Ruatapu is a small town in the

Westland District Westland District is a territorial authority district on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council. The district's population is History Westland was originally a part of Canterbury ...

in the West Coast region of the

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 ...

of New Zealand. The town's name stems from

Ruatapu Ruatapu was a son of the ariki, great chief Uenuku#Other characters, Uenuku, and a master canoeist in Polynesian narrative, Polynesian tradition who is said to have lived around 30 generations ago. Most Māori people, Māori stories agree he ...

, a figure in

Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori people, Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of what was the ...

. The town is located on a narrow strip of land between the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

and Lake Mahinapua, a shallow lake that was originally a coastal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

. runs through Ruatapu, connecting it to the nearby towns of

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

and

Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

. The town's economy is based upon

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, as well as a large

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, operated by Westco Lagan, which mills

radiata pine ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (on Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the ...

for further processing in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

History

Railway

On 9 November 1906, the Midland railway line, running from

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

, extended a

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

to Ruatapu. Ruatapu acted as the terminus of the railway until 1 April 1909, when it was opened to

, and became known as the Ross Branch. Passenger services ceased on 9 October 1972 and the line closed to all traffic on 24 November 1980. Some of the

track bed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background According to Network Rail Network Rail Limited is t ...

near Ruatapu can now be driven.David Leitch and Brian Scott, ''Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways'', revised edition (Wellington: Grantham House, 1998

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

, 60-1.

Sawmill and tramway

Joseph Butler Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 16 June 1752 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Anglican bishop, Christian theology, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English count ...

bought of rimu, matai and kahikatea bush, between Ruatapu and Ross, for £28,000 in 1907. With his brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, he formed Butler Brothers Ltd, with the Kauri Timber Co as a major shareholder. A large steam-powered sawmill worked from 1911. A large storm in October 1915 ripped the roof off the sawmill, demolished a hut, and shifted another house from its foundations.STORM IN NEW ZEALAND TOWN.
– ''Warrnambool Standard''. Published 21 October 1915. Retrieved 18 June 2012. An electric-powered mill was built in 1955 after the original had burnt down in 1952 and was rebuilt again after another fire in the early 1980s. Fletcher Holdings took over the mill in 1961, sold it to Henderson & Pollard Ltd in 1979 and they became part of

Carter Holt Harvey __NOTOC__ Carter Holt Harvey Limited is a privately-owned New Zealandbased company controlled by Rank Group Limited, the corporate vehicle of the country's richest man, Graeme Hart. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the company has three main divi ...

in 1987. In 1988 the mill was sold to Westco Lagan Ltd. Tramways ran up to south from the mill until replaced by

logging truck A logging truck or timber lorry is a large truck used to carry logs. Some have integrated flatbeds, some are discrete tractor units, and some are configured to spread a load between the tractor unit and a dollied trailer pulled behind it. Oft ...

s in 1960.

References

External links

1911 photo of interior of the timber mill

* ttp://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=14&x=1427701&y=5256372&layerid=NZMS1%201959 1958 one inch map showing tramways{{Westland District Westland District Populated places in the West Coast Region