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Story: Marlborough region

Railway construction camp

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Railway construction camp

The long-awaited coastal rail link between Marlborough and Canterbury was completed in 1945, the year after this photograph was taken of a construction camp at Ōaro, 20 kilometres south of Kaikōura. The single men’s huts in the foreground were some distance from the married men’s quarters at top left. The railway was officially opened on 15 December 1945.

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Reference: AWNS-19410423-33-2

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Marlborough region – Transport and communications, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/31789/railway-construction-camp (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 9 May 2011, updated 1 November 2016.