Customers could phone in their order then drop in to collect and pay for their purchases (cash only) from Rosa Harris or her assistant - and no doubt enjoy an exchange of the local gossip. On the shelves you'd find strangely named cures like 'Dr Morse's Indian Root Pills' and products we still know today, like Highlander Condensed Milk or Sunlight Soap.
To find the cache you first need to find the correct numbers to match the six letters of the alphabet listed below. Each letter has a clue, the answers you will find here:
http://lostchristchurch.org.nz/rosa-harris-corner-shop-beckenham-1919
S 43°33.ABC E 172°38.DEF
A = Rosa went to bed on that fateful night at 11.A0
B = First digit of Gunner Mercer's regiment
C = Number of years between Rosa and Benjamin's children
D = First number you would dial to ring The Brick Store
E = Number of children in the photo taken inside Rosa's shop
F = Third number in street address of the Brick Store
The cache container is small, room only to write your name and date. Please take your own pen and be sure to seal the cache carefully and replace discreetly, where it can't be seen.
There is plenty of parking in this area but it is very busy, especially during rush hours and after school. There are always lots of muggles, but the location will provide plenty of opportunity to look inconspicuous.
The image above shows Rosa May Harris standing on the threshold of 'The Brick Store' on the corner of Colombo and Strickland Streets, Beckenham. Photographer: Steffano Webb. Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, ID: 1/1-007487-G
We hope you enjoy this cache as much as we enjoyed researching and writing about Rosa, her family and her store, from this interesting part of lost Christchurch. For more stories from our city's past, visit www.lostchristchurch.org.nz