A place in history

Okaihau occupies a particularly significant place in New Zealand’s transport history.

In 1923, a railway line was opened from Otiria, near Moerewa, to Okaihau, making it New Zealand’s northernmost railway terminus.

Construction of the railway was supposed to continue all the way to Kaitaia but the project was abandoned as too difficult and costly when the line got to the bottom of the hill at Rangiahua. The tracks north of Okaihau were eventually pulled up but a tunnel, never used by trains, remains at Two Ponga Park.

Passenger-only railcars ran on the Okaihau Branch railway until 1967 and even became the subject of a popular song, The Okaihau Express by folk singer Peter Cape.

Mixed trains continued until 1976, when the line was converted to freight only. The line limped on for a few years following deregulation of the transport industry in 1983 but closed for good in 1987.

Part of the route is now used for the Twin Coast Cycle Trail, which is fast becoming one of the town’s main attractions — especially with the Okaihau-Utakura leg said to be the most attractive section of the 85km ride.

Okaihau can be translated as Feast of the Winds, a reference to the town’s location on a ridge 200m above sea level.

The town’s 100th anniversary celebrations in 1968 were reportedly attended by 5000 people.