Te Kawa railway station explained

Te Kawa railway station
Country:New Zealand
Elevation:48m (157feet)
Line:North Island Main Trunk
Distance:Wellington 506.88km (314.96miles)
Opened:9 March 1887
Closed:17 October 1971[1]
Electrified:June 1988
Former:Kawa until 13 September 1913

Te Kawa railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand,[2] [3] located at Te Kawa.

The railway crossed 5000acres[4] (or 8,000) Te Kawa Swamp[5] to the north of the station on a 60ch embankment. Culverts were included to maintain the effectiveness of eel weirs in the swamp[6] and provide for the flow of water.[7] A post office was open by 1909 and a drainage board set up,[8] which was extended in 1915, by which time the station was handling traffic for Waikeria Prison.[9]

In 1908 the station was being considered as a junction for a line to Kawhia and Raglan[10] and by 1920 as a junction on a railway from Kawhia to Rotorua.[11] On 14 September 1913 the name of the station was changed from Kawa to Te Kawa. In 1917 a telephone was reported as connected, though another report put the date as 1929.[12] By 1980 there was a passing loop for 123 wagons.[13]

The line to the south of Te Kawa falls on a 1 in 183 gradient.[14] There was a private siding for grain at the station in the 1970s and 80s.[15]

The station site was sold in 2000.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.railheritage.org.nz/assets/dates_and_names.pdf Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand
  2. Book: New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas. 1965. Quail Map Co.. 3 & 4. First.
  3. Book: Pierre, Bill. North Island Main Trunk. 1981. A.H&A.W Reed. Wellington. 0589013165. 289–290.
  4. Web site: Cadastral map of the Te Kawa Swamp. tiaki.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  5. Web site: The Kawa Swamp, NEW ZEALAND HERALD. 4 Jan 1908. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  6. Web site: Turongo: The North Island Main Trunk Railway and the Rohe Potae, 1870–2008. Philip Cleaver, ]onathan Sarich. November 2009. Waitangi Tribunal.
  7. Web site: THE MAIN TRUNK RAILWAY. WAIKATO TIMES. 29 Jan 1887. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  8. Web site: RECLAIMING THE SWAMPS. NEW ZEALAND HERALD. 20 Sep 1909. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  9. Web site: Te Kawa deputations, WAIKATO TIMES. 5 Feb 1915. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  10. Web site: RAILWAY FOR RAGLAN, WAIKATO TIMES. 6 Aug 1908. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  11. Web site: RAIL TO KAWHIA. AUCKLAND STAR. 23 Nov 1920. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.
  12. Web site: 19 June 1929 . TE KAWA. Waikato Times . 2023-07-02 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  13. Web site: Scoble . Juliet . Station Archive . Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.
  14. Web site: Express freight train 234, derailment, Te Kawa, 2 March 2001. TAIC.
  15. Web site: Te Kawa Private Siding – Te Kawa Grain Driers Ltd. archway.archives.govt.nz. 2019-05-07.

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