Kamo

Kamo is a small township north of Whangarei, approximately five minutes drive from the Whangarei CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "eyelash",[1] but has also been said to mean "to bubble up", referring to hot springs in the area.[2] Mount Parakiore is a volcanic dome rising 391 m to the northwest of the town. It is about one million years old, and part of the Harbour Fault which also includes Mount Hikurangi near Hikurangi, and Parihaka in Whangarei

Kamo – Kawakawa

In the latter half of the 1880s, impetus developed to link Kamo and Kawakawa. Surveys had already been undertaken in 1879 and 1883 for a line, but both times, government disapproval blocked construction. Ultimately, a dispute about the fate of the Puhipuhi forest brought about the extension. Logging interests wished to chop down the forest, but lacked viable transportation to Whangarei so the timber could be exported; others wished to burn the forest so the land could be used for agriculture. In 1888, fires were started deliberately in the forest and it became obvious that considerable timber wealth would be lost if a railway were not built soon. The local member of parliament announced the construction of a tramway on 7 August 1889, but both that year and next, the Public Works Department (PWD) rebuffed him.

In 1891, Whangarei interests established a syndicate to extend the line under the Railways Construction and Land Act of 1881,[16] and their detailed offer prompted the newly elected government. The Railway Authorisation and Management Act of 1891 [17] approved the extension by transferring funds from a plan to duplicate the line from central Auckland to Penrose.[18]

Initially, the syndicate was disappointed with the government's progress, as work did not commence until March 1892 due to a shortage of labour. However, by 2 July 1894, the line was opened to Waro. Locals believed this was the first part of the link to Kawakawa, but Richard Seddon had not authorised the full project, just the extension to the Puhipuhi forest. This was originally meant to terminate in Whakapara, but a further extension to Waiotu was required to provide easier access and this opened on 28 December 1898. A further extension to Hukerenui was requested, but it was delayed due to the failure of the Railway Authorisation Act of 1898 to pass parliament. Considerable political pressure was applied to close the gap between the Kawakawa and Whangārei sections as the road in between was poor and muddy, and the Railway Authorisation Act of 1899 accordingly authorised Waiotu – Hukerenui along with 8 km of line south from Kawakawa. The succeeding year's Act allowed for the construction of the remaining 24 km to complete the line via Otiria.[18]

On 1 March 1901, the line was opened to Hukerenui, and by 1904, the PWD was able to run trains south of Kawakawa for 12.8 km. However, a lack of detailed surveys, poor finances, unstable terrain, and the PWD being overburdened with jobs contributed to a slow rate of progress. In May 1910, the 7 km section from Hukerenui to Towai was able to open, and the full section was finally completed the next year. It was handed over from the PWD to the New Zealand Railways Department on 13 April 1911, thus linking Whangarei to the Bay of Islands. Construction had cost nearly a million dollars.[18]