Restoring History: Mataura Railway Station Transfer Ceremony

Good morning.

First, acknowledgements to the dignitaries gathered today including Mayor Ben Bell, local and regional councillors, heritage leaders including from Heritage New Zealand, rail and engineering leaders, and members of the community.

We are joined by the Honourable Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities and a local Member of Parliament here in Southland.

Thank you to KiwiRail’s Vanessa Oakley for your words today, but more importantly for facilitating the transfer of ownership of this historic station to the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand.

We also acknowledge Duncan Roy, head of the Interislander and a Southlander whose parents first met here at this Station.

Thank you to Dr Murray King for his words on behalf of the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand, and more importantly for taking on this restoration project in addition to the many heritage projects the Trust has delivered for decades.

We have come all the way to Mataura from the Winterless North, three days before Spring, to celebrate a very special occasion.

As you have heard, this important feature of New Zealand’s industrial and rail heritage will be restored.

To adapt a rail phrase, ‘demolition by neglect stops here.’ The Mataura Railway Station was built in 1921, on a railway line that first opened in 1875 thanks in no small part to one of New Zealand’s most important leaders: Sir Julius Vogel.

This nation was built on rail, enabling extensive development of the industries that turned us into a leading export nation.

And we can do it all again too, but that is a different speech.

This station was designed by Sir George Troup, then the Railway Architect and later the Mayor of Wellington.

Sir George’s stations dot the New Zealand map, and this is a particularly special example.

It still retains the original arts and crafts features designed by Sir George.

Its symmetrical form, gabled roof, original cresting and shiplap weatherboards are a sight to behold.

This is a building that wants to be seen.

And the best use of heritage is to use it.

This Station has sat derelict on Main Street for far too long.

Unlike others who believe heritage buildings and structures should be left in the past, we understand their importance to communities, to our national identity, and to our future.

In Wellington, the local MP wants to tear down statues.

We have news for her: the past doesn’t go away just because you hide from it.

The past is with us every day.

We either learn from our past by understanding our history, or we live in ignorance.

This Station is not just as you see it today – in need of a new roof, replacing rotten weatherboards, painting over the tagging, and fixing the hole in the floor.

This Station is a symbol of our national character.

Because only fools steam ahead without knowing where they have come from.

Communities, like this one who have campaigned to save this Station, are not fools.

We are for the people.

When the people say they want to see a building restored, and we have responsibility for it, we put our minds to the task to find out how to do it.

KiwiRail is a commercial enterprise.

The revenue it earns, like every other business, goes back into its bottom line to pay for its staff, pay its bills, and invest for its future.

That revenue is not available for worthy public causes.

So that is where we, the Government, come in.

We provide a small amount of funding each year to KiwiRail for public good purposes.

That funding pays for important items like Rail Safety Week, the modest annual campaign to lift awareness of safety.

It subsidises heritage rail operators to access the rail network so that we, the public, can enjoy steam locomotives and historic carriages right here on our network.

We wrote to KiwiRail’s new chair, Sue Tindal, who regrettably gives her apologies for this event, and requested they consider lifting their annual contribution to the Rail Heritage Trust so that it can do more with local volunteers and donors to save our industrial heritage.

Ms Tindal discussed this with her board, and they determined to lift the contribution from $120,000 to $500,000 per year.

This is the type of funding that makes a real difference – multiplied by the volunteer labourers and donors who chip in to make it all work.

And we are pleased to see KiwiRail and the Trust agree to a transfer of ownership and the prioritising of this restoration as job number one.

We hope the Council might come to the party with some funding also.

It joins other positive endeavours, like the Trust and KiwiRail’s work to restore the Moana footbridge on the West Coast – itself part of a largely intact railway yard with multiple buildings cared for by the Trust.

This building, once restored, has a prominent location right here on Main Street.

The Trust will want tenants – a café, a gallery, an office.

Tourism operators like Dunedin Railways and KiwiRail might even see the potential in bringing their customers here.

Today, as they say, is just the beginning.

Now, let’s have a look around the building.

Thank you very much.