Story: Whanganui region

Railway workers in the bush

Railway workers in the bush

The route of the North Island main trunk railway went through the original forest of inland Whanganui. This painting by an unknown artist, which appeared in the Auckland Weekly News in 1908, shows a camp of railway workers amidst tall trees near the Hāpuawhenua viaduct, north of Ohakune. Within 15 years the area was entirely pasture.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: C-065-006

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Diana Beaglehole, 'Whanganui region - Vegetation and human impact', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/19012/railway-workers-in-the-bush (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Diana Beaglehole, updated 1 Jun 2015