On January 21st, 1889 Dunedin’s esteemed citizens watched agape as an American ‘aerialist’ calling himself ‘Professor Baldwin’ drifted overhead in a yellow, oiled-silk balloon inflated with coal gas and returned to earth via parachute - the first flight of its kind in New Zealand. This cache - located on the site of that historic flight - celebrates Professor Baldwin's daring achievement.

There is no cache at the listed coordinates (Professor Baldwin's estimated take-off point) but it is within 3km of this location. The cache is a small snap-lock container with some room for small trades. It should not be visible from any distance, but you likely would have had a great view of the daring flight at this location - had you been there in 1889!

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PROFESSOR BALDWIN'S ASCENT.

On Saturday last, the eagerly-looked-for descent from the clouds of the great parachutist Baldwin, could not be witnessed, for the simple reason that he was unable to get away. There was a high wind blowing which, after some hours of tedious waiting, settled the question of the show for that day by bursting the balloon. Another large crowd assembled on and round about the Caledonian ground by 7 o'Clock on Monday evening to see Professor Baldwin take his daring flight through the air. Within the enclosure there were not nearly so many people as on Saturday, but the bill at the rear of Smith and Fotheringhams brickworks and the Town Belt at Montecillo were packed with sightseers, who had a good view of the exhibition without going through the idle ceremony of paying a shilling. As the advertised time for the ascent approached considerable doubt was entertained among the public as to whether the balloon would get safely away after all, rather a brisk breeze springing up just before sundown. However, Professor Baldwin continued actively superintending the inflation of his balloon, which was rather dangerously agitated by the gusts of wind every now and then.

At a few minutes before 7, Professor Baldwin mounted a form and, as before, made a short preliminary speech to the spectators. He is a well-built, lithe-limbed American, with dark complexion and moustache, good-looking, and with considerable alertness and resolution in his manner. That he is a man of wonderful pluck and iron nerve, his aerial feats amply testify. Standing up to address his patrons, attired in the orthodox silk hat and black frock coat, he looks scarcely like a man on the eve of taking such a startling journey. He might be intending to sell some town allotments; or say a few words on the political situation. A little later, divested of hat and coat, quick yet cool amid all the bustle attending his departure, he is seen at his best. What the professor has, now to say is brief and to the point. He explains Saturday's failure in a frank and manly way. The pressure of so high a wind on the frail fabric of the balloon was not to be withstood, but had it not been for the purely accidental bursting, he himself would have been willing to make the ascent. He could control his balloon and his parachute once he got fairly away, but he could not control the elements. In spite of the wind then blowing, he would endeavour to make the ascent that evening at 7 o'clock sharp - i.e., in 10 minutes' time - and he begged them all to stand back and keep quiet while the attempt was made. There would be danger again of the balloon bursting in that wind, directly it was raised off the ground, and the air pressure got underneath it; but if such an accident did happen it would not be his fault. If he could only get up he would guarantee to come down right enough. He regretted to see a statement in that evening's paper to the effect that he had purposely ripped the balloon up on Saturday, He was not standing within yards of it at the time, and it was certainly no advantage to him at his first exhibition in a new country to tamper with the feelings of the public. If he had to stay here all the summer he would give them an ascent as promised, and he could assure them he would rather lose a leg than miss the ascent that evening.

This short speech was well received by the people, and Mr Baldwin then hurried away and began to make final preparations for his excursion, in which he was assisted by his manager, Mr Farini. The balloon was raised well off the ground, being held captive by several men, and although it swayed rather violently in the breeze the fabric kept together on this occasion. Everything being nearly completed, Professor Baldwin, who is now bareheaded and clad in a dark close-fitting vest, runs across to a bench near at hand and gives his wife a hasty parting kiss. There is nothing whatever of the theatrical element about this ceremony, which is quickly and unostentatiously performed, and is not even observed by the majority of the spectators. Confident as the aeronaut is in the efficacy of his invention, he is probably too shrewd a man not to recognise that the "wisest schemes of mice and men gang aft aglee." He has all the assurance of safety that personal attention to his apparatus and splendid coolness and nerve can give him, but there are chances against him too. Some blunder on the part of an attendant, or some unforeseen hitch at the last moment, may wreck him before he is sufficiently clear of the earth to rely upon his parachute - or what if away in the clouds - some little thing - some very 'little things should go amiss with the parachute itself? Professor Baldwin, no doubt, does not believe in this latter contingency, and would bet long odds against the parachute ever failing him. It is to be hoped it never will, and that the adage about the pitcher and the well will not be verified in the case of this daring man. His leave taking over, the professor bends down and disappears for some minutes within the folds of some silky looking drapery, which is held for him by Mr Farini. This mass of limp-looking cloth is the wonderful parachute, and it may easily be guessed what Professor Baldwin is doing inside it. He is adjusting the hoop which, when the machine is expanded, will form the orifice at the top, and this orifice through which the air escapes in his descent is perhaps the most important feature about Mr Baldwin's invention. He emerges presently, and then the folded parachute is drawn up to the netting which hangs loose around the neck of the balloon. It can be seen that depending from the parachute are a number of long ropes attached to a stout hoop, which is presently passed over the aeronaut's head. In descending he will hang by both hands to this hoop.

There is a great shouting of orders now, and the excitement among the spectators is very great. "Lift her up," cries Professor Baldwin, "but hold her," and as the straggling balloon rides a few yards above the ground he is seen to have taken his position immediately below her, and to be surrounded by a confusing array of ropes. An excited shout by Mr Farini to some assistant to "Leave go of that rope" shows that it is a critical moment, and then, before the spectators well realise it, balloon and balloonist are away. She mounts swiftly and smoothly like a bird released, the professor sitting apparently upon some small bar with outstretched hands, in much the attitude of a driver handling a team of horses. Spontaneous cheering and applause break from the crowd at the ascent, but it is only a matter of seconds before the bold aeronaut is out of ear shot. The ascent is made from the leeward side of the stand, and the wind being from the north-east, the balloon is driven at once in the direction of Caversham. In consequence of this wind which is taking him rapidly away from the spectators, Professor Baldwin does not go to anything like the height he has sometimes reached. He goes so high, however, that he and his balloon look very small objects indeed against the clear sky. About 1000ft would perhaps be the height, and it has taken an incredibly short space of time for him to reach it. Before his movements became indistinguishable with the naked eye, he has been seen to extend one leg and pass his foot into a loop of rope that is hanging within reach. Whether or not this is part of his preparations for casting loose can only be guessed. Suddenly there is unmistakable movement in the diminutive figure aloft, and the next instant the folded parachute and its inventor have left the balloon which turns upside down and floats aimlessly about in the empyrean for awhile. The parachute retains its limp appearance, and at the end of the long ropes that depend from it is the figure of the falling balloonist. He is holding on with his arms raised above his head, and his whole form is perfectly rigid; feet together and frame erect. He comes down in that fashion as straight as a stone and in a standing posture for nearly half his journey and then the onlookers draw a sudden breath of relief, for the air has caught the parachute, and it has expanded into umbrella shape. The aeronaut's fall is instantly checked, and from that point he descends steadily with a gentle swaying motion that brings him apparently among the housetops of South Dunedin. Here he swings himself into a sitting posture, evidently steering the parachute towards a safe alighting place, and finally comes easily to earth in a vacant section off the Cargill road, near the Railway Workshops Hotel.

Ten minutes later, the professor was again at the Caledonian ground and, accompanied by Mr Farini, appeared in the front of the stand, receiving quite an ovation. He then gave a short address as announced, claiming (of course with perfect truth) to have made the first descent of the kind that had ever been attempted in New Zealand. The parachute, of which he was the originator, required, he explained, two feet of surface to every pound weight of the object attached to it. The orifice at the top was 18in or 20in in diameter, and this, by allowing the compressed air in the parachute to escape, formed a kind of column of air, down which he slid. As regarded the long drop before the parachute expanded, that was merely a bit of sensationalism he introduced. How soon the parachute expanded depended upon the size of the hoop he placed in the orifice at the top. He could, if he desired it, make the parachute expand directly after leaving the balloon. Mr Farini, who followed with a few words, added some further information to the way in which Professor Baldwin had perfected his invention, and remarked that having solved the difficulty, there had yet remained the necessity of finding a plucky fellow to jump from the balloon and test the truth of the theory. That man they had found in Professor Baldwin.- (Loud applause:)

Otago Witness , Issue 1940, 25 January 1889, Page 28