Construction of the Picton to Blenheim railway started in 1872 and finished here in 1875, a year late, when funds ran out. On 17 November 1875, opening day, 2500 people - 40% the Marlborough population - took a train ride from Blenheim to Picton and back. A regional holiday was declared and celebrations included a civic lunch and an evening ball in Picton.
The station was located in what is now the NZRail yard, just across this side road. It was called Blenheim Station, despite that Blenheim township was two kilometres away, on the other side of the fickle Ōpaua Stream. There was a bridge, but it was washed away in a flood just a month after the line was opened, and was not replaced. Passengers had to cross the stream in a punt.
Given that the station was on the Grovetown side of the divide, and most certainly not actually in Blenheim, there was considerable disagreement with the station's name. Residents complained that Blenheim Station wasn't in Blenheim, and to encourage the line's completion into town regularly vandalised the station name. The signboards were painted over or removed, often within days of a new signboard being erected. Passengers refused to call it Blenheim and the stop became known as Nowhere. After two years of this Government Railways relented and the station was renamed to Opawa, as the Ōpaua was called then. Five years after construction stopped at Nowhere, in May of 1880, the residents finally got their wish and the last two kilometres into Blenheim was completed, although it was another six months before Blenheim finally got its station building. Opawa Station was no longer required and was removed.
References:
Berry, K: "Tales from the Train", published by Marlborough Boys' and Girls' Colleges, 2000
Merrifield, R: "Beyond Dashwood", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1990
McGavin, T.A: "A Century of Railways in Marlborough 1876-1976", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1977.
Scoble, J: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations, Published by Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, 2010.
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