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Story: History of immigration

The Remutaka Road

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The Rimutaka Road

The large-scale immigration of the 1870s was part of Premier Julius Vogel’s scheme to revive the economy. He borrowed money from overseas and spent it on recruiting immigrants and constructing roads and railways. In the early 1870s people could only cross from Wellington to Wairarapa by horse or bullock on the hilly Remutaka Road. In 1878 a rail connection was opened.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, James Bragge Collection

Reference: PA7-30-03

by James Bragge

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

Jock Phillips, History of immigration – The great migration: 1871 to 1885, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2115/the-remutaka-road (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2015.