Te Kumi railway station

Te Kumi railway station
Te Kumi in 1885
General information
LocationNew Zealand
Coordinates38°18′32″S 175°09′06″E / 38.309000°S 175.151700°E / -38.309000; 175.151700
Elevation49 m (161 ft)
Line(s)North Island Main Trunk
DistanceWellington 479 km (298 mi)
History
Opened2 September 1887 goods
2 December 1887 passenger
Closed14 October 1968[1]
ElectrifiedJune 1988
Services
Preceding station   Historical railways   Following station
Hangatiki
Line open, station closed
6.2 km (3.9 mi) 		  North Island Main Trunk
KiwiRail 		  Te Kuiti
Line open, station closed
4.34 km (2.70 mi)

Te Kumi railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand.[2][3] The railway had been delayed by Māori opposition to it entering King Country[4] and Te Kumi was one of the last places where such resistance was shown.[5]

After being arrested at Parihaka in 1879, Ngāti Kinohaku were returned to Te Kumu, where they tried to establish a similar settlement.[6] In March 1883, Charles Wilson Hursthouse was held at Te Kumi by Te Mahuki, whilst surveying for the railway. Te Mahuki posed for a photograph at Te Kumi in 1885,[7] after serving a year of hard labour.[8]

1887 Ōtorohanga-Te Kuiti timetable

Te Kumi railway station opened with the section from Ōtorohanga to Te Kuiti, for which Coates & Metcalfe were the contractors,[9] having started work in 1886.[10] It opened on 2 September 1887 for goods[11] and three months later for passengers,[12] initially with two trains a week.[13] £122.1s was spent on creating a shelter shed and platform for a flag station at Te Kumi. Urinals were added in 1897, a 22 ft (6.7 m) by 14 ft (4.3 m) goods shed in 1899[14] (though possibly in use from 1897),[15] cattle and sheep yards and a passing loop for 22 wagons, in 1905, and a loading bank in 1911. Railway houses were built in 1920.[14]

Superfine Lime Siding was 2.94 km (1.83 mi) to the north.[16] It was in use from at least 1937[17] to 1987.[14] There was no sign of a siding by 2001,[18] though a caption on Flickr in 2016 mentioned lime transported in containers by rail from the works,[19] now owned by Omya.[20]

Te Kuiti Lime siding was 1.31 km (0.81 mi) to the south.[16] The lime and aggregates quarry was rebuilt in 1912 after a fire.[21]

Just a single track and a sub station now remain.[22]

  1. ^ Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand
  2. ^ New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (First ed.). Quail Map Co. 1965. pp. 3 & 4.
  3. ^ Pierre, Bill (1981). North Island Main Trunk. Wellington: A.H&A.W Reed. pp. 289–290. ISBN 0589013165.
  4. ^ "NATIVE OBSTRUCTION. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 15 March 1883. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  5. ^ "The Arrest of Mahuki. THAMES STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 October 1890. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Te Mahuki". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. ^ "THROUGH THE KING COUNTRY WITH THE CAMERA. OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 July 1885. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. ^ "NATIVE MATTERS. TARANAKI HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 April 1883. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  9. ^ "THE MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY. WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 January 1887. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  10. ^ "WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 November 1886. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  11. ^ "WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 September 1887. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  12. ^ "WAIKATO TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 November 1887. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. ^ "TE AROHA NEWS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 September 1888. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Stations" (PDF). NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  15. ^ "WAIKATO ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 28 January 1897. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (Fourth ed.). Quail Map Co. 1993. ISBN 0-900609-92-3.
  17. ^ "PHENOMENAL SEASON. KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 April 1937. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Survey Number: SNC9990 Run Number: 35 Photo Number: 34". Retrolens. 9 October 2002.
  19. ^ "Framed at Ohaupo". Flickr. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  20. ^ "OmyaWeb nz-en". www.omya.com. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  21. ^ "MESSRS WILSON AND CO.'S QUARRY. WAIKATO ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 June 1912. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Te Kumi Station Rd". Google Maps. Retrieved 30 April 2021.