Hayward's Mistake (Dunedin, Otago) Traditional Cache
Hidden : 10/5/2016
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:


Hayward’s Mistake? Where’s the mistake????

The story of Captain Hayward's mistake is below... it won’t be a mistake to come on a walk to this classic 2 litre black snaplock in the Heyward Point Scenic Reserve! There are magnificent views from Hayward’s Mistake headland. The cache is hidden in a safe area, well away from cliffs.
From the end of Heywards Point Road, the 5 km return walk takes about 2 hours.
NO DOGS. Leave gates as you find them.

WARNING: the track goes near sheer cliffs; take care and keep children close.

Track details and lambing closure dates: DoC: Heyward Point Track
Access is from either Heyward Point road end or from Aramoana (see waypoints).
Both access routes are closed for lambing from 29 August until 4 November inclusive.



It's not New Zealand ngaio...that was a mistake...

Heyward Point Scenic Reserve and the QE2 covenant beside it protect a valuable remnant of coastal podocarp/broadleaved forest. According to the experts, species include the nationally endangered Hectors tree daisy, fragrant tree daisy, fierce lancewood, climbing daisy and an array of native insects including the noctuid moth Meterana exquisita whose larvae feed on Hectors tree daisy. See the Naturewatch Heyward Point Scenic Reserve observations and this February 2010 Otago Botanical Society trip report (p 24) for more information.

The botanists point out a mistake in reserve replanting... Introduced Australian ngaio trees were planted beside the track through the reserve, not our native ngaio which has distinctive black growing tips and larger flowers. Not quite local seed source - Oopsie!


It'd be a mistake to go down it - Ooh-er!

Make sure you stop at Ooh-er Jacobs Ladder cache, where the historic Maori coastal route climbed up the cliff from Spit Beach.

A few names to choose from here – the Maori called it Otuwarerau; the WW2 Aramoana Home Guard called it Smuggler’s Staircase (see the 1943 photo); now it’s called Jacob’s Ladder. Oooh-er seems to fit best!


Hayward's Mistake Headland

The grassed area of Heyward Point Reserve is leased to the neighbouring farmer for seasonal grazing, so you may encounter sheep. During summer you could see gull nests in the long grass. There is an established New Zealand fur seal rookery on the rocky beaches and on top of the off-shore islet by the light beacon – usually twenty or more.

From the headland you get a good view of ships entering or leaving Otago Harbour. You might see the harbour dredge Hapuku going out, towed by the new tug Arihi (named after the granddaughter of local chief Karetai — Alice, born in 1861). It will be going to a designated dredge spoil area out to sea: ORC dredge spoil grounds map

The navigation beacon at the Hayward’s Mistake headland was erected by the Otago Harbour Board in 1920. That picturesque rusted winch and the iron stays in the rocks further down were part of a cable system used to winch acetylene gas bottles ashore to power the beacon. Today the light is solar powered. Sailor RooKiwi interprets the NZ Lights List to mean it's a sectored White and Red light which is obscured in the sector from the North Mole light to the East shore. The Red sector is from the landfall tower to the North Mole light and the white sector from the landfall tower to the west shore. It flashes 0.7sec once every 5 sec.



Once this was Purehurehu - Daddy-Long-Legs - Cranefly Point

The Maori name for Heyward Point headland is Purehurehu, meaning daddy-long-legs or crane-fly. That’s historically significant because when Kai Tahu paramount chief Tuhawaiki (“Bloody Jack”) negotiated the sale of the Otago Block to the NZ Land Company in 1844, he designated Purehurehu as the northern boundary. That name is used on the 1844 New Edinburgh sketch map.
Otago Block Sale Deed mentioning Purehurehu

However, in 1834 the Otago whalers gave Purehurehu a nickname…Hayward’s Mistake




Captain Hayward’s Mistake

The Weller brothers operated a whaling station at Wellers Rock, Otakou, from 1831 to 1840. During that time they owned several ships to trade with Sydney and for supplying their other shore-whaling stations along the Otago coast. In 1834 Captain Richard Hayward was employed at the Wellers Rock whaling station.

The story goes that Captain Richard Hayward was in command of the “Joseph Weller” returning to Otago Harbour. He was sailing northwards up the coast past Cape Saunders one evening when the ship ran into dense fog.

The next morning, Hayward estimated his position by dead reckoning (from direction and distance sailed, since he couldn’t use landmarks in the fog) and changed course to enter Otago Heads.

The sea breeze was light and the fog was thick as the “Joseph Weller” headed towards the harbour… but suddenly a rocky islet appeared out of the mist directly ahead!

The ship quickly put about and just missed this islet (called Nga tamariki a parera, child of the ducks). It was only a hundred metres from the vicious volcanic cliffs on the eastern side of Heyward Point. By good luck the ship also narrowly escaped the rocky reef off the Heyward Point light beacon.

Since Hayward now knew his actual position, the “Joseph Weller” cautiously made its way back southwards and into Otago harbour. As often happens, the fog was only off the coast and, when Captain Hayward anchored at Wellers Rock, the harbour was in brilliant sunshine.

From then on, the whalers called the headland Hayward’s Mistake.
To the local Maori it remained Purehurehu.

(Further information about Captain Richard Hayward, the Weller brothers and the historic ship "Joseph Weller" is in pre-publication log notes below.)


The Harbour Pilot, Richard Driver

From 1838 until 1847 Richard Driver, a well-known harbour pilot, lived on the headland between Kai Kai's Beach and Murdering Beach, keeping a lookout for approaching ships needing a pilot. Naturally, whalers called that headland Pilot’s Point or Driver’s Headland - two names for the same headland.

The first proper survey of the lower Otago Harbour was done by HMS Acheron in 1848. Captain Stokes obviously talked to the whalers rather than the New Zealanders, because the Acheron 1850 hydrographic chart labelled this headland Heyward Point, not Purehurehu.
(And changed the spelling to Heyward with an ‘E’!)

Captain Stokes' 1850 map used the names Pilot Point and Driver Head for the two headlands west of Hayward’s Mistake - although Richard Driver had only used Driver's Head as a lookout.


Where should we put Purehurehu?


Surveyors knew that one of the headlands around here should be called "Purehurehu". But which one?

Happily creating permanent geographical confusion, on the 1896 survey map Driver Head was incorrectly labelled as Purehurehu.




Confused? Choose whatever name you like best!

At mapspast.org.nz you can see topo maps of the area today and in the past. Click on the top left icon "Select basemap" to see the names used on earlier maps.

Official place names are always changing - Kaikais Beach lost an 's' in 1959 and Murdering Beach is now officially Whareakeake again. So choose whatever place names you like best - you're sure to have been correct sometime during the last few hundred years!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Lbh fubhyq ehfu gb trg guvf pnpur. Vg vf va n fnsr cynpr, jryy njnl sebz pyvssf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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