.
To complete this cache you'll need to whip out to Golders Cottage.
Once there pop over the road where you'll be looking for a tag on a pole. We'll call this number ABCDEF. (sum check 24).
Cache can be found at S41 ab.cde E175 fg.hij
a = B
b = E
c = E-A
d = D-A
e = C
f = B
g = D-C
h = F
i = e-g
j =E-C