Kōrero: City history and people

Ohakune, originally a Māori settlement, became the base for the completion of the main trunk railway line in 1905. The path of the line is visible in this 1906 image – it runs along an embankment in a straight line from the bridge on the far left. Below that is part of the workers’ camp. Conditions were basic – men lived in canvas tents and huts through winter snows.