Hump Ridge Track - History

History

The Waitutu area was visited by early māori in search of food from the sea, rivers and forests. Kaika or hunting camps were sited on the banks of the Waiau River, near Tuatapere, and the river crossed by mokihi or rafts. Tracks led along the terraces and beaches, probably very close to the track of today, providing access to Sandhill Point, the Wairaurahiri River and beyond.

The coastal track was first cut by government workers in 1896 to provide an alternative to the unreliable shipping service to Cromarty and Te Oneroa, gold mining settlements of Preservation Inlet.

In 1908 a telephone line was installed along the track linking the Puysegur Point lighthouse with Orepuki. Insulators, wire and old maintenance workers' huts can still be found today.

During the 1920s Port Craig, New Zealand was the site of the largest and most modern sawmill in New Zealand. The Marlborough Timber Company mill employed over 200 men and produced up to 1800 cubic metres of timber a month.

Logs were brought to the mill along a high class tramway from the terrace forests to the west, between Port Craig, New Zealand and the Wairaurahiri River. Large viaducts were constructed from Australian hardwood to carry the tramlines over ravines. The largest, the Percy Burn viaduct, is 125 metres long and 36 metres above the creek bed. It was fully repaired in 1994. The other viaducts were refurbished in 1999.

By the time milling ceased in 1929, about 14 square kilometres of forest had been logged, the timber being shipped directly from Port Craig, New Zealand. Old wharf piles remain, along with old building materials and the Port Craig school, which has been converted into a hut for trampers.