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Kōrero: Taranaki places

Mt Messenger tunnel

Image
Mt Messenger tunnel

A motorcyclist heads through the tunnel on the road up Mt Messenger, south of Ahitītī. The tunnel originally opened in 1916, and was single-lane, with a sharp, gothic-looking arch. The elegant arch was lost around 1990, when the tunnel was enlarged to provide two-lane access and to allow trucks with big loads to pass through. Mt Messenger is named after Colonel William Messenger, the commander of the garrison at nearby Pukearuhe redoubt during the 1870s and 1880s.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Jock Phillips

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ron Lambert, Taranaki places – Waitara and the northern coast, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/25871/mt-messenger-tunnel (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ron Lambert, i tāngia i te 23 February 2010, updated 1 September 2016.