Makotuku
Makotuku before the verandah was added in 1911
Makotuku before the verandah was added in 1911
Coordinates: 40°07′15″S 176°14′00″E / 40.12083°S 176.23333°E / -40.12083; 176.23333
CountryNew Zealand
RegionManawatū-Whanganui
Territorial authorityTararua District
WardNorth Tararua Ward
Government
  Tararua MayorTracey Collis
  Wairarapa MPMike Butterick
  Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MPCushla Tangaere-Manuel
Elevation
292 m (958 ft)
Population
 (2018)
  Total207 (area)
Time zoneUTC+12 (NZST)
  Summer (DST)UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode
4977

Makotuku is a locality in the Manawatu-Whanganui Region of New Zealand's North Island, about 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) west of Ormondville.[1]

The settlement formed around the temporary railway terminus and was often called Makotoko. Makotuku probably refers to the place of the heron, or kōtuku.[2]

Makotuku is in 1.14 km2 (0.44 sq mi) meshblock 1534900, which had a population of 54 in 2018.[3] It is part of the wider Norsewood statistical area, which covers 397.44 km2 (153.45 sq mi).[4]

Makotuku railway station 1908

Makotuku School opened in 1881.[5] By 1885 it had about 100 pupils.[6] It merged into Norsewood School in 2003.[7]

In 1881 the Beaconsfield Hotel was moved from Kopua to a site next to the station.[8] In 1888 it was replaced by a new hotel[9] and the old one replaced the village hall.[10] The new hotel burnt down in 1912.[11] Makotuku Hotel was built in 1887.[12][13] It was burnt down in 1933 and its owner was imprisoned for insurance fraud.[14]

In 1886 bush fires caused a relief fund to be set up for those who had lost their homes.[15]

An Anglican Church[16] was built in 1890[17] and rebuilt after an 1898 fire.[18][19] St Martins was moved to Linton Camp in 1974.[20]

Makotuku railway station

Makotuku railway station was on the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line. Slow progress with the line from Napier and Spit was criticised,[21] after the 5 mi 22 ch (8.5 km) extension of line opened from Kopua (the previous temporary terminus)[22] via Ormondville on 9 August 1880.[23] Makotuku remained the terminus until the 4 mi 22 ch (6.9 km) extension south to Matamau[22] on 23 June 1884,[23] which required construction of what is now the 111 m (364 ft) long and 30 m (98 ft) high Matamau Viaduct.[24] In 1884 Makotuku had two trains a day, one of which continued south to Matamau.[25] Various sawmillers used the railway, including Grey & Powers, Mr Gundrie, Mr Tower, Mathew & Co and F Sidney.[26]

Initially the station would have been very spartan, as it wasn't until 25 August 1880 that authority was sought for furnishing the station and until 28 October to move Kopua goods shed to Makotuku and install a water supply. In 1881 a 5th class stationmaster's house, coal shed, and privy were added.[26] From 1882 to 1918 there was a Post Office at the station. By 1884 there was an engine shed, but later that year there was a complaint when the goods shed was removed from Makotuku. By 1889 there was a 30 ft (9.1 m) x 15 ft (4.6 m) goods shed (extended to 43 ft (13 m) by 1904). Stockyards were added in 1893 and by 1896 there was a 5th class station with luggage room, platform, cart approach, cattle yards, stationmaster's house, urinals, passing loop for 35 wagons, extended to 80 wagons in 1940. In 1898 sheep yards were added. In 1891 express trains started crossing at Makotuku. In 1904 the passing loop could take 34 wagons, extended in 1940 for 80 wagons. Railway housing was mentioned in reports in 1896 and 1937.[26] A verandah was added to the station building in 1911 and the platform was asphalted.[27]

In 1965 it was noted there was one light on the platform and one over the stockyards. In 1968 the crossing loop was lifted.[26] Passenger services ended on 31 May 1976 and goods on Sunday, 20 July 1980.[23] By 1988 a small station building remained, but the platform had recently been demolished.[26] In 2015 the loading bank remained[28] and a single track runs through the station site.[29]

Smith's Siding

James[31] and Henry Smith[32] were cutting totara at Smith's Siding by 1886,[33] 1 mi 45 ch (2.5 km) south of Makotuku. In 1888 goods for the residents were going there.[26] A new sawmill was built in 1891.[34] Gamman sawmills took over at Smith's Siding in 1893[35] and one of the family died there in 1901.[36] A loop for 15 wagons was mentioned in 1896 and one for 20 wagons in 1898.[26] H B Timber Co had a mill near the siding in 1896.[37] The siding was still in use in 1906.[38]

Makotuku viaduct about 1887

In the 1990s[39] a passing loop of over a kilometre[40] was laid on the site of the siding.[41]

Makotuku Viaduct

Makotuku Viaduct about 1910

Makotuku Viaduct is east of the station, between Makotuku and Ormondville.[1] There are 6 large viaducts on the 24.57 km (15.27 mi) between Kopua and Dannevirke, including Makotuku Viaduct (bridge 155),[40] which is 128 m (420 ft) long and 26 m (85 ft) high,[24] over Makotuku Stream, a tributary of the Manawatū River.[42]

The original timber (probably totara)[43] truss viaduct was built between 1878[44] and 1880 by Proudfoot and M'Kay's manager, A Graham. It was 260 ft (79 m) long, 92 ft (28 m) above the stream and used 155,600 ft (47,400 m) of timber, and 6¼ tons of iron, in 7 x 30 ft (9.1 m) spans, 1 x 13 ft (4.0 m), 2 x 11 ft (3.4 m), and 2 x 6 ft (1.8 m). The contract for this and the two bridges to the north was for £16,758,[45] or £15,195 1s 8d.[46]

J & A Anderson & Co of Christchurch won a tender for a wrought iron replacement. It was rebuilt in 1898, 8 ft (2.4 m) higher than the original bridge.[47] In the same era Andersons also rebuilt Kopua (1895),[48] Piripiri (1899),[49] Matamau (1899), Mangatera (1900), Ormondville (1906) and Makatote (1908) viaducts.[48]

References

  1. 1 2 "Makotuku, Manawatu-Wanganui". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. "EVENING POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 April 1884. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. "Data | 2018 | Census |Stats NZ Geographic Data Service". datafinder.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  5. "Makotuku School 75th jubilee, 1881–1956". Auckland Museum.
  6. "WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 31 March 1885. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. "Merger of Awariki School (2545), Norsewood School (2622), Ormondville School (2632) and Matamau School (2610)". New Zealand Gazette. 28 August 2003.
  8. "HAWKE'S BAY HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 October 1881. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  9. "WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 July 1888. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  10. "MAKOTUKU. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 April 1888. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  11. "Fire at Makotuku. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 April 1912. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  12. "ORMONDVILLE-MAKOTUKU. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 April 1887. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  13. "WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 May 1887. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  14. "SEVEN YEARS' GAOL. MANAWATU STANDARD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 February 1936. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  15. "THE BUSH RELIEF FUND. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 13 March 1886. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  16. "Makotuku Church, Hawke's Bay". MTG Hawkes Bay. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  17. "Ormondville Vestry. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 28 August 1890. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  18. "MAKOTUKU. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 March 1898. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  19. "MAKOTUKU CHURCH CONTRACT. BUSH ADVOCATE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 25 July 1899. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  20. "St Martins Memorial Church, Linton Army Camp". manawatuheritage.pncc.govt.nz. 7 May 1975. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  21. "Meetings. NEW ZEALAND MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 April 1883. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  22. 1 2 "PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT, BY THE MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS, THE HON. EDWARD RICHARDSON, 24th OCTOBER, 1884". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  23. 1 2 3 Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand by Juliet Scoble (2012)
  24. 1 2 New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas (First ed.). Quail Map Co. 1965. pp. 3 & 4.
  25. "DAILY TELEGRAPH". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 July 1884. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Station Archive". NZR Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  27. "COUNTRY CORRESPONDENCE. BUSH ADVOCATE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 November 1911. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  28. Anthony 851 (24 January 2015), Makotuku Loading Bank, retrieved 27 September 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. "KiwiRail Network Map". kiwirail.maps.arcgis.com. November 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  30. Yonge, John Roger; Company, Quail Map (1993). New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas. Quail Map Company. ISBN 9780900609923.
  31. "WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 July 1886. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  32. "WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 9 June 1888. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  33. "WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 3 July 1886. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  34. "ORMONDVILLE. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 November 1891. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  35. "DISTRICT & GENERAL. BUSH ADVOCATE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 January 1893. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  36. "BUSH ADVOCATE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 June 1901. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  37. "WANGANUI HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 22 February 1896. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  38. "WOODVILLE EXAMINER". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 October 1906. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  39. Wheeler, Thomas S (1994). "All Aboard the Train" (PDF).
  40. 1 2 "KiwiRail Network Map". kiwirail.maps.arcgis.com. November 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  41. "Retrolens Survey: SN8271 Run: F Photo: 11". 5 December 1983.
  42. "Makotuku Stream, Manawatu-Wanganui". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  43. "FROM THE EAST COAST TO THE WEST. HAWKE'S BAY HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 January 1878. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  44. "THE CLIMATE OF HAWKE'S BAY. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 14 December 1878. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  45. "RAILWAY BRIDGES IN THE NORTH ISLAND. OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 3 April 1880. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  46. "PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT, BY THE MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS, THE HON. JAMES MACANDREW, TUESDAY, 27TH AUGUST, 1878". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  47. "The New Viaduct at Makotuku. WAIPAWA MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 August 1898. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  48. 1 2 "Mangaweka Bridge" (PDF). Rangitikei District Council. May 2015.
  49. "WELLINGTON NOTES. STAR (CHRISTCHURCH)". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 5 April 1899. Retrieved 7 October 2021.

Photos -

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.