Otiria

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Otiria
Otiria Junction showing railway yards, the railway station, and several trains ATLIB 338372.png
Otiria Junction showing railway yards, the railway station, and several trains, 1930s
NZ-Northland plain map2.png
Disc Plain red.svg
Otiria
Coordinates: 35°23′54″S174°0′1″E / 35.39833°S 174.00028°E / -35.39833; 174.00028
CountryNew Zealand
Region Northland Region
District Far North District
Postcode
0281

Otiria is a rural locality in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. [1] It neighbours Moerewa to the east, with the nearest major town, Kawakawa a few kilometres further eastwards. Other nearby localities include Pokapu to the south, Orauta to the west, and Hupara to the north.

Contents

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of planting" for Ōtiria. [2]

Education

Otiria used to have a primary school. It was closed in 2005 and students were transferred to Moerewa School. [3]

Transportation

Otiria is situated just off State Highway 1.

Otiria is the northernmost operational point of the national railway network. It is the terminus of the North Auckland Line, although a disused siding extends into Moerewa. Otiria railway station (closed in 1993) was a railway junction until the mid-1980s. The Opua Branch section of the North Auckland Line ran northeast to Kawakawa and Opua, while the Okaihau Branch ran northwest to Kaikohe and Ōkaihau. The railway through Otiria was built in the early 20th century to connect Opua and Kawakawa with Whangārei; the through route opened on 13 April 1911. [4] This was quickly followed by the commencement of work on the Okaihau Branch from Otiria; it opened to Kaikohe in May 1914 and Ōkaihau in October 1923. [5]

In December 1925, passenger trains offering direct service to and from Auckland began running through Otiria. This was initially the Northland Express between Auckland and Opua, with carriages for Ōkaihau detached in Otiria. It was cancelled in November 1956 and replaced by 88 seater railcars that ran between Auckland and Ōkaihau. Due to declining patronage and the poor reliability of the railcars, this service ended in July 1967. [6] Mixed trains to Whangarei continued to operate; the final passenger service through Otiria ran on 18 June 1976. [7] The line from Otiria to Opua ceased to be used in 1985, and when the Okaihau Branch closed on 1 November 1987, Otiria became the northernmost locality served by rail in New Zealand. [8] In 2007, one freight train was timetabled to operate every weekday each way between Otiria and Whangarei. [9] The line was mothballed in August 2016. As of March, 2019, a possible re-opening of all or part of the Whangarei to Otiria line for freight only is under consideration. [10] In January 2020 the Government announced the reopening and building of a container terminal as part of a $109.7 million investment in Northland rail. [11]

Related Research Articles

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Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about 260 km from Auckland. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a population of over 4000 people it is a shopping and service centre for an extensive farming district and is sometimes referred to as "the hub of the north".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moerewa</span> Place in Northland Region, New Zealand

Moerewa is a small town in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the Bay of Islands five kilometres to the west of Kawakawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dargaville Branch</span>

The Dargaville Branch is a branch line railway that leaves the North Auckland Line not far south of Whangārei and runs westward to Dargaville. Construction of this relatively short line took approximately two decades, and when it was completed, it linked the now closed Donnellys Crossing Section with the national rail network. The branch has been closed to all traffic since 2014 and is currently used by a tourist railcart operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Auckland Line</span> Railway line in New Zealand

The North Auckland Line is a major section of New Zealand's national rail network, and is made up of the following parts: the portion of track that runs northward from Westfield Junction to Newmarket Station; from there, westward to Waitakere; from there, northward to Otiria via Whangārei. The first section was opened in 1868 and the line was completed in 1925. The line, or sections of it, have been known at various times as the Kaipara Line, the Waikato-Kaipara Line, the Kaipara Branch and the North Auckland Main Trunk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okaihau Branch</span> Railway branch line in New Zealand

The Okaihau Branch, sometimes known as the Kaikohe Branch and rarely the Rangiahua Branch, was a branch line railway that joined the North Auckland Line of the national rail network of New Zealand at Otiria. It was the most northerly line in New Zealand and was intended to run all the way to Kaitaia. It opened to Ōkaihau in 1923 and closed in 1987.

The Onerahi Branch, sometimes known as the Grahamtown Railway, was a branch line railway in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It operated from 1911 until 1933 and linked the city of Whangārei to the nearby harbour in Onerahi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opua Branch</span>

The Opua Branch or Otiria-Opua Industrial Line, partially still operational as the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, is a former section of the North Auckland Line in the Northland Region of New Zealand, between Otiria and the Bay of Islands township of Opua. The first section was constructed as a bush tramway in 1867 and converted to a railway in the next decade. Today the railway is partially used by the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, which runs tourist services between Kawakawa and Te Akeake. The line's centrepiece is the section where it runs down along the main street of Kawakawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NZR RM class (88 seater)</span>

The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM (Rail Motor), the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the class eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs".

The Northland Express, also known as the Opua Express, was an express passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department between 1925 and 1956. It ran from Auckland via Whangārei to Opua in the Bay of Islands.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opua</span> Place in Northland Region, New Zealand

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Ōkaihau is a small town in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island, just north of Kaikohe. State Highway 1 passes through Ōkaihau making it fairly busy. Ōkaihau has a primary school and a secondary school.

The Marsden Point Branch is a 19 km (12 mi) branch line railway, which is to be built in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It will diverge from the North Auckland Line at Oakleigh, south of Whangārei, and serve Northport at Marsden Point. The proposal has existed since the 1970s and land for the rail corridor is being actively purchased.

The Wanganui Branch is a 5.00 km branch line railway in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It links Wanganui with the Marton - New Plymouth Line (MNPL) at Aramoho and has been open since 21 January 1878, although solely for freight traffic since 7 September 1959. Another branch line diverged from the Wanganui Branch near its terminus, the Castlecliff Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay of Islands Vintage Railway</span> Heritage railway in New Zealand

The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust (BOIVRT) is a heritage railway in Kawakawa, in Northland, New Zealand. The railway operates on part of the former Opua Branch railway.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otiria railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Otiria railway station was a station on the North Auckland line in New Zealand, at its junction with the Ōkaihau and Opua Branches, at Otiria. It is now KiwiRail's most northerly station, though mothballed since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opua railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Opua railway station was a station on the Opua Branch in New Zealand, serving the port of Opua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kawakawa railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Kawakawa railway station was a station on the Opua Branch in New Zealand. and is the terminus of the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway (BoIVR) in the small town of Kawakawa. It was also the terminus of the oldest railway on the North Island, opened in 1867, before being joined to the rest of the North Auckland Line in 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moerewa railway station</span> Defunct railway station in New Zealand

Moerewa railway station was a flag station at Moerewa on the Opua Branch of the North Auckland Line in New Zealand.

References

  1. "Place name detail: Otiria". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board . Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  2. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  3. "Mergers, Closures and New Schools, January 2005 - December 2005" (XLS). Education Counts.
  4. H. J. Hansen and F. J. Neil, Tracks in the North (Auckland: H. J. Hansen, 1992), 86-88.
  5. David Leitch and Brian Scott, Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, revised edition (Wellington: Grantham House, 1998 [1995]), 9.
  6. J. D. Mahoney, Kings of the Iron Road: Steam Passenger Trains of New Zealand (Palmerston North: Dunmore Press, 1982), 13.
  7. Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 96.
  8. Churchman & Hurst 2001, p. 95.
  9. [http://www.railnz.co.nz/times/TrainTimetableGuide.htm New Zealand Train Timetable Guide Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine , effective 17 June 2007, last updated 21 June 2007, accessed 27 June 2008.
  10. 'Northland rail line may reopen' The Northern Advocate, March 28, 2019
  11. "Northland rail rejuvenation". KiwiRail. Retrieved 2020-01-31.

Bibliography

  • Churchman, Geoffrey B; Hurst, Tony (2001) [1990, 1991]. The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey through History (Second ed.). Transpress New Zealand. ISBN   0-908876-20-3.

35°23′54″S174°00′01″E / 35.39833°S 174.00028°E / -35.39833; 174.00028