All aboard to celebrate Ōkaihau milestone

A railway-themed rest area along the Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail will be unveiled this weekend to mark 100 years since the official opening of the Ōkaihau railway branch.

The rest area looks out to the site of the old railway station and includes a charming shelter where trail users can pause and ponder what the place would have been like in its heyday.

Members of the Ōkaihau community, local businesses, and organisations, including Ōkaihau Lions Club, Ōkaihau Transports, and Ōkaihau Community Association, have donated hours, resources, and funding to complete the project in time for the anniversary on Sunday. Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail Trust supported the project by clearing the site and creating a bilingual interpretation board that tells the history of the railway in Ōkaihau.

Local resident and owner of Ōkaihau Rail Stay, Noeline Inverarity, has been key in bringing the project to life. She says the railway is an important piece of Ōkaihau’s history, and the community was keen to do something significant to commemorate the anniversary.

“It’s been heartwarming to see the community support this project,” Noeline says. “Locals have volunteered their time in various ways, whether helping with the construction at the site, like Mike Richardson who built the shelter, or providing historical photographs for the storyboard. Everyone has done their bit.”

The Ōkaihau railway branch would have opened years before 1923 but work on the line halted with the outbreak of World War One, with a shortage of men available to work and the nation’s funds diverted to the war effort.

Ōkaihau was a bustle of activity in the 1940s and 50s, with six trains a week going through the station. The service moved to freight-only in 1976, and with relaxed road transport laws and a decline in forestry, the branch line closed in late 1987.

The influence of the railway is still seen and felt in the area. Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail runs along the old route between Ōkaihau and Kaikohe, and the rail tunnel in the centre of town is a reminder of what might have been if the government had pursued the line north.

The blessing of the site and ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 11am on Sunday 29 October, followed by a community picnic at Two Ponga Park, Ōkaihau, from 11.30am. Shuttles will depart from Ōkaihau Town Hall from 10.30am for those with limited mobility.

Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail is one of the country’s 23 premier cycle trails and part of New Zealand’s Great Rides. It has interpretation boards giving cultural and historical insights into the areas the trail users pass. Most of the 87km trail is built on a disused railway corridor leased from KiwiRail by Far North District Council.

Photo: Volunteers work on the shelter at the rest area that looks out to the site of the old Ōkaihau railway station.