CELEBRATING 150 YEARS
Our line between Waitara and Lepperton Junction is the eastern half of the original
New Plymouth to Waitara Railway that connected the fledgling settlements of
New Plymouth and Waitara.
The line opened on October 14, 1875, after two years of construction.
There was no safe offshore berth at New Plymouth for settlers' boats to moor, and the sheltered river at Waitara
became their destination. They then had to endure several hours ride by bullock cart to arrive at their new home,
not ideal after months at sea!
The railway thus became a fundamental part of the early history of Taranaki
- the history we now preserve for future generations
