Beth Aide's photostream

Thanks again to you all.

I've just dropped off the parts of the Wellington Municipal Trophy to three of your number, along with a copy of this letter.

I've enjoyed exploring the past with you, and now wish you all the best for your futures.

Farewell.

- Beth

The shape that marked Somes Island was identical to one in the back of the "New Zealand and the World" Book, included in the third capsule. I traced this over Keith's map again, and found that one point lined up with Wrights Hill (which you'd already identified from other clues). This meant that the last location had to be the Massey Memorial on Point Halswell.

I've been trying to figure out what links all of these places together. I think it might be their ANZAC history: all three locations have gun emplacements and would have been used in the defence of Wellington in World War Two. My hunch is that the components will be somewhere in these gun emplacements.

Armed with the doctor's notes, I'm heading out to these three locations now. Wish me luck. The day outside is grey, but I'm filled with a bright hope! Hope it doesn't rain!

The doctor was acting strangely last night. I knew that he was really concerned about finding the trophy, so I went through his papers and found the documents he sent out to all of you. I also uncovered the research notes he was planning to telegraph to you today - detailing what to look for at a prospective site.

Once I'd laid the three capsule locations out on Keith Bolland's map, it was clear that the other shape on the back of the puzzle was highlighting Somes Island. This gave me the first location.

I'm going to visit all the three locations today, and I'll report back with what I find!

It will come as no surprise to you that my story is about DWS himself:

When the exhibition opened in November 1939, people flocked to the Health Department's exhibit. Why? To see "Doctor Well-and-strong" - the mechanical marvel who stole the hearts of men, women and children alike!

Dressed so very handsomely in a tailored suit, he swept forth from his private consulting room every thirty minutes, and in his lovely, cultured voice, he would call out to the people waiting for him, saying:

"Greetings; here's health to you! Welcome to the "Highway to Health and Happiness".

He took visitors on a tour of fifteen minutes, leading them around the exhibit's twelve different sections, all arranged in a long oval. He would lead an enthralled crowd from one educational model to another, pointing out relevant details, and keeping up a running dialogue.

The whole tour covered everything from hospitals to personal hygiene, but I believe that his favourite part of the tour remains a rousing discourse on "life with a capital L"; he frequently returns to that familiar theme. He has often told me of that section of the tour, of the 'healthy family in a happy home' diorama that featured two children on trikes, dad out front mowing the lawn, and mum bringing out the tea and biscuits. And of course, the magnificent fountain on the front lawn.

Don't tell him I've mentioned this to you, but I did read somewhere that he celebrated the last night of the exhibition in a style rather unlike his usual self. Apparently, he was observed sporting a straw boater, singing drunkenly and flailing his extremities. I haven't found the courage to mention this to him directly; I probably wouldn't get a straight answer anyway.

The DWS grand tour always finished with:

"You have seen how this valuable gift of health is not a matter of chance, but that it can be demanded as a right if we do what is right."

The doctor's tireless efforts to educate and inform continue today. Now, he seeks to help us create a 'healthy nation' by fostering our awareness of the history that exists around us, and the people who have come before us.

More than a guide, and historical expert, he's become a friend and companion to those who seek to bolster the vitality of New Zealand history! I'm so very glad I met him.