Ohinewai Railway Station was a

flag station In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...

on the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

line, serving

Ohinewai Ohinewai or Ōhinewai is a small settlement in the Waikato Region, in New Zealand. It is located on the east bank of the Waikato River on SH1, 9 km north of Huntly The name is Māori for "girl's water place" (''o'' = place of, ''hine'' = ...

in the

Waikato District Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngāruawāhia. The district is centred to t ...

of New Zealand, south of Auckland. It was north of

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

, south of Rangiriri and above sea level. It was in the village, just north of Tahuna Rd. *

History

The station opened on 13 August 1877. The early service averaged about , taking about 4hr 45 mins to Auckland, 15mins to

Rangiriri Rangiriri is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Waikato River near Lake Waikare in the Waikato District. State Highway 1 now bypasses Rangiriri. Rangiriri was the s ...

and 23mins to Ruawaro (Huntly). A goods train took 1½hrs to Newcastle (Ngāruawāhia) and 1hr 17mins to

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

, 3 days a week.

Tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

signalling was introduced in 1905. In 1902 there were complaints of thefts due to lack of a caretaker. It seems one had been appointed by 1915, as a storeman at the station was killed at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. There was protest in 1925, when the only train which had allowed an Auckland day trip was withdrawn. The previous year the Great South Rd had

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

added at Ohinewai, so that it could be used all year, and a bus started linking Ohinewai with Auckland, Morrinsville and Te Aroha in 1929. Ohinewai's rail service was so poor that a wartime plan, to connect the bus with trains at Ohinewai, had to be amended to meeting at Mercer instead. Track doubling to ease congestion had been authorised in 1914, but work was delayed by the war. 300 men worked on doubling the track between Huntly and Ohinewai, which opened on 27 August 1939. To the north, doubling to

Te Kauwhata Te Kauwhata is a small town in the north of the Waikato region of New Zealand, situated close to the western shore of Lake Waikare, some 40 km north of Hamilton and approximately 58 km south of Manukau City. Description ''Te Kauwh ...

didn't open until 14 December 1958. In 1965 the station closed to passengers and on 31 December 1978 it closed completely.

References

{{reflist Railway stations in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Waikato Rail transport in Waikato Waikato District Railway stations closed in 1965 Railway stations in New Zealand opened in 1877 Railway stations in New Zealand closed in the 20th century