The Paekākāriki Station Museum has recently published Railway Recollections of Wellington, a book of black and white photos taken by John David Buckley who was a New Zealand Railways (NZR) worker and train driver from 1923 to 1963.
JD Buckley was also an enthusiastic photographer, and this book captures some historic recollections of rail (and some road) travel and development between Wellington and Otaki mainly during the 1930s and 40s.
John moved to Paekākāriki in 1934, living in one of the railway cottages in the village. During the four years he lived there, he purchased a barbershop which he converted into a darkroom
Full house – three trains crossing at Otaki. Taken from the top of the water vat in the Otaki yard. January 5, 1935
Paekākāriki has always been an important town in the railway history of New Zealand, starting in 1886 with the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR), becoming a crucial locomotive depot for changing engines on the steep Paekākāriki Hill.
Paekākākari was also the terminal station of the commuter service from 1940 to 1983, when the service was extended to Paraparaumu, and to Waikanae in 2011.
Busy day at Paekākāriki February 16, 1936
Standing near the bridge over the Hutt Road, heading north from Wellington on the 29th of March 1940 John took a photo (below) of the KA 930 locomotive pulling the funeral train of Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage. The seventh carriage which has a faint white cross on it contained the coffin.
He eventually moved back to Ngaio in Wellington and lived there until he passed away in 1983, leaving behind a library of 45,000 negatives – a treasure trove of images capturing a significant era of New Zealand’s railway history.
Chair of the Paekākāriki Station Museum Trust Dave Johnson says that our community museums are vital as recipients and guardians of local, regional and national history – items that end up in community museums often happen through small conversations that lead to a myriad of connections and unexpected treasures.
“With JD Buckley I happened to see some of his photos posted by his daughter on Facebook. I contacted her and it turned out she lived up the road in Otaki. We arranged to
meet, and she showed me a huge pile of his extraordinary rail-related photos. I was aware of her dad’s photography as he had taken quite a few of Paekākāriki and we had enlarged his “Paekākāriki Refreshment Ladies” photo (below) which is on display in the museum.”
As the story unfolded, Dave found out that Mr Buckley’s wife was the daughter of Mrs Earley who happened to the first official postmistress of Paekākāriki and she in turn was the daughter of Mr Cooper who was the Paekākāriki School headmaster from 1899-1922. Because of all the connections, a relation of the Cooper’s, donated the school desk Mr Cooper originally used to the museum.
Coincidences continued and early in 2025 Kim Earley from Vermont USA visited the museum. Interested in researching his family history, he contacted Dave who was able to connect him with JD Buckley’s daughter in Otaki – relations who may never have known about each other if it hadn’t been for the museum’s connections and coincidences.
Another Paekākāriki train connection: now on display in the Paekākāriki Station Museum a particularly ornate silver tea set which was presented to Mr & Mrs B Blackburn as a “mark of esteem from the Settlers of PAIKAKARIKI – April 24th 1903.’
This purchase came from The Gypsy-rose Tea Museum Taradale. The owner had acquired the tea set and contacted Dave as he was interested in finding out some information about station master Mr Blackburn. Last November Dave happened to see that the Gypsy-rose Tea Museum was closing down. Keen to relocate the tea set back to Paekākāriki a deal was struck and it is now back in the museum as a part of the local history.
Mr Barnabas Blackburn had served twenty-five years on the New Zealand Government Railway in different positions including stationmaster, post-master and telephonist. He was promoted to the position of stationmaster at Paikakariki (as it was written then) in September 1895.
The Paekākāriki Station Museum has many items and displays, reflecting the different aspects of our railway history as well as other significant stories and items reflecting the rich culture of our local, Māori, and regional heritage.
The museum is easy to find nestled in the historic railway station on the platform at Paekākāriki. Open Saturday and Sunday and most public holidays from 11am to 3pm. Visits outside these hours can be arranged, contact details on the website.
The book Railway Recollections of Wellingon – photos from JD Buckley, NZR 1923-1963 can be purchased at the the museum, or from some of the local village shops, or contact Stationmaster@Stationmuseum.org.nz.
