Waingawa Railway Station

Story

Waingawa railway station is a station on the Wairarapa Line in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand’s North Island. It is located about south of the Waingawa River and is situated in a heavy industrial area. It served passenger trains until 1992 and now only handles freight (private sidings and special consignments).HistoryThe first use of the name Waingawa in relation to rail facilities in the Wairarapa was when from 1895 a siding about south of Kurupuni became known as Waingawa. It was a private siding that had for a long time been known as Donald’s Siding, and was used by the Wellington Meat Export Company to load livestock for transport to their abattoir at Ngahauranga.Between 1908 and 1912 the Wellington Farmers’ Meat Company established their own private siding about south of Waingawa called Taratahi. In 1921 this became the location of a new station called Waingawa, complete with signalling apparatus, and the name Taratahi ceased to be used.Though a co-operative freezing works was established at Waingawa in 1897, the brisk traffic in livestock from Waingawa to Wellington continued, at least until the opening of the Waingawa Freezing Works. In 1966 a siding was laid from the Waingawa yard to the then new Masterton saleyards. The saleyards are still extant today but their siding has long since been removed.Several industrial neighbours have come and gone in the vicinity of Waingawa station. In 1911, the Waingawa Freezing Works were opened by the Wellington Farmers’ Meat Company and lasted until 9 November 1989 when, in the hands of AFFCO, the works were closed as part of an industry rationalisation. Japanese forestry products company Juken Nissho opened a mill just north of the station in February 1992, which continues to transport goods by rail using its own private siding.