Manakau railway station was a station at

Manakau Manakau is a settlement situated in the Horowhenua District, located at the boundary of the Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington Region, Wellington regions of New Zealand's North Island. It lies 8 km north of Ōtaki, New Zealand, Ōtaki and ...

Horowhenua District Horowhenua District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kāpiti Coast District, Kāpiti, ...

on the Wellington–Manawatu section of the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The station was sometimes known as Manukau and officially changed to Manakau on 28 February 1900. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1982. A shed, a hut and a passing loop remain at the site of the station.

History

Fergus and Blair of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

had the contract for building the Manakau to Ōtaki section. Manakau was opened as a

flag station In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

by the

Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR or W&MR) was a private rail transport, railway Railway company, company that built, owned and operated the Wellington–Manawatu Line, Wellington-Manawatu railway line between Thorndon, New Zeal ...

on Monday 2 August 1886, when trains started to run between

Longburn Longburn (or Karere) is a rural settlement just outside Palmerston North in the Manawatū-Whanganui area of New Zealand. Made up of large dairy processing plants Longburn is often mistaken to be a small township and not seen as a large satellit ...

and Ōtaki. The first through train from

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

ran on 30 November 1886. In 1902 a new goods shed was built. When

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

took over in 1908, tablet signalling was introduced. Further improvements were made in 1909, so that by 1911 there was a shelter shed, platform, cart approach, by goods shed, loading bank, cattle and sheep yards and a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

for 51 wagons (extended to 90 wagons in the 1940s). A railway house was extended in 1900 and others built in 1918, 1926 and 1941. A nearby level crossing on SH1 was replaced by a bridge in 1938. Some curves on the line to Ōtaki were eased in the late 1930s. From 20 October 1967 staff were withdrawn and Manakau became an unattended flag station. In 1973 tenders were called for removal of the station building. By 1981 Manakau was handling fertiliser and lime at a private siding and little else. On 4 April 1982 it closed to all except private siding traffic.

References

External links

Photos -
mixed train at stationloading milk cansstation and hotelstation building in 1916station about 19201946 aerial viewstation before demolition
Defunct railway stations in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Manawatū-Whanganui Rail transport in Manawatū-Whanganui Horowhenua District Railway stations in New Zealand opened in 1886 Railway stations in New Zealand closed in 1982 {{NewZealand-railstation-stub