Onehunga Wharf railway station

Onehunga Wharf
Onehunga Wharf 1920s
General information
Coordinates36°55′57″S 174°47′03″E / 36.9324°S 174.7842°E / -36.9324; 174.7842
Owned byNew Zealand Railways Department
Line(s)Onehunga Branch
DistancePenrose 2 mi 56 ch (4.3 km)
History
Opened28 November 1878
Closed28 December 2006
closed to passengers 1927
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Onehunga
Line open,
station open
58 ch (1.2 km) 		  Onehunga Branch
NZR 		  Terminus
The First Contingent of the Second Boer War boarding the S. S. Rotoiti in October 1899 at the Onehunga Wharf railway station

Onehunga Wharf railway station on the Onehunga Branch section of the Onehunga Line was the terminal station for the line to Auckland from 28 November 1878[1] to 1927.[2] A petition in 1870 objected to the extension from Onehunga, on the grounds that it would take business away from the town.[3]

From 1886 until the completion of the North Island Main Trunk line in 1909, travelling to and from Auckland and the lower North Island involved a train journey north to New Plymouth then by coastal ship from New Plymouth to Onehunga.[vague]

The opening and closing dates given by Scoble are: opened June 1874, to passengers April 1892 and closed to goods on 28 December 2006 and on 31 March 1971 to passengers,[4] although the Heritage Trust[2] and another source say that the station closed in 1927.[5] From 10 December 1927 its accounts were merged with Onehunga and it was treated as a flag station for accounting.[6]

By 1899 there was a 4th class station building, urinals, 40 ft (12 m) x 30 ft (9.1 m) and 31 ft (9.4 m) x 16 ft (4.9 m) goods sheds, loading bank, weighbridge, wagon turntable, cattle and sheep yards. From 1976 locomotives were kept at least 20 m (66 ft) from the concrete base of the wharf.[6]

  1. ^ "Public Works Statement, By The Minister For Public Works, The Hon. James MacAndrew". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 August 1879. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Onehunga Station (relocated) | Rail Heritage". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. ^ "ONEHUNGA RAILWAY.— BLUFF EXTENSION. DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 5 December 1870. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  4. ^ Scoble, Juliet (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations" (PDF). Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  5. ^ Bromby, Robin (2003). "Branch Lines – North Island". In Olphert, Lorraine (ed.). Rails That Built A Nation: An Encyclopedia of New Zealand Railways. Wellington: Grantham House Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 1-86934-080-9.
  6. ^ a b Station Archive railheritage.org