Peter Seton Hay

Transcription

[1930s Railway voice] The final check-over at the servicing shed has been made, and soon these powerful locomotives will glide down the yards to couple onto their respective trains. And then racing along the miles of shining track, as they head for busy city or gay resort, they will safely carry each valuable freight to its desired destination. [Narrator] The DC3 aeroplane was once common in New Zealand. But today, the planes have vanished, though an old DC3 can be seen in the small town of Mangaweka, on State Highway One. It has been converted into a café. But it is rail, not air travel that has shaped Mangaweka. The town's life blood has been the North Island Main Trunk Line, which runs from Auckland to Wellington. During the nineteenth century, the central North Island posed great challenges to railway-builders. By 1880, Auckland's southern line reached Te Awamutu, and there were sections of line in the Wellington region. But further progress was blocked by rugged mountains, dense forests, and the King Country, which was held by Māori hostile to the government. But in the early 1880s, the government reached a crucial agreement with leaders of the Ngāti Maniapoto tribe to open up the King Country to railway. In 1885 politicians and Māori leaders ceremonially 'turned the first sod' of the central section of the Main Trunk Line. It would take 23 years to complete the 680-kilometre railway. Life was hard for the men who built the line. The work was dangerous and their makeshift shantytowns offered few comforts. By 1904 the northern and southern sections had reached Taumarunui and Taihape. The steep climb up to the Waimarino plateau was accomplished via the famous Raurimu spiral. Towering steel viaducts bridged deep ravines at Mangaweka and other places in the rugged central region. The North Island Main Trunk Line was formally opened in 1908. It took 18 hours to travel between Auckland and Wellington. Though its construction accelerated the destruction of the great forests that once covered much of the North Island, it also fostered economic development, and opened up access to the Māori-dominated interior. [1930 Railways voice] All day, every day, your railways are serving New Zealand, and in serving New Zealand, they serve you. Railways for National Welfare! [Narrator] The central section of the line has a remarkable series of over 20 viaducts which cross the steep ravines of the area. The men who built the viaducts were housed at Mangaweka. The Mangaweka viaduct, completed in 1903 -- was nearly 300 metres long and 50 metres high. It was originally the longest viaduct on the line, but in 1981 a bypass was built and the viaduct was dismantled. As a result of the bypass, three new viaducts were built. The south viaduct over the Rangitīkei River is second-longest in New Zealand. It was the first viaduct in the world to use energy-absorbing dampers in the foundations. In the event of an earthquake, the piers will rock from side to side rather than collapse. Most of the massive viaducts on the Main Truck Line, including Mangaweka, were designed by Public Works Department engineer Peter Hay. In 1906, Hay was promoted to engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department. But he did not live to see the fruits of his brilliant work. In 1907, the year before the main trunk opened, he suffered from exposure while inspecting the line near Waiouru, developed pleurisy, and died. By the 1980s, rail in New Zealand began to decline. With fewer passengers and less freight to carry, rail services were reduced and many small stations, including Mangaweka, closed. At the same time, the state highway that used to run through Mangaweka's main street was realigned to bypass the town.