Tui Railway Station

Story

Tui railway station was a rural railway station that served the small farming settlement of Tui in the Tasman District of New Zealand’s South Island. It was one of 25 stations on the Nelson Section, and lasted from 1912 to 1955.Facilities at this station included: stockyards, accessed via a 22-wagon backshunt; two loops, having a 37 and 27 wagon capacity respectively; a station building; a main goods shed with dimensions of 30x and a second smaller goods shed; a loading bank; an outhouse; a railway house (for many years occupied by the local surfaceman); and a water vat.HistoryTui station was opened along with the Kiwi to Glenhope section of the line on 2 September 1912, the date the Public Works Department handed control over to the Railways Department. This section became the last section of the line for most of the life of the Nelson Section, with Glenhope remaining the terminus for all but five years of its operation.The area in which the station was located was originally known as Mana, and was home to several sawmills. Much of the verdant growth was cleared so farms could be established on the land. While initially successful, these farms eventually proved to be uneconomic.One of the more prominent local facilities was a school, which opened the same year as the railway and lasted until amalgamation with the nearby Tapawera school in 1942. This proved to be an unpopular move with local parents of school-aged children, until they were mollified by the decision of the last teacher to work at the school to remain in the area and drive a school bus to and from Tapawera.