Advance Towards Rotorua.

In advancing the construction towards Rotorua, the earthwork between Putaruru and Ngatira, a distance of eight miles, was very heavy, and steep gradients had to be adopted to surmount the high country. The earthwork at the Rotorua end of the line was set apart for Maori labour, and it is interesting to note that the natives were particularly expert at this class of work.

The Spa, which has been established at Te Aroha, with its valuable medicinal waters, had been attracting to that town many railway travellers over the newly opened line, and it was recognised that the rapidly increasing fame and importance of the Rotorua Thermal district, with its wonders and its healing waters, necessitated rail connection to the outer world at the earliest possible moment.

With the permanent way extended to Ngatira and the foundation work completed six miles out of Rotorua, the construction work came to a temporary halt. The extension beyond Putaruru was useless, as there was no route from Ngatira to Ohinemutu. It was therefore decided to push the construction forward another ten miles to the Okohiriki Saddle, where contact was made with the main road to Rotorua. This extension also opened up one of the best blocks of agricultural land in the district, the property of the Crown, and carrying a large quantity of valuable timber. The extension also reduced the journey by coach to twelve miles, making it possible to complete the journey between Auckland and Ohinemutu in one day.

The importance of an unbroken rail journey to Rotorua, however, called for the vigorous prosecution of the railway, and in December, 1894, the first train from Auckland reached the lake. So was the door of this Wonderland flung wide to all who might come, invalids to the healing baths, fishermen to the teeming waters, holiday-makers to the beauties of lakes and forests, to the marvels of geyser, cauldron, and rapid, to the charm of Maori entertainment and domestic life, sportsmen to the lure of bowling green and tennis court, and all to a model town with model hotels. It is no mean task to haul the traffic over the two thousand feet of the Mamaku Hill on grades of one in thirty-five, but many thousands of travellers have passed this way in comfort without hurt or hindrance.

The splendid service which has been given by the Railway Department in the decades which have passed culminated, in 1930, in the inauguration of a de luxe Auckland-Rotorua Express, page 43 embodying the very latest in equipment and service.