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Welcome to Petone. Part 2 of the Adventure Lab takes you to this site and 5 other locations in Historic Petone.
The large block south of the published coordinates was the site of the Gear Meat Works, established in 1882. For almost 100 years, it was a major contributor to the local economy and is best remembered for the “Gear smell”, bloody sea, and the “Gear whistle” and as Petone's "stink factory".
Although there was not much livestock in the Hutt Valley, Petone's proximity to the railway on which the livestock arrived, and a port, Wellington, from which the meat was shipped, made it an optimal location for a meat freezing works. It was founded by James Gear, an English butcher, on a 12-hectare foreshore block. At its peak it killed 10,000 sheep and 600 cattle a day.
In 1981, the Gear Meat abattoir closed, heralding the end of the suburb's working-class, industrial century.
The site was later built on by IBM and Pak N Save.
The companion Adventure Lab consists of five other locations. As you complete each location, you will be given a code for this bonus geocache.
Mobile app smart link
Use your phone's native QR code scanner to open this adventure in the Adventure Lab mobile app, or click on this link.
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