The Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour is about having fun discovering the history of Aotearoa New Zealand by finding sites of significance in local communities from early Pacific voyaging and migration, European settlement to present day. The interaction between people, and people and the land have provided a rich history that the GeoTour invites you to explore.
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Chelsea Sugar Works is a well recognised and familiar building situated on the North Shore of Auckland. The best views of this building are from this side of the Waitematā Harbour and it's pink colour makes it easily visible. However the grounds of the refinery are open to the public so it is worth a trip over the Harbour Bridge to enjoy the parkland.
The Chelsea Sugar Works were established in 1884 and it's iconic packaging and logo make it instantly recognisable to most New Zealanders and the refinery is listed as a Category 1 Heritage building.
Prior to the establishment of the sugar works all sugar products were imported and in 1882 the government were keen for NZ to become more self-sufficient so the process began of purchasing the land and work began on the refinery. Of the 150 workers who built the refinery, 100 remained to work in it once it was complete; most had migrated to Auckland and settled in the area and in 1909 a small village was opened for some of the workers to reside in. Some of these original cottages still remain.
Please be careful of the nearby roads but this cache is easily accessible from the waterfront road and there is a bike and pedestrian path close by.
To be able to complete this Geotour and receive your special geocoin, remember to take a note of the codeword on the log book of the cache. This will need to be recorded in your passport which can be downloaded from here. If the passport is unavailable for any reason just keep a note of the codeword and try again later.