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Birchwood, New Zealand
Birchwood is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated west of Ohai and Nightcaps, and north of Tuatapere and Orawia, with the nearest state highway in Ohai. Birchwood was once the terminus of a private railway line run by the Ohai Railway Board, an extension of the Wairio Branch. The 19 km line from Wairio to Birchwood ran via Ohai and opened in 1934. The section from Ohai to Birchwood had been closed by the time the section from Wairio to Ohai was incorporated into the national network The National Network (or National Truck Network) is a network of approved state highways and interstates for commercial truck drivers in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States ... in 1990. References Further reading * Populated places in Southland, New Zealand {{Southland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southland, New Zealand
Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans over 3,400 km of coast. History The earliest inhabitants of Murihiku (meaning "the last joint of the tail") were Māori of the Waitaha iwi, followed later by Kāti Māmoe and Kāi Tahu. Waitaha sailed on the Uruao waka, whose captain Rakaihautū named sites and carved out lakes throughout the area. The Takitimu Mountains were formed by the overturned Kāi Tahu waka Tākitimu. Descendants created networks of customary food gathering sites, travelling seasonally as needed, to support permanent and semi-permanent settlements in coastal and inland regions. In later years, the coastline was a scene of early extended contact between Māori and Europeans, in this case sealers, whalers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers , making it the world's 12th-largest island. At low altitude, it has an oceanic climate. The South Island is shaped by the Southern Alps which run along it from north to south. They include New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki / Mount Cook at . The high Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines such as Fiordland, a very high proportion of native bush and national parks, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The main centres are Christchurch and Dunedin. The economy relies on agriculture and fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and services. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohai
Ohai is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island, 65 kilometres northwest of Invercargill and 25 kilometres west of Winton. History Origins of name The literal meaning of ''Ohai'' is unclear, but a mural in the town centre reads "OHAI" and then curved underneath "Place of the Stone". The name Ohai was recorded by James Herries Beattie as in use for the area before 1840. Up until as late as 1958 Morley stream near the town was officially called Ohai Stream in the Wairio District Survey maps. It is likely that the area was originally named in relation to an historic Maori stone quarry that is nearby as described in New Zealand Archaeological Association Schedule & Maps of Recorded Archaeological Sites, Map 7, Page 271 Early history Ohai township was founded in 1917 following the discovery of large amounts of high quality coal in the area. However, the early days of mining were restricted by poor roads. Coal production boomed in the area in 1925, when the Oh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nightcaps, New Zealand
Nightcaps is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is suggested that Nightcaps got its name either from the snow that is often seen on the Takitimu Mountains, or when early settlers observed fog on the hills known as the Nobbles. passes through Nightcaps as it runs between Ohai and Winton. The town has a golf course and two primary schools that cater to students from Nightcaps, the surrounding rural area, and since the 2003 closure of its own school, Ohai. Nightcaps has a more industrial history than most Southland towns due to nearby coal deposits. A private railway was built from the terminus of the New Zealand Railways Department's Wairio Branch to Nightcaps to provide more efficient transport of coal; operated by the Nightcaps Coal Company, it opened not long after the state's railway reached Wairio in 1909. In 1918, a proposal was made to build another line to coal interests around Ohai, and the construction of this line was fiercely opposed by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuatapere
Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is the self declared "Sausage Capital of New Zealand". Tuatapere is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Waewae Bay, where it has its outflow into Foveaux Strait. The main local industries are forestry and farming. Tuatapere has a logging museum and is located on the Southern Scenic Route from Invercargill to Te Anau making it a well-travelled tourist stop. The Clifden Suspension Bridge and Clifden War Memorial are located near outside Tuatapere. History First European settlers A group of Hungarians settled in Tuatapere, but were assimilated into the general population by the mid 20th century. Railway On 1 October 1909, a branch line railway from Invercargill was opened to Tuatapere and it became known as the Tuatapere Branch. On 20 October 1925, an extension was opened to Orawia, 14 kilometres to the north-eastWises New Zealand Guide, 7t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand State Highway Network
The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency. The highways were originally designated using a two-tier system, national (SH 1 to 8) and provincial, with national highways having a higher standard and funding priorities. Now all are state highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both islands, SH 2 to 5 and 10 to 59 in the North Island, and SH 6 to 8 and 60 to 99 in the South Island, numbered approximately north to south. State highways are marked by red shield-shaped signs with white numbering (shields for the former provincial highways were blue). Road maps usually number state highways in this fashion. Of the total state highway network, New Zealand currently has of motorways and expressways with grade-separated access and they carry ten percent of all New Zealand traffic. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks usually consist of steel rails, installed on sleepers (ties) set in ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as "slab track", in which the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a rail transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, so passenger and freight cars (carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. The operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohai Railway Board
The Ohai Railway Board (ORB) was a short railway in Southland, New Zealand. The railway line itself still exists as the Ohai branch line, but the ORB was dissolved in 1990, and in 1992 the Southland District Council sold the board's assets to New Zealand Rail Limited. History Construction In the 1870s, coal was discovered in Ohai. Mines opened in the area, mostly with own 2 ft gauge railways to carry coal. Coal production boomed in the area in 1882 when a private spur railway line was built by the Nightcaps Coal Company from the terminus of the New Zealand Government Railways Wairio Branch at Wairio to Nightcaps to provide more efficient transport of coal. In 1916 a proposal was made to build another line to coal interests around Ohai. The construction of this line was fiercely opposed by the Nightcaps Coal Company, fearing a loss of business. The Ohai Railway Board (ORB) was formed under the District Railways Act 1877. Much like the Port Chalmers Railway Company Limi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wairio Branch
The Ohai Line, formerly known as the Ohai Industrial Line and previously the Wairio Branch and the Ohai Railway Board's line, is a 54.5 km branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. It opened in 1882 and is one of two remaining branch lines in Southland, and one of only a few in the country. A number of smaller privately owned railways fanned out from Wairio; one of these lines, to Ohai, was originally built by the Ohai Railway Board and was worked by New Zealand Railways from 1990 and incorporated into the national network in 1992. Construction Wairio Branch Built at about the same time as the Riverton section of the Tuatapere Branch, what became the Wairio Branch left the Tuatapere Branch at Thornbury, where the junction originally faced Riverton rather than Invercargill, implying that the developers might have thought Riverton was going to be the region's major port. The line was built to open up new land to settlement and agricultural use and to access coal de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wairio
Wairio is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman .... The population was 942 in the 2013 census. This was an increase of 33 people since the 2006 Census. References Populated places in Southland, New Zealand {{Southland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Transport In New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, with 99.5% of New Zealand's exports and imports being transported through the country's seaports. Rail transport played an important role in the opening up and development of the hinterland outside of New Zealand's predominantly dispersed and coastal settlements. Starting with the Ferrymead Railway in 1863, most public railway lines were short, built by provincial governments and connected major centres to their nearest seaport (such as Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton Harbour). From the 1870s, the focus shifted to building a nationwide network linking major centres, especially during the Vogel Era of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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