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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 5 (August 1, 1939)
Wairoa Railway Opening — A Day Of Rejoicing — Important Addition to New Zealand's North Island Railway System
Wairoa Railway Opening
A Day Of Rejoicing
Important Addition to New Zealand's North Island Railway System
Wairoa went truly gay on Saturday, 1st July, when town and country gathered at the beflagged and decorated Wairoa station for the opening ceremony of the 97-mile Napier—Wairoa—Waikokopu portion of the Napier—Gisborne railway.
The waiting assemblage had much to interest them. Three trains arrived in rapid succession with a total of 1,500 passengers, from Hastings, Napier and way-stations.
And then, at precisely 2.30 p.m.—the hour fixed for the official ceremony to start—the Standard rail-car, driven by the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Railways, arrived amidst cheers; and the Ministerial party, met by the Mayor of Wairoa, Mr. H. Harker, and representative people of the district, was escorted, with musical honours, from the band to the dais prepared for the occasion. The following report of the speeches is from the “Gisborne Herald”:
“With a Full Heart.”
Addressing a welcome to the official party, Mr. H. L. Harker, Mayor of Wairoa, stated that it was with a full heart that the people of Wairoa greeted the gift of something they had waited for for many years.
One would need the oratorical gifts of the late Timi Kara (Sir James Car-roll) to do justice to that sentiment, Mr. Harker declared, and to express how thankful the people of Wairoa and of the whole East Coast felt concerning the completion of this link.
The benefits that would accrue from railway connection with the main centres were, he considered, illimitable, but at a glance it was possible to enumerate many that would be deeply appreciated. To those who had been instrumental in giving Wairoa its rail-way connection, he extended the most heartfelt gratitude.
Day for all to Remember.
Mr. A. T. Carroll, Chairman of the Wairoa County Council, joined with the Mayor in welcoming all the visitors who had come to do justice to a great and memorable occasion in Wairoa's history. It should be a day which all would remember during their time. He especially welcomed the Ministers and Members of Parliament, and Messrs. G. H. Mackley, General Manager of Railways, and J. Wood, Engineer-in-charge of the Public Works Department, and also those who had come from neighbouring districts to do honour to the occasion.
The district was most appreciative of the message sent by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, and of the confidence shown by the Government in its future in completing the Wairoa section of the East Coast Main Trunk line. He hoped that the whole line would be completed at a record early date.
The Hon. R. Semple and the officers and men of his Department deserved the greatest credit for the speed with which the link had been completed; to the Railways Department, in its turn, the public of the East Coast must extend its confidence and support in order to ensure the success of the line in operation.
Comfortable Travel by Rail-car.
Having had the privilege of travelling from Wellington in one of the rail-cars, he could speak in the highest terms of their comfort, speed, and convenience. The day of Wairoa's isolation was gone, and the time had come to look for enormous development in the early future, concluded Mr. Carroll. (Cheers and applause).
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(R.Y. Publicity Photo.)
Dinner given by the Local Bodies of the Wairoa District to the Ministerial party.
Mr. E. L. Cullen, member for Hawke's Bay, also associated himself fully with the welcome offered to the Ministers, whom he thanked for sparing the time to visit the district. The celebration of the opening of the railway to Wairoa should be a memorable day for Wairoa and indeed the whole of Hawke's Bay.
In earlier days the river was the entrance to the Wairoa district, and many present could recall the years in which the suspension of shipping services completely isolated the district. The speaker paid a tribute to those who had worked for the initiation of the railway, and in this connection he mentioned particularly Mr. Thos. Lambert, one of those whose efforts were bearing fruit now.
Speaking as one who had played some part in the agitation to have the railway from Napier to Gisborne built, Mr. D. W. Coleman, M.P., Gisborne, expressed the keenest pleasure in joining in the congratulations to the Ministers, the Government and the people of Wairoa on the completion of the line to this stage. Wairoa was now linked with the rest of the Dominion by an page 11 important service, and he had no need to remind those present of the difficulties that had had to be overcome by the way.
Stoppage and Resumption.
Sir Joseph Ward, when he put the work in hand in 1929, had said that he would undertake it so that no later Government would dare to stop it. Of course, added Mr. Coleman, a later Government had stopped construction but with the advent of the Labour Government, the resumption had been placed in the hands of the Hon. R. Semple, as Minister of Public Works. The people of Wairoa and the whole East Coast would express the greatest satisfaction in seeing this portion of the line finished and handed over to the Minister of Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan.
The time had come, he said, to show that the line was appreciated, by the manner in which they supported it. Wairoa was starting with the most modern and up-to-date railway facilities in New Zealand, and it was up to the public to stand by the service and so fulfil the promise made when the district committees were agitating for the resumption of the work on the line.
New Zealand Talent.
The assertion that New Zealanders were too prone to under-value the talent in their midst, while accepting an outsider at his face value—particularly if he happened to have “letters after his name”—was made by the Hon. R. Semple.
Disclosing that the cost of building the line to Wairoa from Napier had been £2,595,000, the Minister stated that in the years since the Labour Government placed the control of public works in his hands, many records had been made in carrying out different types of work.
Several of these records were made between Napier and Wairoa, the Minister said, specifying the fabrication of the Mohaka viaduct as one job in which New Zealand engineering skill and New Zealand adaptability had proved equal to, if not better than, the best to be found elsewhere in the world.
The function in which they were taking part, said the Minister, was a memorable and historical one, memorable because it brought to fruition the dream of many of those alive today, and many of those who had passed on; and historical because it marked a milestone in the development of transportation in the Dominion.
Communications Followed Settlement.
One of the great difficulties in this country had been that settlement and pioneering effort had been forced to precede the means of communication. Consequently there were people who had gone far ahead of roads and railways, and who for years had lived cut off from other communities, without means of communication.
Throughout New Zealand there were 13,500 farmers and others struggling in the mud of the backblocks, without any access whatever, and one duty was to try to give these people decent communications—an object which he hoped would be well advanced by his five-year programme of backblocks road improvement.
Mr. Semple referred to his realisation, on his first visit to the district as a Minister, of the waste that was going on as a result of the abandonment of the East Coast line by a previous Government. There seemed to be nothing but rust and chaos on the route, he said, the previous Government having sold everything but the great girders which lay on the bank of the Mohaka River.
“Line Survived All Blows.”
“The line was born to trouble, and it has had a hard passage all the way,” commented Mr. Semple. “It has had kicks and blows from man and from Nature. Earthquakes, floods and other troubles have delayed the work but it has survived all blows, and today we see it as a living reality. It represents the dreams of thousands come true at last.”
The necessity of reconstruction of work undertaken before the abandonment of the line had doubled the cost of some parts, the Minister continued. That applied to part of the £5,000 spent on the line to date. There were many interesting features to which attention might be directed, these including the Mohaka viaduct, which he believed on good authority, to be one of the highest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, and one which had been erected in record time. It had a length of 905 ft., a height of 312 ft., and contained 1,900 tons of steel.
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(Rly. Publicity photo.)
One of the Standard Type Rail-cars for the Wairon line.
The engineering talent and workman-ship were almost entirely contributed by New Zealanders, said Mr. Semple, and many of the men had been trained on the job under Mr. Haskell, who had the engineering supervision of this great work. In addition, other features of the railway construction had established new records.
Contributions of Officers and Men.
“I could have done nothing in my capacity as Minister of Public Works if I had not had with me engineers equal to any in the world, and men under them who can apply their hands and brains to any problem,” stated Mr. Semple.
“I have seen people look sidewise when I have made this statement, but I say that one of New Zealand's greatest faults is lack of confidence in her own people. Any man with a string of letters behind his name can get credit in this country, so long as he comes from abroad. I want to tell you that I have been under engineers in other countries, underground and on top of the ground, and I will say that the engineers in New Zealand measure up to the best of those in other countries. Your New Zealand workers also are equal to anything in the world, if you only give them encouragement.” (Applause.)
“Some mention has been made of the other end of the line. I wish to say that we are speeding up construction as much as we can,” continued the Minister. “The tunnels are the big problem, of course, but now we have the right equipment and the men trained for their special tasks, we are driving underground faster than it has ever been done in this country. You cannot drive tunnels as fast as you like, of course, when you have only two faces to work on.
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(Rly. Publicity photos.)
Above: The Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Railways, declares the line open. Below: The official party, on arrival at Wairoa.
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(Rly. Publicity photo.)
Views of Wairoa's main street, beside the Wairoa River.
“No time is being lost on that job, I assure you, and I hope that I live to take part in the opening of the Wairoa-Gisborne section of the railway, and in handing it, too, over to the Hon. D. G. Sullivan to operate for your benefit and the benefit of the Dominion.”
Hon. D. G. Sullivan,
Minister of Railways.
The Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Railways, spoke under the handicap of approaching darkness, and he reduced his speech materially in order to ensure that the last of the day's functions, the unveiling of the memorial tablet to men who had lost their lives while working on the line, could be carried out while daylight still lingered. Mr. Sullivan spoke as follows:—
“It gives me very great pleasure to be here today on the occasion of the official opening of the Napier—Wairoa—Waikokopu portion of the Napier—Gisborne Railway.
“I regard this as an occasion of outstanding importance not only to Hawke's Bay but to the whole Dominion, because the direct benefits which the new line confers on the areas it serves cannot fail to have a stimulating effect upon the general trade and industry of the Dominion.
“It is a privilege to be present at a time when a whole Province rejoices, as Hawke's Bay is doing today, at the completion of a necessary work of major economic importance upon which high hopes have been placed through many long years; and I am particularly happy to be a member of the Government whose decisive action has resulted in the line being opened for traffic today—and not at some nebulous date in the dim and distant future, which seemed to be the destiny of the partly completed and partly destroyed railway prior to the present Government's accession to office.
Some History.
“The settlers of this district know full well how long deferred the work has been. But it is useful to remember that although Napier and Hastings were connected by rail as early as 1874, forty-four years elapsed before the first tangible evidence of railroad construction from Napier toward Wairoa was seen in the completion of the West-shore railway bridge in 1918.
“The railway was opened to Eskdale in 1923, and Putorino (half-way between Napier and Wairoa) was reached in 1930. The line to Raupunga was taken over by the Railways Department in February of the present year, and now we celebrate the opening of the whole Napier—Wairoa section, and the taking-over by the Railways Department of the complete line of 97 miles from Napier to Waikokopu.
“I believe, and I am sure my colleague the Hon. R. Semple, Minister of Public Works, will agree with me, that the Napier—Wairoa railway has been built under difficulties unprecedented in the history of railroad construction in New Zealand—a land where engineering problems in railway construction have been extraordinarily plentiful.
“After the earthquakes in 1931 the Government of the day decided definitely to abandon the line—and did so. But the Labour Government, on coming into power in November, 1935, and in accordance with its belief in the necessity, in the public interest, of completing the principal railway lines of the Dominion, determined to rebuild this damaged and abandoned railway and to proceed with the work of further construction.
“All who had occasion to visit the locality after the resumption of this work will agree that the engineers and workmen tackled the job with rare energy and ingenuity; but there was a most disappointing setback when, in April, 1938, huge floods played havoc with their work. Undeterred, however, by this stroke of ill-fortune, the engineers and their staffs continued to push ahead with the job. They worked miracles in surmounting all the obstacles of the route, and today have the satisfaction of knowing that their epic of effort is rewarded, in the assurance which improved access gives of a brighter and more prosperous future for this important and rapidly developing district.
Tribute to the Hon. R. Semple.
“As you know, the Public Works Department builds New Zealand's railways, and the Railways Department maintains and operates them. It is not too much to say that to the Public Works Department, Mr. Semple brought a new inspiration and a driving force and boldness of conception and execution unexampled in the history of Public Works administration in New Zealand. I say all honour to him, and to his Department and staff for the good job they have done in pushing through the construction of this line in the face of the severest handicaps. In this connection I need make special reference only to the completion of the Mohaka viaduct as an outstanding example of what New Zealand engineers and builders can do under the right leadership and when actuated by motives which place public welfare in the forefront.
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(Rly. Publicity photo)
Wairoa Station on opening day. 5Zb (Mobile Broadcasting Unit) on right.
High Quality Transport.
“Now that the line is an accomplished fact, it is my responsibility, as Minister of Railways, to see that the purpose for which the work was undertaken is fully met by the provision of suitable and adequate services.
“And this reminds me that, just a year ago, I had the pleasure of presiding at the inaugural ceremony which marked the official change-over from steam to electric traction and the introduction of multiple-unit passenger trains on the Wellington—Johnsonville suburban line.
“That improvement was also the result of a decision made by the present Government, and has been an outstanding success in providing the most pleasing and satisfactory form of suburban passenger transport yet available in any part of the world.
“Emulating that great forward step in Dominion transport, from Monday next my Department will commence operating on the Napier—Wairoa line the very latest type of rail-cars, designed and built by our own engineers and craftsmen, to ensure rapid, clean, frequent and comfortable transport for travellers on this route.
“These rail-cars, of the ‘Aotea’ type, have already demonstrated their usefulness and popularity on the Wellington—Taranaki run, where the recently inaugurated thrice-weekly service is so well patronised that it appears an increase in the frequency of the service will soon become necessary.
page 15“Here you are to have these highly-efficient and popular rail-cars running twice daily in each direction between Wairoa and Napier, and then, for good measure at the weekends, a complete rail-car run to Wellington and back. That is a passenger service superior, I think, to anything so far given to any new line in the Dominion and you may regard it as some recompense for the long time of waiting the district has endured before rail access was provided.
“There will be an adequate goods service to help the further development of your primary and secondary industries.
Increasing Production.
“One of the principal benefits the Railway confers on Wairoa and the intervening districts to Napier is the opportunity it affords for increasing both primary and secondary production throughout the area it serves. In this respect the railway makes easy the transport of goods and livestock to a degree not otherwise possible and at a cost below that of any other means. More productive land, greater settlement, the creation of new markets, a more extensive interchange of commodities and a general increase in the wealth of the whole community are among the blessings the Railways bring in their wake.
“That is the experience of other districts and that will be, to an outstanding degree, the experience of northern Hawke's Bay in the years upon which we are now entering. And I believe that, as the line proceeds to link up with Poverty Bay there will be a further increase in the importance of Wairoa as a productive and industrial centre.”
A Strengthening Railway Link.
After giving a brief survey of what is being done on the Railways throughout New Zealand to show the people of Wairoa and the surrounding districts that they are being linked up with a railway organisation infinitely better served and equipped than that in operation when the present Government was handed the reins of office, Mr. Sullivan assured them that they would share fully in all the advantages which a liberal and far-seeing railway policy has placed in the service of the people of this country. He concluded:—
“For the carrying out of this policy I have had the willing co-operation and constant backing of the highly efficient railway organisation, and I want now to express my appreciation of the work of the General Manager, Mr. G. H. Mackley, his assistants and staff throughout the Dominion in their efforts to give a pleasing service to the public.
“All experience proves that the provision of a railway connection to fertile but isolated districts has a magic effect in bringing new prosperity to the communities concerned. This I feel sure will be, to quite an exceptional extent, the experience of Wairoa and the other localities brought into touch with the railway through the completion of this long-deferred line. You will reap the full benefit of the work of your early settlers, the pioneers who laid so well the foundations of the settlement and who fought so hard and through so many years for the advantage of railway access now at last brought to your district.
“I now have very much pleasure, as Minister of Railways, in taking over from my colleague, the Hon. Minister of Public Works, and on behalf of the people, this important addition to the main lines of New Zealand, and in wishing for the new railway and the public whom it serves the greatest possible happiness and good fortune.
“I now declare this railway open for traffic.”
General Manager's Part.
The new departure in railway service represented by the rail-cars which were featured in the function in Wairoa naturally attracted comment from most of the speakers during the ceremony of handing over the line to the Railway Department. The cars themselves were much admired and the opportunity of making short rides in them was taken by a large number of Wairoa people late in the afternoon.
Sir Apirana Ngata expressed his thanks to Mr. G. H. Mackley, the General Manager of Railways, for the compliment he had paid the Maori people, in naming each of the modern rail-car units after one of the principal canoes of the race.
He suggested that when the department, in the course of its experiments, produced the perfect rail-car, it should be given the name Horouta, which, he explained, was the name of the canoe from which the Maoris of the northern East Coast claimed descent.
Something Unique.
The Minister of Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, warmly acknowledged the comments of Sir Apirana Ngata and other speakers on the new developments made in rail-car construction. He claimed that in New Zealand they had produced something unique in the form of railway service, by the development of this type of vehicle.
“Done More Than Any Man.”
The people of the Wairoa and East Coast districts were to have the immediate benefit of those experiments and their service would be the most modern to be found anywhere. Sleepers would be added as soon as they could be produced, he promised the gathering, and everything that the Government, the Minister, and the department could do to give good service, with speed and comfort and safety, would be done.
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(Rly. Publicity photo)
The Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Railways, besieged for autographs.
“I want to introduce to those of you who do not already know him, the General Manager of our Railways Department,” Mr. Sullivan added, calling forward on the dais Mr. G. H. Mackley. “He is the man who has done more than any other individual towards bringing the rail-car to its present stage of successful development in New Zealand.”
The credit given by the Minister to his principal executive officer was warmly endorsed, Mr. Mackley being the recipient of enthusiastic applause from the large audience.
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