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Omakau pretty much owes its existence to a decision by the Otago Central Railway designers not to put the government to the expense of building a bridge to take the line across the Manukerikia River to Ophir, then the main population centre in the Manuherikia Valley.
In 1904 the line reached what is now Omakau, a township of some 400 hundred offering Rail Trailers a range of accommodation and food and refreshment options. Omakau is a great step off point to visit historic Ophir, 2km away, or for the more fit and enthusiastic, to make a side trip to the Matakanui ghost town and gold diggings. The station site is now empty looking, but records suggest that at times it was New Zealand’s busiest stock loading station. In 1962 alone, Omakau handled 119,736 head of stock. source: www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz/omakau.html Information Centres: |
