Name

There has been some confusion around the name of Te Aute. On 8 December 1912 the name of the next station, Pukehou, was changed to Te Aute^[5] (Te Aute College is near Pukehou)^[7] and Te Aute was changed to Te Nahu. Then, on 14 September 1913 the name was changed to Opapa and Pukehou reverted to its original name.^[5] It was reported in 1915 that the new name was still not popular, as it had been defaced 9 times.^[8] From the 1930s the address 'Te Aute, Opapa' was sometimes used.^[9]

Construction and alterations

Te Aute station was first built between 1874 and 1876. It was part of the Paki Paki to Waipukurau contract, tendered on 15 July 1874 for £19,532 by Charles McKirdy, of Wellington, who built the Rimutaka Incline and several other lines.^[10] A local contractor tendered £29,173.^[11] There were allegations of mismanagement^[12] and disputes about the contracts.^[13] However, in 1876, the Minister for Public Works, Edward Richardson, attributed delays only to unexpectedly heavy land claims and floods. S Tracey and Allen, of Napier, tendered £7,989 for track for the Paki Paki-Waipawa length in September 1875.^[14] Te Aute station was tendered on 12 April 1875, the platform on 17 May and the goods shed on 25 August. Joseph Sowrey got the £195 contract to build the station on 30 August and completed it by 29 October, the £485, 40 ft (12 m) x 30 ft (9.1 m) goods shed by 14 February 1876 and a water tank by 26 May 1876. McLeod & Co built a 5th class stationmaster's house and loading platform by 26 October 1875.^[5][15] There was a Post Office at the station from 1885 to 1949, with a telephone from 1914.^[5]

On 10 October 1895 a fire started in the refreshment rooms^[16] and burnt down the station,^[17] but just 6 days later authority was given for a new station. By 1896 Te Aute had a 5th class station, platform, cart approach, loading bank, cattle and sheep yards, fixed signals, stationmaster's house, urinals and a passing loop for 36 wagons.^[5] In 1912 an automatic tablet exchanger was added.^[5] Railway houses were built in 1926, 1934, 1938 and 1948.^[5] In the 1931 earthquake the station was described as badly wrecked.^[18] Electric lighting came in 1940.^[19]

Refreshment rooms

Refreshment rooms were added in 1878.^[5] In 1882 the station was described as, "utterly miserable and inadequate both in regards office and waiting accommodation, the telegraph wants accommodation, and the refreshment building unsuitable, does not belong to Department, and the owners ask too much for it". Some buildings were moved from Hastings in 1883, but not a refreshment room. In 1885 the refreshment room licensee raised the roof and made improvements.^[5] From 22 March 1887 trains stopped for at least 5 minutes at Te Aute.^[20] Complaints were made in 1896 that trains didn't stop long enough for refreshments.^[21] In 1889 £175 was spent to add a ladies room.^[22]

In November 1895 £45 was approved for erecting railway-owned refreshment rooms to replace the burnt ones. From then on they were let by 3-yearly tenders,^[23] until at least 1912.^[24] A 2010 guide said the rooms were open from 1897 to 1945.^[25] The refreshment rooms were at the north end of the platform, separate from the main building.^[26] Aerial photos indicate that the rooms were demolished between 1965^[27] and 1972.^[28]

Services

Te Aute had 3 trains in 1885

Initially Te Aute was a temporary terminus, 28 mi (45 km) from Spit. It isn't clear when the extension from Paki Paki opened. It may have been 11,^[1] or 12 February,^[29] though Parliament was told opening was on 16 February 1876.^[30] Whichever, it seems the passenger trains still ran only to Paki Paki, at least until late March 1876^[31] and Te Aute continued to be served by a mail coach,^[12] the horses being changed at Te Aute.^[32] The train/coach journey from Napier to Wellington then took 2½ days.^[33] Te Aute remained the terminus until Monday 28 August 1876, when the line was extended to Waipawa.^[5] Te Aute then had 3 trains a day in each direction,^[34] reduced to 2 in 1881^[35] and back to 3 in 1883.^[36] From the opening of the link to Wellington in 1891, Te Aute had 4 trains a day in each direction,^[37] which continued in 1896.^[38] Opapa featured in annual returns from 1895^[39] to 1918,^[40] when it lost its officered station status.^[41] For example, in 1917 Opapa issued 3,077 tickets and loaded 69,137 sheep.^[42]

Closure and restoration

The station closed to passengers in about 1966 and the goods yard was lifted in 1981.^[43] Tablet control ended in 1991.^[26]

In 1994 a few people started restoring the station and, in 1996, formed Friends of Opapa Railway Station Incorporated Society. The Society re-piled the station in 1998 and replaced fascias, gutters, wall boards and toilets in 1999,^[26] but was dissolved in 2004.^[44] Opapa Railway Heritage Trust had replaced it in 2015.^[45]

Te Aute bank

Te Aute has a 1 in 46 gradient to the south of it,^[46] Pukehou being 51 m (167 ft) higher than Te Aute.^[2] To give trains a faster run at the bank, the curve at its foot was eased from 10 ch (200 m) to 21 ch (420 m) in 1938.^[47]