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Story: Nelson places

Kiwi railway station: a new life in Tapawera

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Kiwi railway station: a new life in Tapawera

In 2010 all that remained of Nelson’s railway were some stations and a tunnel at Kawatiri. The tracks were ripped up by December 1956. The tiny Kiwi railway station was later moved to Tapawera. It was restored, along with a short stretch of track, and turned into a museum which opened in 2005 – the 50th anniversary of protests against the line’s closure. The station’s original location was in the Tadmor valley, some 67 kilometres from Nelson, between Tadmor and Tūī stations. The line opened in 1908 and closed in 1955.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Nelson places – Motueka and the Motueka River valley, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/29094/kiwi-railway-station-a-new-life-in-tapawera (accessed 23 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 31 August 2010, updated 22 April 2015.