Paekakariki Station Museum - History
The Paekakariki Station Precinct Trust was formed in 1993 by a group of people from the local community, who were concerned about the very fast decline of Paekakariki’s rail heritage. The primary objective was and remains to ensure that the 1909 built railway station was saved from destruction. To achieve this goal, the Paekakariki Station Precinct Trust was formed and work commenced on a complete rebuild of the dilapidated station interior. The completion of this major reconstruction work saw the Paekakariki Rail and Heritage Museum opened in 1995.
During 1992 rumour had it that our railway station was either going to be physically bulldozed or downsized. The station building itself is a famous Paekakariki landmark and local town folk were abhorred with the thought of a small plastic shelter, as well as any other radical alteration that would change the look of the town. Besides, the town had already lost the original refreshment girl’s hostel to accidental fire. The old hostel used to stand in Ames Street, later being used as a railway employee’s house. In the early 1990’s, the railway station itself was damaged in an arson attempt. Fortunately the local volunteer fire brigade were on the job very quickly and the old building was saved.
