Excavating the Lyttelton Tunnel.

The organisation for the supervision of the contract included a Superintending Engineer (Mr. G. R. Stephenson) in London, a Resident Engineer (Mr. Edward Dobson) in New Zealand, and two tunnel inspectors selected and sent to the colony by Mr. Stephenson.

The contractors brought their plant for the operations at the Heathcote end of the tunnel up the Heathcote River to a page 53 suitable landing place just above the ferry, and at this landing place the Ferrymead Wharf was afterwards constructed. The tunnel work was carried on from both ends. The tunnelling was all done by hand work and horse traction. Mr. F. W. McLean (late Chief Engineer N.Z.R.) in his Post-Presidential address to the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers in February, 1922, mentions that among the difficulties encountered by the contractors was that of obtaining suitable steel for drills. This difficulty was surmounted by Mr. Edward Richardson, a member of the firm, taking to England a quantity of the road excavated, and inviting the steel-makers to make a steel suitable for the purpose.

Nevertheless, good progress was made. Reporting on the 1st July, 1863, Mr. Dobson stated that 1087 yards of the tunnel (541 yards at Lyttelton end, and 546 yards at Christchurch end) had then been excavated or about two-fifths of the total length in two years.