1959: Oxford Branch Closed

April 19, 2024

By AHNZ

In early 1959 the Labour 2.0 Ministry signaled that 6 under-performing government railway lines were under threat. This included Oxford Branch (est. 1875) which was duly culled on 19 April of that year. The Minister for Railways was Mick Moohan.

The other lines that were to close were Ngapara, Donnelly’s Crossing, Foxton, and Waikaia. They were all within electorates safely held by the National Party. So, while there was an economic reason to end them there was also a political blow to be struck ahead of the 1960 election. It’s always a good idea when writing an Anarchist History to consider what State History will not and cannot which is that partisan politics explains far more than explanations offered by government propaganda organs.

Oxford Branch railway had been goods-only since 9 February 1931 when link from the Eyreton Branch was also closed. 1875: Eyreton Branch Line, AHNZ

The local Member for Hurunui, William Gillespie, was a born and bred Oxford man and protested the shutting down of the line. He suggested it was a stitch-up and said freight had gone up not down. And, the loss for this line wasn’t as great as the main South Island railway had experienced over the same period. 

In fact, despite the official closing of Oxford branch in April there were still 1,000 tons of logs freighted out of there using special trains at a later date.

“If what was promised then had been carried out by the Railways Department, the line would not need to have been closed. Mr Gillespie said that on a mileage basis the loss on the Oxford line had been considerably less than that on the main South Island system. The Minister had said that the amount of traffic was negligible, and that the freight could be carried by a few lorries, but this was not correct.” – Press (1959,) Papers Past

“The Foxton branch line, the oldest railway in the Wellington province, which began as a tramway in 1873, was closed with due ceremony on Saturday. More than 200 people travelled from Palmerston North to Foxton and back on a special last excursion..The Mayor of Foxton (Mr E. Field) said it was with mixed feelings that older people who knew the part that the railways had played in the development of the Manawatu saw the end of the line. He considered that the authorities had adopted a defeatist attitude. Foxton had lost its shipping, it had lost its railway station, and now it had lost its railway.” – Press (July, 1959,) Papers Past

“..if road transport had to be relied on it was likely that the mill would have to close. The property would practically be worthless, and 11 men would be thrown out of work.” – Effect on Oamaru of Closing Railway Line, Press (1959)

“The closing of the Dargaville Donelly’s Crossing branch railway line drew a protest from 75 settlers who attended a public meeting at Donnelly’s Crossing last night. The Minister of Railways (Mr Moohan) announced that the line would be closed as from July 18. Mr S. W. Smith, member of Parliament for Hobson, who attended the meeting, agreed to sent a telegram to the Minister on behalf of the settlers emphatically protesting against the closing of the line before an all weather tar-sealed road was provided….It will be brought to Mr Moohan’s attention that road services do not consider that the road from Dargaville to Donnelly’s Crossing is suitable for their buses.” – NZPA, Press (April, 1959)

OXFORD EAST

Oxford Branch 20.63 from Junction on SIMT at Rangiora
Line opened 21.6.1875 and operated by Canterbury Provincial Council
Hurunui Bluff WTT 1.5.1883 5th class.
AJHR D2 1913 Verandah added.
‘AJHR F1 1888 Post Office placed in charge of Railway S/M
Closed as offericed station 3.2.1952 DTM Christchurch C/M 52/13 of 6.2.1952.
Closed as attended station 21.6.1958 DTM
Christchurch C/M 38/50 of 18.6.1958.
Line closed 19.4.1959 (13)

– Ref. Before ‘A’ Class. manuscript. Shared by Jeff Pyle, New Zealand Railway stations then & now, Facebook (2024)

The users of the other lines wailed too but it was no good. And they didn’t vote Labour did they?  “We don’t want to close anyone down nor cause any injustice,” said Minister Mick. But Foxton was hurt in the heart as well as Oxford. The mill at Ngapara needed its railway line and without it would become “a ghost town” but away it went just the same. Despite politicians being vocal and seen with protesters to all these closings the changes were not reversed when National 2.0 came to power in 1960.

Mick’s Massacre

It’s true that there had been a railways royal commission in 1954 that provided cover for Mick Moohan’s decision to cut all these railways in 1959. It’s also true that his targets were overwhelmingly within the zone of National Party electorates. These selections would not hurt Labour’s vote but they would demoralise their opposition…

Moutohora Branch: Closed 24 March 1959
Oxford Branch: Closed 19 April, 1959
Waikaia: Closed 16 May, 1959
Foxton: Closed 18 July, 1959
Donnelly’s Crossing: Closed 19 July, 1959
Ngapara: Closed (partly) 31 July, 1959

Times were changing in New Zealand’s great circulatory system. Just as railways had booted out riverboats and horses they were now being replaced by trucks and cars on roads. Which is better? We can never know what a free market would do because the government has always been interfering.

Least the voter think that Labour 2.0 we against the railways there were two big moves following Mick’s Massacre.

In February 1960 Minister Moohan presented a special “fast” train dubbed The Moohan Rocket (image, left.) I think this was simply an election gimmick similar to the ‘Fuel Fighter 661′ Rob Muldoon used for attention during the election year of 1981. Ref. 1980: Fuel Fighter 661, Rob Muldoon’s Distracto-Train, AHNZ

Then, in March of 1960 Prime Minister Walter Nash and Moohan visited Nelson and ceremonially started construction on a Nelson-Blenheim Railway that never happened. Ref. 1960: Nelson-Blenheim Railway, AHNZ

Railways policy evidently wasn’t going to save Labour 2.0 from defeat at General Election 1960. Moohan, an old Labour 1.0 man, hated the new Labour people and preferred the company of old Nats or even young ones like Rob Muldoon who he sat with and fed ammunition to. After the debris of defeat was cleared away he was back in the cool kid’s table again when Norman Kirk became Labour’s new leader. However, he didn’t live long enough to see it pay off.

—
Image ref. East Oxford as David Howe saw it in 1986. Howe, New Zealand Railway stations then & now, Facebook (2023)

Image ref. East Oxford c.1910s attribution unknown. ibid

Ref. Oxford Among Six To Be Closed, Press (1959,) Papers Past 

Ref. Rails That Built A Nation, Robin Bromby (2003)

Ref. His Way – A Biography of Robert Muldoon, Barry Gustafson (2000)

Like    Comment     Share