This cache is a tribute to the Janie Seddon.
Please note the safety and warning signs - there is no need to go to, enter or climb on the wreck. Parents, please watch children.
The Janie Seddon was one of two submarine minelaying vessels ordered in October 1900. She was originally to be named the Janie Spotswood but was renamed the Janie Seddon after Prime Minister Richard Seddon's daughter on 29 November 1900. She was built by Fleming & Fergusson Ltd at Paisley in Scotland and delivered to New Zealand in 1903.
Built of steel and powered by a single 320 horse-power steam engine driving two shafts, the Janie Seddon was 90 feet long and 18 feet wide (27.4 m x 5.5 m) with a gross register tonnage of 126 tons - one register ton equals 100 cubic feet which if filled with water would weigh approximately 2.8 tonne. Her net weight was 44 tons and she was capable of 7 knots. The Janie Seddon was based in Wellington, and her sister ship, the Lady Roberts, was based in Auckland.
The Janie Seddon was the only New Zealand military ship to survive service in both World Wars, and one of only two wrecks to survive – the other is the T.S. Amokura which is beached in Kenepuru Sound.
Some reports, including the Information Boards, credit the Janie Seddon with firing the first shots of World War II. According to New Zealand Naval Vessels by R.J. McDougall (GP Books, 1989) this is incorrect as she was not armed. The incident took place on 3 September 1939 at 9:45 am when the British refrigerated cargo ship City of Delhi did not stop after being signalled to do so by the Janie Seddon. In accordance with standard practice the shore battery at Fort Dorset was instructed to fire two 6 inch warning shots. One of shots was well wide of the City of Delhi but the other functioned close to the ship which had the desired effect and she hove to alongside the Janie Seddon. The shots were later claimed to be the first fired by a British service vessel during WW2 although because of the time difference war had not yet been declared on the other side of the world.
The Janie Seddon was sold to the Motueka Trawling Co Ltd in December 1946 and was in service for three years. She was initially laid up in Nelson before being returned to Motueka harbour where she was holed and sank at her moorings. She was then stripped of her fittings until all that remained was her hull. Her significance to the region is that she was the first fishing boat purchased by the Talley's fishing group.
Logging Requirements
To log this cache you need to review the information boards near the wreck (see coordinates for WP01 below) to find answers to the questions below, and take a photograph showing either you or your GPS and the wreck of the Janie Seddon which you must upload with your log. Please email or msg me the answers to the questions.
Note that the information on the boards differs from that in some print and on-line references. Source your answers from the boards at the Reference way point below.
Q1: The Janie Seddon was commissioned as what type of vessel in Wellington Harbour in both World Wars?
Q2: Why was Janie Seddon unable to fish in Tasman Bay?
Q3: When was Janie Seddon laid up at the Motueka Wharf prior to being beached and broken up for scrap?
You do not need to wait for confirmation of your answers before posting your log, but logs where the answers have not been received or that do not include a photograph may be deleted.
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.