South Island Main Trunk, 1874

This painting from 1874 by Eliot Whately shows the Washdyke lagoon north of Timaru and the railway line. The line was soon to reach Temuka to the north, and its central placement in the picture might have been intended to emphasise the South Canterbury region’s progress. The snow-capped Four Peaks Range is in the background. The complete line between Christchurch and Dunedin was opened in September 1878 and from Dunedin to Invercargill four months later. Christchurch and Picton were not linked until 1945 however.

See the book South Island Main Trunk for more.