The Stationhouse Café
was originally built in 1901 and it remained so until 1963 when a new residence
was built next door. The house was sold to a local person as a
residence. In 1993 it was sold again and turned into tearooms, only
serving lunches, morning & afternoon teas, a few years later the demand for
evening meals was requested. The mountains in the distance from left
to right are Mt Alexander, Te Kinga ( The King ), Taratama and French.
Moana is one of the last railway precinct left standing in New Zealand with the
Railway Station, Goods Shed, Foot Bridge and the Stationmaster's house (
Stationhouse Cafe ). In the early nineteenth century Timber mills started
everywhere on the coast. Moana was one of the areas. Mills started
at Moana, Ruru, Kotuku, Aratika and Te Kinga. The logs mainly from Rimu, Kahikatea ( white
pine ) were barged from one side of the lake to the mills at Moana & Te
Kinga. Over the years logs fell off the barges & sunk, barges also
overturned in bad weather. At the Te Kinga mill if a log arrived with too
many knots in it they threw it back in the lake as they were using the timber
for framing in those days. In the 1980's most of the mills closed
down. In 2001 Ray Thomas approached DOC, West Coast Regional Council and
the local Maori tribe for permission to retrieve the sunken logs, there were
over 700 logs in the lake and the Rimu logs were valued at $7000 each.
The logs were still in perfect condition under the water. Ray was given
permisson and so far has raised about 300 of the logs. Some that went
down in the middle of the lake will never be retreived as it is too deep.
Most of the Rimu logs are milled and sold to furniture factories. |