Kokiri Tramway
| Kokiri Tramway | |||||||||||||||||
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 Horses - Forest Railway near Kokiri, around 1890
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| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) | ||||||||||||||||
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The Kokiri Tramway was a forest railway operated at least from 1895 to 1902 with a gauge of 3 feet 6 inches (1067 mm) at Kokiri on the Arnold River in western New Zealand's South Island .
history
William James Butler (born March 18, 1858 in Leamington , Warwickshire , England ) and his brother Joseph Butler (born March 1, 1862 in Leamington ) had saved so much money in 1892 that they could buy a large sawmill in Kokiri, whose there sawn timber they exported to Australia. They pioneered the use of a steam-powered winch in New Zealand, and as early as 1895 they used a steam locomotive on wooden rails. The use of the steam-powered cable winch led to a high level of economy when moving heavy trunks out of the bush. The winch was so powerful that wood that had once been left behind in the bush could be extracted with little effort.
Their well known sawmill was one of the largest in Westland and was one of the leading sawmills in the South Island. It was equipped with modern machinery imported from England and America so that it was able to produce 95 solid meters (40,000 super feet ) of wood per week. The sawmill operated full-time around 1906 to facilitate brisk trade in New Zealand and Australia. In the sister colonies, the name Butler Brothers was known to all users of New Zealand woods at this time. The company's Westland bush covered an area of 800 hectares (2000 acres ) and consisted primarily of rimu slices , New Zealand warthogs and stone slices . They shipped Manoao colensoi wood in bulk directly to Melbourne , where it was used to make butter boxes.
On the advice of a government expert, the company, along with other traders, exported large quantities of timber to London , but the results were discouraging. Between thirty and forty people worked in connection with the sawmill of the Butler Brothers, who had also earned a good reputation as bridge builders on the west coast. The brothers sold their Kokiri sawmill in 1902 and then focused on a new business she as White Pine Company of New Zealand in Naumai the Wairoa River in Northland had established to Kauri and Kahikatea to exported to Australia.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Michael Roche: Butler, Joseph and Butler, William James , Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published 1996. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ↑ a b c The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts). The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1906, Christchurch.
Coordinates: 42 ° 29 ′ 32 ″ S , 171 ° 23 ′ 14 ″ E