The Tuia Mātauranga Pōkai Whenua GeoTour follows the footsteps of early explorers of Aotearoa New Zealand taking you to places where leaders of the past searched for food, resources and ways to adapt and survive in this new land.
Use the Pōkai Whenua GeoTour as your classroom to explore the stories of the past, in the present, to preserve what is unique in Aotearoa New Zealand for the future.
Collect the codewords to get the Geocoin puzzle pieces.
To be able to complete this GeoTour and receive your special Geocoin collectable, remember to take a note of the codeword placed in the cache. This will need to be recorded in your passport which can be downloaded here .
63 of the 150 Pōkai Whenua GeoTour caches will contain a randomly placed special FTF token (a replica of the Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour commemorative coin). This is yours to keep! If you find more than one, you might consider leaving it for the next person who finds the cache.
Aotearoa has a history of exceptional migrations from the time of the early Pacific migrations.
In the 1850s almost 1000 Scottish people completed a remarkable migration to New Zealand. They established a close knit and highly successful Gaelic speaking community in Waipu (41km south of Whangarei). My ancestors arrived on one of the 6 ships that brought these settlers across the seas to New Zealand 170 years ago.
On leaving the Highlands of Scotland after the infamous Highland Clearances, the settlers first formed a community at St Ann’s in Nova Scotia. On this productive land the Scots built a strong community, despite cold winters.
The community at St Ann’s grew under the leadership of Norman McLeod, a Presbyterian Minister ordained in the USA in 1827. He attracted self reliant, religious, honest, and intelligent people. They worked hard to harvest timber, build homes, develop productive farms, build ships, establish businesses. Norman McLeod provided them with what was for many, their first opportunity to gain an education. His church and congregation were the largest in Cape Breton, though he was a controversial figure.
By the mid 1840s this was a thriving community. However, by 1845 the very cold winters, combined with potato blight and crop failure created a devastating famine. The fishing industry was under threat, opposing religions were a future challenge and land was limited.
Norman McLeod’s son Donald sent newspapers from Australia in 1848. Norman McLeod and his followers soon learned about the opportunities in Australia. Abundant fertile land, a mild climate and religious freedom were too attractive to ignore. They decided to emigrate to secure a better future for their community.
To undertake this amazing journey they built their own ships, prepared food, settled their affairs and set sail on an expedition, for five months or more, to the other side of the world.
The 179 ton Brig “Highland Lass” was the ship that carried my ancestors. She set sail to follow the “Margaret” with 136 on board but was caught in ice. They left five months later in spring 1852. By the time they reached Adelaide, some of the “Margaret” group had moved to Melbourne with Rev. Norman and his family.
The “Margaret” was sold and the group were forced to live in Canvas town outside of Melbourne in the midst of violence, crime and disease. Three of Norman’s sons died of typhoid. In Adelaide, the Highland Lass was sold and the 175-ton Aberdeen schooner “Gazelle” was bought to begin trading ventures while the passengers found work.
No suitable land by the sea was found in Adelaide or Melbourne. The discovery of gold caused the demand for land, and its value, to sky rocket out of affordability. The quest for land turned to New Zealand.
The Reverend Norman McLeod wrote to Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, who encouraged him and his people to come to New Zealand.
After 12-18 months the first party left Adelaide for Auckland. Ninety-two “Highland Lass” people and 33 from the “Margaret” arrived in Auckland on 18 September 1853 where they initiated land negotiations. The leaders of that group chose Waipu as being the most suitable area for the new settlement.
The area was most suitable for fishing, ship building, and farming and allowed the gaelic speaking community to remain together to worship with their Minister the Reverend Norman McLeod. The Reverend Norman McLeod came with more of the “Margaret” group from Melbourne in January 1854.
At last, after many trials, their determination and persistence were rewarded. Compared to Scotland and Nova Scotia, Waipu was a land of great opportunity. At last the community had found land with great potential.
When news of Waipu reached those who had remained in Nova Scotia, others decided to migrate and four ships were prepared for the journey. Some families still stayed in Nova Scotia. It was a heart-wrenching time for those left behind. They lost kinfolk and many of the community’s leaders.
The first ship to make the complete journey from Cape Breton to Auckland was the 217 ton brig “Gertrude”, built on Prince Edward Island, and reconditioned for the trip. She arrived in 1856 with 176 people on board. Next came the tiny 107 ton brigantine “The Spray” in 1857 with 96 keen settlers. Then the 224 ton barque “Breadalbane” arrived in 1858 with 160 more people for the settlement. Finally the largest of the fleet, the 336 ton barque “Ellen Lewis” arrived in 1860 with 235 new immigrants.
Almost 1000 people completed this remarkable migration. They set about the task of establishing a close knit and highly successful community in Waipu and sister settlements
Today, the descendants number in their tens of thousands. The remarkable Waipu Migration has descendants all over New Zealand and the world. Those connections continue to be celebrated. In the words of the late PM Sir Peter Fraser:
“New Zealand has many records of the adventurous voyages and the trying experiences of its hardy and courageous pioneers. Each successive settlement has its history of early trials and vicissitudes , of tremendous difficulties and failures preceding success ………… but none excel the story of the Highlanders of Waipu.”
Waipu’s rich Scottish heritage is very evident in the village today. The Waipu Museum tells the story of the Scottish immigration through interactive museum displays and old world collections. Heritage trails are run from the museum and take in historic sites such as Norman McLeod’s house, the Church, the Caledonian Park and the Blacksmiths. The Waipu Highland Games, the oldest running highland event in the southern hemisphere, are held every New Year’s Day. People come from around the world to dance and compete in traditional Celtic challenges. Waipu’s Event Centre, the Waipu Celtic Barn, hosts many events including the annual Art ‘n Tartan awards. And even the road signs tell of the Celtic history of the early settlers.
The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates.
To obtain the Final coordinates you will need to visit both waypoints 1 and 2. The south coordinates can be determined from wpt 1, and the east coordinates from wpt 2.
At wpt 1 there is a sign with a story about the Scottish migration. Match the images of the ships below to their correct names, and assign the following values:
Breadalbane = 9
Ellen Lewis = 8
Gertrude = 2
Highland Lass = 4
Margaret = 7
Spray = 3
So the cache can be found at S35 5A.BCD where:
At wpt 2 you will find a plaque tribute to settlers Roderick and Catherine Finlayson, placed at the time of a family reunion.
Find the cache at E174 2E.FGH where:
E = Number of children in the family -2
F = Number of letters in the name of the 3rd child listed
G = Number of letters in the name of the 1st child listed
H = Last digit of the year of the family reunion
The Final cache is a short drive away at a scenic location near the final resting place of many of these early settlers.
In keeping with the conservation theme of this Geotour, all our caches and logbooks are made of recycled materials, or items we had on hand already.
The Waipu Museum has put together an interesting video of the story of the Scottish migration to Waipu, and it can be seen here.