Situation.
The Kaitangata Branch Railway leaves the Main Trunk Line at the Stirling Station on the northern bank of the Clutha River, and runs eastward to the Township and Coal Field of Kaitangata, a distance of 4½ miles. The Branch passes right through the Township of Kaitangata, and strikes the Coal Field, about the middle of the western margin; it also runs close to the Clutha River at this point, which is practically the head of the deep water navigation. This line is, to all intents and purposes, the one recommended by me to the Provincial Government of Otago in 1873 (see "Votes and Proceedings of Provincial Council, Session XXXII"), and it is the shortest route by which the Coal Field can be brought into direct communication with the markets on all sides. The following table shows the distance by rail from your line to the different centres of population:—
South. |
Balclutha |
7 miles |
Waiwera |
22 miles |
Clinton |
26 miles |
Waipahi |
36 miles |
Gore |
49 milespage 4 |
West. |
Waitahuna |
32 miles |
Lawrence |
39 miles |
North. |
Milton |
19 miles |
Waihola |
28 miles |
Greytown |
30 miles |
Mosgiel |
45 miles |
Dunedin |
54 miles |