New Zealands Greatest Treasure

The following account is genuine. It is not made up therefore it is not fiction.
My grandmother was an old Maori lady. She died well over 130 years after her grandfather. Now generally speaking one might expect to due 50 years after ones grsndparents taking into account a generation being 25 years.
My grandmother told me about her grandfather as related to her by her mother, who if course knew her father well and what he did and what he was up to.
Now the gentleman in question would therefore be my great great grandfather.
This story I have probably related on the earlier paydirt site and definitely on ‘Treasurenet’
His name is readily researchable, James Saunders-Loder otherwise known as Jimmy the Needle.
He was in Preservation Inlet and lived variously in Waikouaiti, Moeraki and on the banks of the Waitaki River.
He was known to be very frugal or ‘cute, sharp and sly’ in his dealings.

My grandmother told me this account as related to her by her mother.
" When my father died (drowned in 1862) we all knew that he had hidden his money as there were no banks. He would take it away secretly and bury it but he did keep a full record of how much he had. When he died his ready cash was found in a wall but never the main lot. He always saved his money in the form of gold coins and his records showed that the total came to ten thousand pounds.No one found it and it lies to this day buried somewhere not too far from where he lived"

This account was kept quite secret by the family for all those years but now it all seems so pointless and therefore I have related it for others.

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I’ll have a look for you.

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I had at one time considered getting all the detectorists I know together to have a weekends search as I do know the district in which it lies however that opens it up for everyone behind my back as I know detectorists within the locality who would not share it if they knew of it and foundit - that is I do know the settlement. The land has changed racically however since 1862 and many likely spots will be gone and many more will have been created…but it is there somewhere, of that I have no doubt.
I have no doubt that my own Minelab would have as good a chance as any at depth considering what the bulk must be so that if a friend of mine not too long ago found a 28 gram nugget in Alaska at near on one metre then I have no doubt that I could pick this hoard up at 1.5m BUT thats all good except I do not know, nor does anyone else in the family, within about 1.6ks by 1.0k

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it may be easier than you think,he may have put it in an iron box,nice big target,they would surely be some remains of it.

My guess for 1862 would be a wooden box or clay crock - the former most likely as any metal containers or earthenware containers would have been utilized to practical purposes.

I also know of three other treasures - all coincidentally were or are supposed to be close to 100 sovereigns - one is at Grays Corner near Morven, one at Parsons Rock near Kurow and the other at or near Tabletop Station in the Hakataramea. These were all told to me by locals over 40 years ago and of course I was going to get them - to date I have not made such a move and as such they must surely still be there…maybe!

Careful Lammerlaw, you might start another Forest Fenn rush.

I do reckon that especially in rural areas, there’s probably a lot more caches that people realise.

I think you are totally right there Mudwiggle. I have often wondered just how many miners buried their gold and died and there gold was never found or pioneers who because there were no banks buried their money and died and the money was never recovered…there will be more than one!

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