Preservation group to meet with Railways

Ruapehu Bulletin, 17 August 1990, Page 7

Preservation group to meet with Railways

BY

DENNIS

BEYTAGH

The recently formed Ohakune Railway Preservation Group is looking forward to a meeting next Monday with Mr Peter Ellery, managing engineer of New Zealand Railways area track construction branch based at Palmerston North.

The meeting, to be held at the railway station, is to discuss the future of the Ohakune Junction railyards and station building. Upon the outcome of that meeting between New Zealand Railways and the local group of railway enthusiasts will depend the fate of this historic site and any chance that it might be preserved fora any potential development as a community based project. One of the alternatives being considered by New Zealand Railways is for the land on which the railway yards are situated to be cleared of track and any remaining facilities (with the exception of the main trunkline) and sold. The local railway preservation and

restoration group is convinced however that there is sufficient community interest in the site for it to be retained as it is today until a number of alternative proposals are considered. Spokesmen for the group, Bob Norling and Graham Parker, cite the fact that several dozen Ruapehu College pupils and many adults turned out in atrocious weather conditions during Ohakune's recent windstorm weekend to clear the railway yards of rubbish, tidy up the station building, clean the paintwork, remove the graffiti and restore the toilets to a working order, as an indication of community interest and concern. "We are very proud of our young people at the

College", said Graham Parker, "and it just goes to show that there will be a continuing interest in the railway station which, after all, was the original reason for Ohakune's existence, into the next generation." Among the proposals being considejed by the local group are both short and long term projects none of which will require a great deal of financial input and support. "We won't need a lot of money. Time and commitment will be the biggest factors," said Bob Norling, "and we've already had offers of help with equipment, labour and materials from all sorts of people in the community." The first task would be to restore the station building itself to something of its former status instead of it resembling, as it does now, a deserted and dilapidated ghost town relic. This would involve removing all the corrugated iron from the boarded up windows, reglazing windows where necessary, repairing the woodwork (which is basically sound), resealing the platform and giving the whole building, both inside and out, a fresh coat of paint. Platform lighting would also be restored. Posters would be preTurnpage 12

Preservation group to meet Railways reps

From page 7 pared by College Pupils to represent some of the recreational activities available in the Waimarino (skiing fishing, hunting, bungy-jumping, horse trekking, canoeing, white water rafting etc) and these would be dis-

played on the station. In this way travellers' passing through on the Silver Fern and Northerner, or those alighting from these trains, would be left with an impression of a lively, interesting and attractive place with a wide diversity of recreational

activities. It is hoped that by creating a positive image of the area instead of the negative one being presented now, these travellers will either return or pass on their impressions to others. The image of New Zealand Railways would also

stand to benefit from this "new look" station because, whilst they would not have contributed anything to its restoration, train travellers and those from outside the community will automatically assume it has been the work of a caring Rail-

ways department. Among the longer term and more ambitious projects are: landscaping the whole area; creating an outdoor 'museum' of railway rolling stock and locomotives; creating an indoor museum of photographs and other artefacts associated with the history of the Waimarino; the use of part of the building for tea rooms and a mini dairy; the setting up of a hand-crafts workshop and retail outlet selling locally made items; the organising of steam train excursions in association with Steam Incorporated of Paekakariki; and the possibility of restoring some sort of line between the railway station at the Junction and the Giant Carrot site near what was formerly Ohakune's "Rochfort" Station. If that was possible then a bus could be run from Ohakune to Raetihi for railway enthusiasts who would have the original route pointed out to them before visiting the Raetihi Museum which is the town's former railway station. Viable The local group who will be meeting Mr Ellery on Monday is positive that these are all viable projects which, given time and community commit-

ment, can be achieved at very little expense. "By borrowing equipment, receiving donations of materials such as paint who hasn't got. a spare tin of paint and a brush at the back of their shed or garage? - getting some native trees from the Department of Conservation and using voluntary labour we could get a great deal done ourselves," said Graham Parker. "And I think I know where there are some railway semaphore signals and signal boxes," said Bob Norling. "And I know someone who would be interested in running the tearooms," said another member of the local group." And what's more they would be prepared to run the tearooms well into the late hours of the night to serve refreshments and coffee for those on their way home from pubs and clubs as well as for those changing shifts at the (Winstones) mill." "Perhaps we could persuade NZ Railways to stop their trains for five or ten minutes in Ohakune so that passengers on the long joumey between Auckland and Wellington could stretch their legs, grab a cup of tea and a bun or even one of Johnny Nations 'world famous' sausage rolls

and pies," said another, "... it will be just like old times." By extending the hours during which there will be people around the station and railyards the possibity of damage and mindless vandalism will be reduced, particularly if local people have been involved in the restoration. Past problems in this regard have resulted from the notion that the station appears to have been abandoned. Best Chance Perhaps the best chance for setting these plans in motion depends on the outcome of next Monday's meeting. If New Zealand Railways agree to these proposals a Community Employment Development Unit known colloquially as 'Bootstraps' could become involved. They specialise in identifying small communities which need help and then, if the criteria are met, implement seven broad strategies to achieve what is best for that community. These include initiatives to encourage the formation of new businesses, initiatives to stop the flow of funds out of a community and initiatives to attract Government programme services and funding into a community. Assistance The small towns selected for assistance under the 'Small Town Self Help Programme' must first meet the following criteria: 1. There is an established community committee which has expressed a desire to develop strategies which will enhance employment and economic opportunities in their area. 2. There is a commitment to supporting a search/planning day mechanism and, in particular, the town will develop a community profile based on material supplied by the Department. 3. Commitment of Regional E.D.O.'s and the local community to assist and resource committees formed from the search/planning day. Other additional criteria may be taken into consideration in making a final selection. These may include establishing a wide regional spread of locations, evidence of unemployment or underemployment and the demonstrated commitment of local governments. A member of the 'Bootstraps' unit has agreed to come to Ohakune to discuss the Railway Preservation Group's proposals once the decision of New Zealand Railways about the future of the Ohakune railway station is known.