The Land Girl
During World War II women across the world, including here in New Zealand, were experiencing drastic changes to their daily lives. As more men were enlisting, women found themselves doing jobs that had historically been considered men’s work. The agriculture industry was one area where the service of women was vital. Ideas about female identity in Kiwi culture experienced a change during this period as women were increasingly employed in traditionally masculine fields of work.
The women in the service, more commonly known as land girls, wanted to provide support in times of war as well as free up men for fighting. The girls who enlisted were from rural and urban areas alike. Some had grown up on farms, watching their fathers before them, whereas others had never seen a plough. Whether they were experienced sheep shearers or novice farmhands, they felt the call to serve their country any way possible, much like the men. Land girls worked long hours, often from before sunrise to late in the evening. They seldom had a day off. The work was physically and mentally taxing. Women often found themselves shearing, slaughtering, milking, gardening, and working the fields.
Cast in bronze, The Land Girl monument by Margriet Windhausen. located here, honours the work of all the New Zealand women who worked on farms while their men fought overseas in World War II. Located adjacent to the monument is an information panel on which is a poem entitled The Land Girl by Mary Robinson.
In order to claim this virtual cache, you need to:
1. Read the poem on the information panel and find the last two words of the third verse. Then find the year at the bottom of the poem. Combine these two words and the year to create an gmail address e.g. if the words were fluffy rabbit and the year 1942, you'd email fluffyrabbit1942@gmail.com.
Please put your geocaching name in the subject line of the email.
If you have the address correct, you will receive an automatic reply and can then log the cache.
2. Post a photo in your log of the land girl statue with a personal item e.g. GPS, hat, etc.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.