Titiroa is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. It is on the eastern bank of the lower

Mataura River The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is long. Description The river's headwaters are located in the Eyre Mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, New ...

, inland from Toetoes Bay. Pine Bush is nearby to the northeast, and

Waimahaka Waimahaka is a locality in the Southland, New Zealand, Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in a rural area, inland from Toetoes Bay. Nearby settlements include Pine Bush, New Zealand, Pine Bush and Titiroa to the nor ...

is to the southeast.

Railway

On 18 June 1899, an extension of the Seaward Bush Branch was opened from Gorge Road to Waimahaka; the only intermediate station was situated in Titiroa. This

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

linked Titiroa with

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

, approximately 36 km away by rail. Passengers were carried on daily

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In some countries, the term refers to a freight train carrying various different types of freight rather a single commodity. Although common in the ...

s; these were cut to operate once weekly in 1951, and after this point were operated mainly for the benefit of

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 ...

employees and their families who lived in the area. Goods-only trains operated on the other days, and on 1 June 1960 they became the sole trains through Titiroa as the weekly mixed was cancelled. The line officially closed on 31 March 1966 as freight levels had not been profitable for years. Some of the line's old

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

can still be seen in the vicinity of Titiroa.David Leitch and Brian Scott, ''Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways'', revised edition (Wellington: Grantham House, 1998

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

, 125-6.

Titiroa Mountain

A 1715m Peak known as Mount Titiroa stands alone on the Eastern flank of the

Hunter Mountains The Hunter Mountains of Fiordland, New Zealand, were named by surveyor James McKerrow after the famous anatomist John Hunter (surgeon), John Hunter. The Hunter Mountain Range covers an area between The South Arm and Hope Arm of Lake Manapouri ...

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te W� ...

and it is a prominent landmark throughout the

Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland, New Zealand, Southland List of regions in New Zealand, region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Māori language, Māori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake ...

Basin of Northern Southland.

References

Populated places in the Southland Region {{Southland-geo-stub