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Makatote Tramway

by Joanna Wylie

The North Island's Central Plateau was home to a thriving sawmilling industry from the early to mid 20th century. This industry arose as the Government made small parcels of land available for the removal and milling of indigenous species. There was a particular concentration of mills in the Waimarino District, to the west of Mount Ruapehu, where species such as rimu, totara and matai formed part of the natural vegetation.

Remains of wooden tramway along the right fork of the left-hand branch. Photo: Joanna Wylie, NZHPT

One such mill was located just north of the Makatote viaduct, on the western boundary of the Tongariro National Park. This site (known as the 'Makatote Tramway') is evidenced today by the remains of a branching network of tramlines extending east and northeast of State Highway 4 into the National Park, and a range of associated sawmilling structures and features. The location of the mill site itself been verified by historical plans and whilst a number of artefacts were recorded, no structural features remain

Left: Bogey wheel, right-hand branch of the tramway. Right: Sawmilling artefacts lying on a section of the right-hand branch of the tramway. Photos: Courtesy of the Department of Conservation

These include skid sites, which the logs were hauled onto before being transported along the tramway to the mill, an abandoned log hauler, bogey wheels and a range of other metal artefacts.

Wooden bridge along the right-hand branch of the tramway. Photo: Joanna Wylie, NZHPT

Clearings along the road side (to the east of State Highway 4) between the initial track into the site and the descent into the Makatote gully mark where the mill houses were thought to have been located.

Historical records indicate that the Makatote Tramway dates from the late 1920s till 1940, when the sawmilling operation closed down as a result of financial difficulties. What you see today is the result of two successive milling operations; the Pedersen family operation from 1929 to 1931, and Thomas Dinwoodie's 1935 - 1940 venture.

The Makatote Tramway is a registered Category II historic place, and has been gazetted as an archaeological site under Section 9 of the Historic Places Act 1993, thereby affording it statutory protection. Read the registration report for more information about the tramway.

Whilst part of the Tongariro National Park, sections of the tramway route are not clearly marked, and anyone visiting the tramway would need to be guided by someone who was familiar with the site. The Department of Conservation's Tongariro/ Taupo Conservancy is actively raising the profile of this important heritage site however, and recently led a guided trip as part of their Summer Programme series.