Awarua Radio had it's beginnings in the 1911s. Part of the NZPO (New Zealand Post Office). This government department was in charge of radio communications. There was a need for costal radio bases in NZ to monitor shipping frequencies and therefore the ships progress. The ship was able to communicate with these costal radio stations for general information and in the case of emergencies.
Two International frequencies for emergencies were allocated to Awaura Satation. 500 khz for morse code and 2182 khz for voice.
The call sign prior to 1912 was ZLB. At an international conference in London all colonies of Great Britan were prefixed with a ''v" so Awarua became known as VLB. This changed in 1927 to ZLB.
Awarua Plains are ideal for long distance radio communication due to low distant skyline and high ground conductivity.
Currently the station is a tracking facility for the European Space Agency and does work using an Unwin Radar for La Trobe University.
There are plans of establishing a Radio Museum on the premises.
But back to coastal shipping communications... these are now handled by a world famous local Bluff resident on a voluntary basis.
The cache is at GL Plastic screw top jar containing a log and pencil.
Park in a way not to block access to the station houses and as Highway 1 is a busy road keep off the road.