Public Works Department camp

A Public Works Department camp at Hāpuawhenua, near Ōhakune. Working and living conditions for the thousands of men who built the North Island main trunk line were primitive. A visitor to Raurimu in 1908 described how 'Continuous heavy rain, with occasional hail, sleet and snow, much fog, miry clay, and a tangled bed of wild undergrowth knitting together the forest giants, made a tough job for the workers.'

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The North Island main trunk line

Keywords

workers rights

railways

painting

public works

Credit

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: C-065-006
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.