Fortification is a locality in the western part of

the Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprise an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha, New Zealand, Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between ...

region of Southland in New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. Nearby settlements include Quarry Hills and Waikawa to the southeast, Tokanui to the southwest, and

Waimahaka Waimahaka is a locality in the Southland, New Zealand, Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in a rural area, inland from Toetoes Bay. Nearby settlements include Pine Bush, New Zealand, Pine Bush and Titiroa to the nor ...

to the west. It is over 50 km east of Southland's main centre,

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

. The area was logged by timber companies which included Fortification Timber Co 1875 and Fortification Timber Co Ltd. Subdivisions were created in 1914 under the Lands for Settlement Act and the road to Te Peka improved after 1919.

Tramway

To serve forestry interests in the Fortification area, a

bush tramway A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology, a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, most commonly used for logging. They ...

was built in the mid-1920s. It ran from Te Peka

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the

Tokanui Branch The Tokanui Branch, also known as the Seaward Bush Branch, was a branch line railway located in Southland, New Zealand. It diverged from the Bluff Branch south of the main railway station in Invercargill and ran for 54 kilometres in a southea ...

eastwards to a sawmill in Fortification, and then divided into a number of branches to logging sites. The tramway's date of closure is unknown, but it occurred prior to the closure of the Tokanui Branch on 31 March 1966. Tramways to a sawmill east of Fortification Hill were shown on 1944 one inch map S183.

References

Populated places in the Southland Region The Catlins Southland District {{Southland-geo-stub