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Story: Manawatū and Horowhenua region

The last spike

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The last spike

A crowd gathers to celebrate the driving of the last spike on the Wellington–Manawatū railway line, marking its completion. The place was Ōtaihanga, near Paraparaumu, the date 3 November 1886.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-127179; F

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, Manawatū and Horowhenua region – Rapid change: 1870–1880, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9481/the-last-spike (accessed 4 June 2026).

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