Viaducts Against the Sky : Port Craig

The Story of Port Craig: The viaducts and the town site of Port Craig comprise some of New Zealand’s finest industrial heritage which can be explored by tramping tracks. In 1916 the Marlborough Timber Company logged one of the country’s last significant coastal forests in order to build the Dominion’s largest sawmill, with township, tramway and port facilities to match.

Like many other bush towns, Port Craig comprised the usual colourful mix of hardy kiwi bushmen and their families, and recent immigrants trying to eke out a living in their adopted country, plus a few others whose main aim was to keep clear of the law! Port Craig was home to the country’s largest and most technologically advanced sawmill. On its extensive bush tramway ran one of the largest tramway locomotives over New Zealand’s tallest tramway bridge, some years back the subject of a major restoration project. The Port Craig venture collapsed during the Depression and became a ghost town. The mighty viaducts still stand, bearing mute testimony to those pioneering efforts. The easily-graded tramway now provides trampers’ access to the magnificent Waitutu Forest. Never before has Port Craig’s fascinating story been told in a single comprehensive and well-illustrated volume. This book will provide the ideal reference for the historian and tramper alike.

Warren Bird

Soft Cover 240x170mm

184 Pages

ISBN 978-0-908629-71-8