Manawatu rail: Halcombe 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 Wanganui! Last stop Maewa. End of the line, all change! Service leaves here for Wanganui, next stop Kakariki. This train returns to Palmerston.

Halcombe township is named after Arthur William Follett Halcombe (1834-1900), an emigrant to New Zealand who arrived from London at age 21 under the patronage of William Fox, whose wife was Halcombe's cousin (Fox later became the second Premier of New Zealand. Fox Glacier is named after him). Halcombe settled in Riverdale, in the Rangitikei, and became manager of Fox's farm. He was made a Justice of the Peace in 1861 and a lieutenant of the local Cavalry Volunteers in 1863. In 1862 he married Edith Stanway Swainson, of whom Stanway is named, a town that didn't happen, on the corner of Stanway and Makino roads. They had 8 children.

He served as an Inspector of Schools for the Wellington Province from 1862 then was elected to the Wellington Provincial Council for Rangitikei, at times being their secretary and treasurer. During this time he was also the editor of the Wellington Independent newspaper and the Wellington correspondent to The Times of London.

A.W.F. Halcombe
But it is mainly for his work in emigration that Halcombe is remembered here. Firstly as an Emigration Officer for the government in 1870-1872, then in his subsequent role as an attorney and agent for the Emigrants and Colonists' Aid Corporation, he was instrumental in the settling of the Manchester Block, a section of land from the Orua to the Rangitikei rivers, including the towns of Feilding, Ashhurst and Halcombe. Scandanvians were recruited for emigration and Halcombe supervised their settlement into the Manchester Block and assisted with other settlements all over the Wairarapa – Dannevirke, Norsewood, Mauriceville. In 1874 he escorted the first settlers from the Duke of Edinburgh at Foxton, first via the newly completed wooden railed tramway (that he was also instrumental in building) to Palmerston then via horse to Feilding. In 5 months 614 Scandinavians had arrived. A total of 2000 settlers arrived under the Corporation's agreement with the government.

By 1874 the Halcombes were living at The Pines in Feilding and heavily involved in local affairs. Two years later he was elected to the Manawatu County Council. Halcombe and Stanway townships were established that year. In 1882, after a short trip to England, he was involved with the Patetere Land Company's work to settle farmers at a town called Lichfeild, near Putaruru, just south of Cambridge. This was not a success and by 1885 the company was in financial trouble. He retired in 1886 to farm at Urenui, in the Taranaki. He was still involved in public affairs there till his death in March, 1900.

The rail line to Halcombe was carved through the bush and opened on 22 April, 1878, and the full service to Wanganui was opened on 20 May. The trip from Foxton to Wanganui taking six hours. The main problem here was that the trains, although operated by the government, were locally administered and the engines and passenger cars had to stay in their respective districts. There were two through trains each way daily. Trains would leave from Foxton and Wanganui, meet at Halcombe, then return. Through passengers were required to disembark to change trains. I am unsure as to whether this also applied to goods wagons. This required the installation of an engine shed at Halcombe, and quite sizeable yards, completely at odds with the size of the population there. The station house was upgraded in 1882 to include a dining room and additional sidings were added. Halcombe, as a terminus of two lines, became a service centre, including the heavy lifting gear to lift an engine off its wheels. In 1885 there were more improvements - more sidings again, and additional cattle yards. Two years later the dining room was enlarged and a ladies' waiting room added. This was to the criticism of The Star newspaper, which reported reasonably that Halcombe was no longer a central figure. Shortly after this New Zealand Railways abandoned the change trains policy, and the engine shed was removed. Fire destroyed the large station house in 1962 and it was replaced with the simple shelter shed that stands there today.

The cache is beside the huge, now empty, rail yards. Good luck!


Halcombe yards in 1883

and in 1941


Halcombe station house, 1941
References:
Cassells, K.R.: "The Foxton and Wanganui Railway", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1984.
Te Ara, the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand: "Halcombe, Arthur William Follett"

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