| Te Kumi railway station | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Coordinates: | -38.309°N 175.1517°W |
| Line: | North Island Main Trunk |
| Distance: | Wellington 479km (298miles) |
| Opened: | 2 September 1887 goods 2 December 1887 passenger |
| Closed: | 14 October 1968[1] |
| Electrified: | June 1988 |
| Elevation: | 49m (161feet) |
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] 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 22feet by 14feet 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.
Superfine Lime Siding was 2.94km (01.83miles) to the north.[16] It was in use from at least 1937[17] to 1987. 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 1.31km (00.81miles) to the south. The lime and aggregates quarry was rebuilt in 1912 after a fire.[21]
Just a single track and a sub station now remain.[22]
