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Story: Volcanic Plateau region

Railway line, Mōkai

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Railway line, Mōkai

The Taupo Totara Timber Company built its own railway from the government line at Putaruru to its stands of timber and sawmills at Mōkai, about 60 kilometres away. In this photograph, taken around 1905, timber is stacked in the distance, ready for loading on flat wagons such as those behind the locomotive at left.

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Alexander Turnbull Library, L. R. Young Collection

Reference: PAColl-5521-13

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.

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Volcanic Plateau region – From rimu and tōtara to pinus radiata, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15169/railway-line-mokai (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.