Ngawapurua Bridge Pahiatua to Woodville Road, New Zealand

For the last 3 years or more I have driven, once a week, the 35 minutes each way from Palmerston North to Pahiatua. Pahiatua (pop 2500) is a small sleepy town halfway between Woodville and Masterton. The road passes through the Pahiatua township and is quite busy at times as it links the Tararua and Wairarapa districts together and is a main route (State Highway 2) to the capital, Wellington.



I took this photo in the late afternoon on a clear winter day in June I think. The light was lovely and I liked the view from the top of the hill overlooking the Manawatu River and Ngawapurua Bridges and surrounding farmland. The Ngawapurua Bridge which is around 6 miles north of Pahiatua was opened 6 April 1965 by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake. It replaced the old Ngawapurua Bridge, a combined road-rail bridge, which you can see on the right. If you are interested in the history of the old Ngawapurua bridge there is an interesting newspaper article from 1904 about who should foot the bill for its construction.


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