KARORI TIME CAPSULE CRACKED OPEN 18 YEARS EARLY AFTER COMMITTEE LOSES THE KEY
Buried 2007. Due 2057. Opened Tuesday because Margaret's drawer is a disaster.
A Karori time capsule meant to stay buried until 2057 was prised open on Tuesday morning with an angle grinder. The committee in charge of the key hadn't seen it since about 2011.
The capsule, a stainless steel cylinder buried behind the Karori Library in 2007, was meant as a gift to the grandchildren of the people who buried it. Instead it became a gift to a Johnsonville locksmith called Trevor, who turned up in a hi-vis and charged $180 plus GST.
Committee chair Lorraine Beasley, 71, said the key had been in her late husband's bureau, then a biscuit tin, then "possibly the shed, possibly the op shop". She added: "We did look. We looked for ages. I made scones."
Inside the capsule: a Telecom phonebook, a laminated photo of the 2007 Karori Tigers under-11s, a CD-R labelled "MIX FOR THE FUTURE" with no track listing, and a Subway loyalty card with two stamps on it. A handwritten note read: "Hello 2057! We hope you still have bees."
Wellington City Council said it had "no formal position" on the early opening, but would've liked a heads-up before the grinder came out. Lorraine said she'd told Bernadette. Bernadette was meant to tell the council. Bernadette is in Paraparaumu and not answering her phone.
The committee has voted to rebury the lot with one addition: a printed email from Lorraine to Bernadette dated last Thursday, reading "WHERE IS THE BLOODY KEY". New opening date is 2042. The new key is on Lorraine's fridge, under a magnet shaped like a lemon.
The capsule, a stainless steel cylinder buried behind the Karori Library in 2007, was meant as a gift to the grandchildren of the people who buried it. Instead it became a gift to a Johnsonville locksmith called Trevor, who turned up in a hi-vis and charged $180 plus GST.
Committee chair Lorraine Beasley, 71, said the key had been in her late husband's bureau, then a biscuit tin, then "possibly the shed, possibly the op shop". She added: "We did look. We looked for ages. I made scones."
Inside the capsule: a Telecom phonebook, a laminated photo of the 2007 Karori Tigers under-11s, a CD-R labelled "MIX FOR THE FUTURE" with no track listing, and a Subway loyalty card with two stamps on it. A handwritten note read: "Hello 2057! We hope you still have bees."
Wellington City Council said it had "no formal position" on the early opening, but would've liked a heads-up before the grinder came out. Lorraine said she'd told Bernadette. Bernadette was meant to tell the council. Bernadette is in Paraparaumu and not answering her phone.
The committee has voted to rebury the lot with one addition: a printed email from Lorraine to Bernadette dated last Thursday, reading "WHERE IS THE BLOODY KEY". New opening date is 2042. The new key is on Lorraine's fridge, under a magnet shaped like a lemon.