The 8.2 metre long Krupp Gun was manufactured in Essen in 1907 and was used by the German Army during the First World War. The New Zealand Division seized the gun at La Vacquerie, north east France in September 1918. Two battalions of the Wellington Regiment were engaged in this action which was part of an Allied attack on the Hindenburg line.
The gun is thought to be the last of its kind. About 190 were originally manufactured.
The gun was one of many war trophies returned to New Zealand at the end of the war. It was gifted to Wellington in honour of the soldiers from the Wellington district and displayed at Newtown Park for almost 80 years.
The gun's current location is at the top of the Wellington Botanical Gardens, alongside an observatory and overlooking Wellington Harbour. Here you will find magnificent views of the harbour and plenty of bench seats from which to take it all in.
The area was a military post or battery in the 1890s during what was known as the Russian scare. It was never actually needed but was a part of the city’s coastal defence system at that time – one of six batteries that were together designed to protect the city from invading vessels.
The Kelburn Scout Hall nearby is the former gun commander’s house and the old gunpowder and ammunition store is still intact under the Dominion Observatory, which was built on top in 1907.
HOW TO REGISTER A FIND OF THIS CACHE:
1. Find the two plaques near the foot of the Krupp Gun. The right-hand plaque includes a map of England - which two English cities are named there?
2. Send you answer to the cache owner via Message Centre or Geocaching.com email.
3. At the posted coordinates, take a photo of yourself and/or your personal item with the Krupp Gun clearly in the frame. Upload the photo to your ‘Found it’ log which clearly shows either yourself, your GPS or something obviously geocaching related with all or part of the Krupp Gun in the background.
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Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.