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Greymouth wharf .1977.
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DescriptionGreymouth wharf area and rail yards from the air, September 1977PhotographerDavid WoodDate of Photo1977Map[1] ContributorDavid Wood
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Location (city or town)GreymouthLandmark (Place)Greymouth WharfGreymouth wharf cranesEventCoal exportstransportTimber exports
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Category Tagtransport
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LinkFacebookDate Created5th November 2017CommentsMaye DunnGroup Admin Wow..great photo..busy place.
Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 5:02pm · Edited
Manage
Lyn Wallace
Lyn Wallace Sure was back then Maye . Great play ground when you lived in Blaketown.
Caroline Horwood
If only we could use more rail ow and get all those bkessed trucks off our highways...sorry trucking firms but I travel to Chch a lot lately for post accident appointments and its hard
Roger Strong
We as a nation have spent billions on rail and still it is not economic. What is the point of spending even more money on the rail system when it will lose more and more?
Jeffrey Harrison
Lets see, when the main north line was shut becuase of the quake there was over 2000 trucks a day to do the job of a few trains..... Myself, I'd be much more happy with a few trains then have to share the road with trucks that can have a weight of up to 50 tons... Anyway sometimes it's not about making money but about making things better/safer for people.
David Maciulaitis
Rails losses are only because there isn't a level playing field. Trucking doesn't pay its full share with road maintenance whereas rail pays for everything bridge repairs, track improvements.
Maybe one day trucking lobbyist groups will realise just … See More
Roger Strong
David Maciulaitis But Jeffrey above is saying that subsidies don't matter that 'making things better and safer' are more important no matter how much we pay.
Jeffrey Harrison
Roger I'm saying subsidies for rail don't matter, not that rail gets much anyway, if we have subsidies for rail at the same level as road we would have one of the best railway systems in the world... I'm not anti truck but I really do think NZ should s… See More
· Reply · 2y · Edited
Calum McCreath
It’s all about money...... Rail is a business. A poorly run one that will never make money, but it’s still a business
Cedric Trounson
rail versus road, there is just on 100 000Kilomters of road, there is 8000 kilomtres. rail takes twice as much from the land transport fund than rail does. road is utilised by every body whether pushing a pram or wheel barrow, driving a car or public … See More
Jeffrey Harrison
railways in other parts of the world make money, KiwiRail has in the past and will again but when it has to pay for all of it's track, locos, land etc but the trucking companys don't then how will it ever make money here in NZ, ever Subsidies it to the… See More
Jeffrey Harrison
Cedric then everybody should pay a fair share of the cost for those roads...
Calum McCreath
Even if rail could run efficiently, it can’t make money as the distances are not long enough for the amount of freight carted. Not to mention the economic waste of double handling as how do you deliver from train to delivery site and vice vervain. Or d… See More
Calum McCreath
Added to the fact that trucking companies pay tics, and have to buy their open trucks and land already, . They pay their way and carry the economy.
Jeffrey Harrison
Calum no more double handling as the trucking companys, the truck that picks something up from a company isn't the truck that runs intercity with it. It gets back to what I was saying before, transport modes need to work together for all of NZ and not for each mode.
Heather Newby
badge icon
i can see the road i used to ride my bike along. to get over to Blaketown.. by the time of this photo... the swingbridge was gone.
Alan Smith
I used to work on there with the grey track gang
Neil Martin
Were you one of the Railway sleepers Smithy? Alan Smith
Neil Martin
Timber drying yard for Grey timber Co up at the left top
and Laundry to the right of that.
Martin Griffin
Great shot.. boom times for various products
Lyn Thompson
remember that bridge too ...as a kid jumped off it a few times lol
John Greaney
that was the year I left Greaymouth. town was still busy then.
Dorothy Wills
Was a busy place back then by the look of it
Terry Corkran
Look at all that freight going out of the west coast. My god what happened
Calum McCreath
Yes, what did happen?
Melissa Alsdorf
Greenies.
Sam Meiklejohn
My father was a shunter there in the early 60s and it looks the same from when he worked there
Glenice Hansen
was a busy town so sad all the job losses
Kevin Page
remember biking in from runanga to go fishing off the end of the wharf saturday mornings. then off to wallys for fish and chips at midday. sitting in a rail wagon when it rained too. great times
Peter Merry-rose Dixon
The old goods shed still standing wunder how old she is
John Morel
I was third man in with Ronnie Turner who was the head shunter in the sixtys lots of memories
Alan Carmont
David , do you have any more photos of wharf/ railway yard?
Like · Reply · 1 · Yesterday at 5:02pm · Edited
Manage
Lyn Wallace
Lyn Wallace Sure was back then Maye . Great play ground when you lived in Blaketown.
Caroline Horwood
If only we could use more rail ow and get all those bkessed trucks off our highways...sorry trucking firms but I travel to Chch a lot lately for post accident appointments and its hard
Roger Strong
We as a nation have spent billions on rail and still it is not economic. What is the point of spending even more money on the rail system when it will lose more and more?
Jeffrey Harrison
Lets see, when the main north line was shut becuase of the quake there was over 2000 trucks a day to do the job of a few trains..... Myself, I'd be much more happy with a few trains then have to share the road with trucks that can have a weight of up to 50 tons... Anyway sometimes it's not about making money but about making things better/safer for people.
David Maciulaitis
Rails losses are only because there isn't a level playing field. Trucking doesn't pay its full share with road maintenance whereas rail pays for everything bridge repairs, track improvements.
Maybe one day trucking lobbyist groups will realise just … See More
Roger Strong
David Maciulaitis But Jeffrey above is saying that subsidies don't matter that 'making things better and safer' are more important no matter how much we pay.
Jeffrey Harrison
Roger I'm saying subsidies for rail don't matter, not that rail gets much anyway, if we have subsidies for rail at the same level as road we would have one of the best railway systems in the world... I'm not anti truck but I really do think NZ should s… See More
· Reply · 2y · Edited
Calum McCreath
It’s all about money...... Rail is a business. A poorly run one that will never make money, but it’s still a business
Cedric Trounson
rail versus road, there is just on 100 000Kilomters of road, there is 8000 kilomtres. rail takes twice as much from the land transport fund than rail does. road is utilised by every body whether pushing a pram or wheel barrow, driving a car or public … See More
Jeffrey Harrison
railways in other parts of the world make money, KiwiRail has in the past and will again but when it has to pay for all of it's track, locos, land etc but the trucking companys don't then how will it ever make money here in NZ, ever Subsidies it to the… See More
Jeffrey Harrison
Cedric then everybody should pay a fair share of the cost for those roads...
Calum McCreath
Even if rail could run efficiently, it can’t make money as the distances are not long enough for the amount of freight carted. Not to mention the economic waste of double handling as how do you deliver from train to delivery site and vice vervain. Or d… See More
Calum McCreath
Added to the fact that trucking companies pay tics, and have to buy their open trucks and land already, . They pay their way and carry the economy.
Jeffrey Harrison
Calum no more double handling as the trucking companys, the truck that picks something up from a company isn't the truck that runs intercity with it. It gets back to what I was saying before, transport modes need to work together for all of NZ and not for each mode.
Heather Newby
badge icon
i can see the road i used to ride my bike along. to get over to Blaketown.. by the time of this photo... the swingbridge was gone.
Alan Smith
I used to work on there with the grey track gang
Neil Martin
Were you one of the Railway sleepers Smithy? Alan Smith
Neil Martin
Timber drying yard for Grey timber Co up at the left top
and Laundry to the right of that.
Martin Griffin
Great shot.. boom times for various products
Lyn Thompson
remember that bridge too ...as a kid jumped off it a few times lol
John Greaney
that was the year I left Greaymouth. town was still busy then.
Dorothy Wills
Was a busy place back then by the look of it
Terry Corkran
Look at all that freight going out of the west coast. My god what happened
Calum McCreath
Yes, what did happen?
Melissa Alsdorf
Greenies.
Sam Meiklejohn
My father was a shunter there in the early 60s and it looks the same from when he worked there
Glenice Hansen
was a busy town so sad all the job losses
Kevin Page
remember biking in from runanga to go fishing off the end of the wharf saturday mornings. then off to wallys for fish and chips at midday. sitting in a rail wagon when it rained too. great times
Peter Merry-rose Dixon
The old goods shed still standing wunder how old she is
John Morel
I was third man in with Ronnie Turner who was the head shunter in the sixtys lots of memories
Alan Carmont
David , do you have any more photos of wharf/ railway yard?
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West Coast New Zealand History (2nd Oct 2022). Greymouth wharf .1977.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 5th May 2026 02:54, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/22270