Talk:spanner in the works
According to legend, the phrase was coined in New Zealand in 1828 in a place called Whangamomona. The world's first ever oil well was supposedly drilled there. They have a plaque there to commemorate it. This is what it says...
This is the site of the World's First Oil Well drilled here in 1828. Legend has it that Mr Ewen McGregor set up the derrick and drilled a hole 700 feet deep. All was going well and signs of an oil strike were imminent when his son Jethro dropped a spanner down the hole. From this incident the term, 'A spanner in the works', originated, and is now known world-wide. The spanner was not retrievable and so another hole was drilled, this time to 1200 feet, where gas was struck. Alas Ewen's other son Cletus fell into this hole, and ended all prospecting on the site.
I have no idea if this is a hoax or not, but I have the photo from when I visited the township last month.
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