Caroline Bay, now a popular and thriving part of Timaru, holds a piece of local history dating back to around 1913. At the time, Timaru was still growing, and the modern artificial harbour had yet to reach the sophistication we know today. However, it was on the sands of Caroline Bay that two young men made a discovery that would become a legendary part of the city's history.
Sam Shears, a newly qualified baker, and Bob Richardson, a Scottish immigrant who had also completed his apprenticeship under Timaru's respected baker Mr. A. Budd, were among the working men of the time. Gold sovereigns were a common way to pay wages, and like many men of the era, they carried gold coins.
After a long day of work, Sam and Bob decided to take a stroll along Caroline Bay—a typical way to unwind after hours spent in the heat and flour of the bakery. The beach, then much less developed than today, was a place where the young men could relax and keep fit, often playing on the parallel bars.
The next day, Bob discovered that his gold sovereigns were missing. After ruling out theft from a workmate, Sam and Bob decided to retrace their steps from the previous day, suspecting the beach as the most likely place the coins had been lost.
With a shovel and a sieve, they carefully sifted through the sand under the parallel bars. To their astonishment, every time they shook the sieve, out came gold—sovereigns, half sovereigns, florins, half-crowns, and pennies. They had struck gold!
The amount they uncovered was worth about a month’s wages for each of them. Sam and Bob were convinced they were the first and only men to find gold on Caroline Bay, and the discovery became a legendary part of local lore.
Though Sam and Bob went on to serve in World War I, fighting in Gallipoli and France as part of the South Canterbury Regiment, their discovery of gold on Caroline Bay remained a cherished memory and a piece of Timaru’s rich history.
- Doug Shears, Tales of South Canterbury. Vol. 1 : Caroline Bay . Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 04/03/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/8179