Turning the 'first sod' of the Temuka-Timaru railway, 1871

The first sod for the Temuka to Timaru section of the planned South Island ‘main trunk’ railway was turned by the Mayoress of Timaru, Mrs Cain, at a ceremony on 4 October 1871. By 1879 this railway – one of the great achievements of the Vogel rail-building programme – would stretch all the way from Christchurch to Invercargill.

Newspapers reported that there ‘was a large crowd present and the day was generally observed as a holiday’. First sod and ‘last spike’ ceremonies, celebrating the commencement and completion of railway projects, were major social and community events in the later 19th century.

See also: enlarged detail of this image and a report of the ceremony in the Evening Post