Medal - Centenary of the Chamber of Commerce of Wellington

Reverse

View of Plimmers Ark and a ship in background.

Script: Latin

Lettering: PLIMMER'S NOAH'S ARK

Edge

Plain

Comment

Plimmers ark, was started in 1849 by a Pioneer known as John Plimmer. He found an old beached ship built in Nova Scotia in 1846 called the Inconstant. He drove it up on the beach and grounded it and then built a store on top (A la San Francisco 1849), and then it was used for several years until it was demolished and in 1899, a large masonry building was built over top. The location of the ark was forgotten about until 1997.

The ship had become grounded after the 1848 earthquake pushed the wellington shore up a few feet and had also run aground. Good for salvaging only, it would have been broken up the elements. At the time Wellington had only been settled for 9 years and had a population of about 5000 people, nearly all the buildings were wood.

The ark was uncovered in 1997 through archaeological excavations under the 1899 building, which was slated for demolition. The timbers were mostly moved and turned into public art(!) on the Wellington waterfront, but the ship ribs were left and a glass floor built over them. The 1899 building was restrengthened and restored (Wellington sits on several earthquake fault lines) and a video monitor showing an actor playing John Plimmer explaining his ark.

The wood was well preserved being in mud and under a masonry building for a century. You can visit it today in the Old Bank Building 1899 Mall! When this medal came out in 1956 - no one was certain where exactly the ark was and if it had survived!