Image
A group assembles for the turning of the first sod for the North Island main trunk line on 15 April 1885, on the southern bank of the Pūniu River, south of Te Awamutu. At right is Ngāti Maniapoto leader Rewi Maniapoto, wearing a top hat and black jacket. The tall man standing in the centre behind the barrow, also wearing a top hat, is Wahanui Huatare, another of the tribe’s leaders. Premier Robert Stout stands on the end of the plank.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library, D. M. Beere Collection
Reference: 1/2-096208; G
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.