Kawatiri Railway Station 2.51

Kawatiri railway station was a rural railway station that served the small settlement of Kawatiri in the Tasman District of New Zealand’s South Island. Kawatiri is located on State Highway 6 at the junction with State Highway 63. It was one of 25 stations on the Nelson Section, and marked the furthest extent of Railways Department operations on the line. Kawatiri is perhaps most notable for being one of the shortest-lived stations operated by the Railways Department: 5 years, 21 days between 1926 and 1931.Kawatiri is situated in the Hope River gorge, with the Kahurangi National Park to the west and the Hope River to the east. State Highway 63 crossed the station yard via a bridge at the northern end of the yard, before crossing the Hope River and continuing on into the Wairau Valley. State Highway 6 passed by the station to the west between the station yard and the national park.Facilities at this station included a platform, loading bank, goods shed, siding, passenger shelter and equipment shed.HistoryDuring the construction of the Kawatiri Section, as it became known, the Pikomanu workers camp was established in the Hope River gorge, between what would become the Kawatiri tunnel and the station yard. The camp was in use between 1920 and 1926 when the Kawatiri Section opened, and housed, at its greatest extent, over 300 labourers, tradesmen and other support staff.Kawatiri was never of any great importance to the Railways Department, initially being served by only two trains a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from its opening on 21 June 1926. It was always considered to be a flag station, and this was reflected in the level of service offered there. Though goods could be consigned to Kawatiri if they were to be collected the same day, outbound goods still had to be consigned at Glenhope.