Tuatapere railway precinct reopens

Despite the rain, the opening of the new railway precinct had a good turnout. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

The town of Tuatapere had an exciting weekend with the reopening of its railway precinct, known as The Station.

The refurbished precinct includes a heritage and tourism hub, The Station cafe and Slinky’s Ukrainian sourdough bakery.

The event last Saturday had speeches from Tuatapere Community Board chair Anne Horrell and Southland Mayor Rob Scott as well as input from the Tuatapere Railway and Heritage Charitable Trust.

After the ribbon-cutting, attendees were treated to a Highland dancing performance.

In a statement, Tuatapere Railway and Heritage Charitable Trust member Jason Christini-Crawford said most of the work has been done and the differences were already noticeable.

During the ribbon-cutting for the newly refurbished Tuatapere station are (from left) Tuatapere Te Waewae Community Board member Wayne Edgerton, Southland Mayor Rob Scott and Tuatapere Community Board chair Anne Horrell.

"It looks incredible in there, it’s a beauty compared to what it was."

This reopening is the culmination of 1400 hours of work, including voluntary labour from the trust and members of the community.

There was potential for the building to be demolished, but Tuatapere Te Waewae Community Board member Wayne Edgerton and other members of the community helped save it.

In January 2023 the community board received over $300,000 to help develop the rail tourism precinct.

The project began construction in 2025 with improvements being made to the building including exterior bitumen, installing double doors, and buying display room items.

Mr Christini-Crawford said the Southland District Council had been a huge help in keeping the project moving forward.