This station was originally to be called Mills, but when opening day came along, on 4 December 1915, it was Wharanui that was on the signboards. And here the line stopped. The great push south to join with Christchurch was halted for more than twenty-five years. Initially the problem was money, and then manpower as the labour force was sent overseas to war. It was not till 1936 that construction southwards continued.
The sheer size of the yards here seems out of keeping with the size of the settlement. But if you remember that this was the end of the line for over twenty-five years it makes more sense. As well as the goods yards and goods sheds there would have been water and sanding towers, engine sheds, and lots of track for storing the various types of goods cars required. An additional loop or two again are needed to allow shunting to create the consist - to assemble the correct cars required for the next day's train.
Wharanui was closed in March on 1981 for passengers and November 1986 for freight. At its peak there were over 200 people living here, ybere was a school and a golf course. After the station's closure it was skidded across the tracks and used as a beach bach on the second property on the right as you face north. I had a look at the building - it has been re-clad and re-roofed and no longer has any of the look of the original shelter shed. Wharanui is now a beach bach community, and many of the homes are built from containers. Some are quite impressive inside, the most expensive one was built for less than $20,000.
At the time this cache was placed there is significant work in the area repairing the rail lines from the 2016 Kaikoura earthquakes. A bridge at the road crossing is being repaired. The cache itself is at the entrance to a private driveway. Pete, the owner, knows of the cache, as does the house across the road, the construction workers and many others that live here. They will be playing Spot the Geocacher! Note there have been some thefts from here in recent times. Keep an eye out for suspicious people and expect that your license plate may be recorded.
Wharanui is named for a variety of flax, the leaves of which are softer than that of the harakeke we usually think of.
References:
Merrifield, R: "Beyond Dashwood", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1990
McGavin, T.A.: "A Century of Railways in Marlborough 1876-1976", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1977.
Scoble, J: "Names and Opening and Closing Dates of Railway Stations", published by the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, 2010
Churchman, G & Hurst, T: "South Island Main Trunk 1992", published by IPL Books, 1992.
Supporting the GeoKids program - my caches have treasure, makes them fun for kids to find!