The Last Spike Memorial is a monument in the Ruapehu District of New Zealand. It marks the location where the "last spike" was driven in 1908 for the completion of the North Island Main Trunk line.
Location.
The monument is located about north of the locality named Pokaka, immediately north of the Manganuioteao Viaduct, and a short distance south of the Makatote Viaduct.
Description.
A concrete obelisk was erected in early 1909. The monument marks the location where the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, conducted a last spike ceremony on 6 November 1908. A silver-plated spike was used, though the actual last spike was driven in about to the south, to complete work on the Manganuioteao Viaduct (then called Manganui-o-te-Ao), where temporary tracks met on 3 August 1908. The monument is four-sided, high and across the base, with black lettering on a white marble slab. It was about to the west of the line, but moved a further west in 1973. It is marked by road signs on State Highway 4 and a small carpark.
Recognition.
As part of its "Engineering to 1990" project, the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ; now Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau) added the central section of the North Island Main Trunk line to its engineering heritage register. In 1997, IPENZ put two new brass inscription plates on the monument. On 10 December 2004, the monument was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand) as a Category II structure, with the registration number 7575.
References.
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