 The Wellington Provincial Government established a committee to investigate proposals, and on 2 July 1866, it passed the Wellington, Hutt and Wairarapa Railway Ordinance.The act authorised a railway employing either or to carry 200 tonnes at speeds of , but construction did not commence as sufficient funds were not available in the fledgling New Zealand colony, nor were they successfully raised in England.In 1870, Julius Vogel included a Wellington-Wairarapa railway in his Great Public Works Policy and visited London to arrange a loan to finance the policy.