Manawatu rail: Ashhurst Traditional Cache
Hidden : 5/29/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

One of a series of simple, easy to find, caches at railway stations in and around the Manawatu.

Welcome aboard the Government Railways' service to Napier! Last stop Whakarongo, next stop Woodville.

This town, like other principal towns settled in the Manchester Block, was named for one of the Emigrants and Colonists Aid Corporation's directors, Henry George Ashhurst. I could find very little information about him. He was a successful London merchant, died in Surrey in 1882 having never visited the town that was named after him. The town was originally called Raukawa, then Ashurst. The spelling was not corrected till 1889.

Ashhurst is located in the Ōtangaki clearing, an open area surrounded by dense native bush in the Manchester Block (See Manawatu rail: Feilding and Manawatu rail: Halcombe) and was settled in 1877 by many of the immigrants brought in as part of the Duke of Manchester's Emigrants and Colonists Aid Corporation. Many of these immigrants found jobs as road or rail builders through the Manawatu gorge to Woodville.

The Manawatu Gorge
The Manawatu River is the only known instance of a river that crosses a mountain range in the southern hemisphere. A single lane road was put through the gorge in 1871-72, with the bridge replacing the ferry at the Woodville end completed in 1875. The completion of this road marked the first road link between Napier and Wellington. The rail route on the northern bank was also surveyed in 1871, however construction did not start till 1888. Unfortunately the contractor went bankrupt and so the line was not completed until 1891.
The ranges are built of fractured greywacke ("rotten rock") and as a result the area is prone to slips. This is especially evident on the south side of the gorge, where remnants of road and recent slips can be seen as you drive through. There were two major slips resulting in train derailments, one a mixed goods train on 20 August 1940, in which the engine and three wagons ended up in the river, killing both driver and fireman. The other a milk train on 26 September 2010. Luckily no one was hurt there.
For one day each year in April or May the rail line is closed for a day, and the puplic are invited to the popular Manawatu Gorge Rail Walk, a Manawatu Lions fund raising event.

Ashhurst Station operated as a simple flag station for its first year, then on 7 March 1892 the station house was opened. The traffic through here to Woodville also caused Palmerston station to be upgraded in 1894 with additional sidings and an extension to its goods shed. In 1980 the Ashhurst station building was sold and now only a simple shelter remains. The rail line itself was originally intended to follow Ashhurst Road to Mugby Junction, located where Bunnythorpe is today. However this did not happen, much to Mugby's and Bunnythorpe's disappointment.


Ashhurst Station, 1941.


Ashhurst Station, 2013.


Manawatu Gorge road about 1880


Gorge rail walk, April-May each year

Derailment, 1940


Milk train hits slip, 26 September, 2010.

References:
Cassells, K.R.: "The Foxton and Wanganui Railway", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1984.
ourregion.co.nz: "Road and Rail Manawatu — The Communication Hub"
Department of Conservation Brochure: "Manawatu Gorge Track"
New Zealand Historic Places Trust: "1198 Post Office (former)"
TeAra The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand: "Story: Manawatū and Horowhenua places"
Evening Post, 6 July 1888
Manawatu Standard, 26 September 2010
Manawatu Standard, 28 September 2010

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Srapr cbfg

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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