Saga of the mountain road

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 21, 15 October 1985, Page 19

Saga of the mountain road

Since 1910, when a public meeting brought the formation of the Ohakune Ruapehu Alpine Club, public guided climbing tours had been using the Ohakune Junction track. The O.R.A.C. set a one shilling toll for track users

and let a £19 contract to clear a 4ft wide track from the railway station to the 'moss-line' near the Boardwalk on Waitonga Falls. The Public Works Department also did some work to make the track fit for horses. The big step forward for

the Ohakune route came with the arrival in the town of Joe Blyth in 1909. A teacher and later headmaster of the Ohakune school, Joe quickly became very interested in the mountain and its access. After he returned from World Warlin 1919, development speeded up. William Mead and Bernard Drake, co-founders of the Ruapehu Ski Club had asked the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts in 1913 about developing skiing accommodation near the Ohakune Track. World War I interrupted their plans. It was not until the autumn of 1920 that the Ohakune Mountain Cottage Hut, or Mangawhero Hut, was started. A Wanganui

man, William Salt was contracted to build it, with funds from Tourist and Health Resorts. Joe Blyth and several others helped to build the hut in stages during 1921 and 1922. It was renamed Blyth Hut in 1940, following his death, as a tribute to his many hours of voluntary work on the hut and track. In the 1920s and 30s the park board spent some money on the track, including money collected from hut fees and charges for the use of horses on the track. Joe Blyth was a longterm member of the park board and spent virtually all his free time on hut and track maintenance until his death. The hut proved popular for summer and winter sports but the easier access to the Whakapapa cottage, built in 1920, made it first choice for skiers. Ironically, it was the suCcess of the Ohakune Mountain Road Association in finally pushing the road through in the 1960s that spelt the end of Blyth Hut as vandals gained access to the area. The old hut was burnt down in 1975 and a new Blyth Hut was built the same year on a ridge further from the road. Continued next week