A hundred years ago, the trip from Auckland to Tauranga would involve an overnight steam ferry. Today, it involves several hours of fighting through traffic. But, until surprisingly recently, there was a third alternative - you could take the train! This cache celebrates that bygone era. In discovering the long-lost stations of the East Coast Main Line, you'll be REALLY SideTracked.
The East Coast Line
The section from Mount Maunganui to Te Puke was the first part of the East Coast Main Line to open, with passenger services starting on 16th October 1913. It provided a vital link for Te Puke with the rest of New Zealand and, indeed, the rest of the world. The advertising columns of The Te Puke Times from the first half of the 20th century are full of adverts for British hats, shoes, pianos and bicycles ... and American cars. In 1925 the latest Ford touring cars were advertised at £150. Although, you would want to insure your car through the South British Insurance Company Limited! And agricultural products, especially meat, were always tailored with an eye on the British market. The Te Puke Dairy Company was set up specifically to make Cheddar cheese for export to the UK.
Te Puke Station
Te Puke was a substantial station that continued to be developed throughout its working life. The route of the line was set out in November 1910 and, by February 1911, two platelayers cottages had been built at a cost of £758.00 to house the workers. A further two were added in April. Also, on 20th April 1912, a quarry was opened in Te Puke to provide ballast for the line, replacing the one on Moturiki, and a line linking the quarry to the main trunk was completed by March 1913. The Public Works Department (PWD) started running trains from Mount Maunganui to Te Puke on 16th October 1913, although the station buildings, constructed by Thomas Ashton of Kaukapakapa at a cost of £2459 17s 5d for both Te Puke and Papamoa, weren't completed until around July 1914. In 1916, services were extended from Te Puke to Pongakawa.
The station, when completed, consisted of a 90ft x 12ft station building with veranda, platform, 30ft x 20ft goods shed (all visible in the above photographs), loading bank and cattle and sheep yards, 59-wagon crossing loop, 22-wagon goods shed loop, 22-wagon No.1 loop and 20-wagon backshunt for the goods yard. In addition, there was a 24-wagon loop and 12-wagon backshunt servicing the Te Puke Dairy Factory a few hundred metres along the Tauranga road (the dairy factory building still stands in altered form at 242 Jellicoe Street).
The station was a vital link for both passengers, who could travel to Tauranga and beyond:-
Te Puke Times Friday 20th April 1917
Northern Steamship Co. Limited - Tauranga-Mount-Te Puke service
The T.S.S. Ngapuhi calls at Mount Wharf every Tuesday and Friday mornings with passengers connecting with 7a.m. train for Te Ouke.
Cargo landed at Mount every Tuesday and Friday mornings.
All cargo for Te Puke via rail must be marked with "Te Puke via Mount"
B.P.Andrews Tauranga Agent
However, the railway's real business was in freight. This is from the Te Puke Times on 19th September 1947:-
LOCAL RAILWAY BUSINESS FIGURES FOR THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS TRAFFIC AND REVENUE
"According to the statement recently issued by the Minister of Railways, a total of 12,119 passenger journeys, including 719 first class and 11,570 second class, was accounted for at the Te Puke Railway Station during the year ended March 31, 1947. Season tickets issued at the Te Puke station during the year numbered 5.
Figures for outward traffic show that the number of cattle and calves handled at the station during the past year was 26,545, while sheep and pigs totalled 139,898. A total of 26,531 hundreds of superficial feet of timber was handled together with 5152 tons of other goods."
Te Puke was an officered station with a Stationmaster and five railway houses, with two more being added in 1939. Prior to March 1920, Te Puke also handled all the accounts for the line from Tahawai to Taneatua. On Sunday 2nd September 1928, Te Puke was handed over from the Public Works Department (PWD) to New Zealand Railways (NZR). In 1946, the station buildings and goods shed were extended and, in 1954-55, there was a new cattle race and extensions built to the crossing loop.
Te Puke continued to be a very important hub, especially for moving livestock, and, on 15th February 1967, a new station building was opened about 200 metres further down the line. This building was 140 ft x 25ft, built with a brick veneer exterior and some vertical shiplap and with glass used to provide maximum natural ighting. This building still exists but now contains a cafe, laundrette and dairy. The original station building was donated to the Te Puke Rotary Club and may well also still exist in some quiet corner of the town. The new station didn't get much use, however, as the last passenger train service (an 88-seater RM railcar) ran on 11th September 1967.
If you look down the line, you can still see the original goods shed, now a recycling centre. It is a considerable distance from the new station so, on 1st July 1974, a new goods shed and siding were built at a cost of $139,000. This also still exists, just across the tracks from the station. Unfortunately, in 1962, the railway's monopoly of livestock transport had been broken, when transport by road was first allowed and, by the time the new siding and goods shed were built, almost no stock was still being transported by rail. The station building became derelict, being broken into in 1985 and 1986 before being converted to its current use. However, unlike many stations, which have disappeared completely, it is still possible to peer around corners and see the remains of the original station complex.
The Puzzle
The published co-ordinates take your to the former goods shed. Instead, look around the area. You need to find the following:-
A - How many upright sections of old rails mark the eastern edge of the parking area?
B - How many large seed pods face the main road?
C - How many large kiwifruit slices are next to the seed pods
D - Go past the eastern end of the building. How many sets of rails can you see beyond the fence? (Don't count points / turnouts)
E - Go back to the front of the building. How many steel girders (or joists) support the canopy?
F - Find the old main entrance to the railway station. How many letters in the first word over the door?
G - How many letters in the second word over the door to the main entrance?
H - How many courses of brickwork in the wall to the left of the main entrance? (Include the partial course at the top)
The cache can be found at S37 4(A/2).(E-B)(C+1)F E176 (H/2).D((H-A-E)/2)G
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found on the SideTracked Series website at www.sidetrackedseries.info https://www.sidetrackedseries.info
This particular cache is part of the REALLY SideTracked series which celebrates former, disused or heritage stations.