Misplaced Pages

#769230

60-500: The Strath Taieri (sometimes spelt Strath-Taieri ) is a large glacial valley and river plateau in New Zealand 's South Island . It is surrounded by the rugged hill ranges to the north and west of Otago Harbour . Since 1989 it has been part of the city of Dunedin . The small town of Middlemarch is located at its southern end. The name is a hybrid word , from Strath (anglicised Irish and Scots Gaelic srath ), meaning

120-572: A broad river valley, and the Māori name Taieri pronunciation (alternative spelling Taiari) of the river which runs through it. There is evidence that moa hunters (1300–1500) were once active on the Strath Taieri, the Taieri Gorge , at Deep Stream and Rocklands on the adjacent plateau to the south. A Māori route from the coast to the interior lay along the valley. Activity during

180-724: A hydro-electric power station in the Cromwell Gorge on the Clutha River . The dam flooded the gorge, through which the line ran, to form Lake Dunstan . The branch begins at Wingatui railway station on the Main South Line south of Dunedin. After the branch line closed, the first four kilometres were retained in the national railway network as a service line to local industries. The Dunedin Railways (formerly known as Taieri Gorge Railway) line officially begins at

240-438: A number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, plate tectonics movements, and erosion by water and glaciers. Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity . The Columbia Plateau in the north-western United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava. The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from

300-739: A population density of 0.35 people per km. Strath Taieri had a population of 666 at the 2018 New Zealand census , a decrease of 48 people (−6.7%) since the 2013 census , and a decrease of 48 people (−6.7%) since the 2006 census . There were 267 households, comprising 369 males and 300 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.23 males per female. The median age was 43.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 135 people (20.3%) aged under 15 years, 84 (12.6%) aged 15 to 29, 366 (55.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 84 (12.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.5% European/ Pākehā , 9.9% Māori , 0.5% Pasifika , and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas

360-553: A river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later,

420-622: Is divided into three main flat regions: the Bogotá savanna , the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá , and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso . The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano , (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of

480-710: Is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area. Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1,500 metres, but below 2,100 metres, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of the largest South African urban agglomerations . In Egypt are the Giza Plateau and Galala Mountain , which

540-545: Is the Scottish Highlands . Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment. The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1,500 metres (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4,550 metres (14,928 ft). It

600-572: Is the home of more than 70 million people. The Western Plateau , part of the Australian Shield , is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation between 305 and 460 metres. The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes,

660-895: The Deccan Plateau (≈1,900,000 km (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft)). A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau , which covers about 337,000 km (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado , Arizona , New Mexico , and Utah . In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon . This came to be over 10 million years ago,

SECTION 10

#1732772234770

720-586: The Deccan Plateau in India and the Meseta Central on the Iberian Peninsula . Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. An example

780-775: The Otago Central Railway from the South Island's main trunk line, which lay along the coast, began in 1879. Its route was projected to cross the Taieri Plain and follow the Taieri Gorge upstream to Strath Taieri, which it would then traverse from south to north as the main route to Central Otago. The gorge presented formidable obstacles, to which the existing bridges and tunnels are now picturesque testimony. The line reached Middlemarch in April 1891, spurring

840-463: The Taieri Gorge . Wingatui Viaduct has been the largest wrought iron structure in New Zealand since it was built in 1887 and is the longest and tallest (47 m) bridge on the line. The railway remains in the Taieri Gorge for 25 km, crossing 16 major bridges with a total length of 1020 m and passing through 10 tunnels with a total length of 1491 m. Further notable viaducts along

900-408: The mantle , causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust. Tectonic plateaus are formed by tectonic plate movements which cause uplift, and are normally of a considerable size, and a fairly uniform altitude. Examples are

960-567: The " Roof of the World ", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates . The Tibetan Plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards

1020-607: The "strath" in February 1851. The Otago Provincial government was established in 1852, whose territory included the region. It seems Duncan Stewart, his wife and their children were living on the site of what was later the Barewood homestead, on the Barewood run, by late 1853 or early 1854. John Sutton was granted the Barewood Run in 1854 before it was surveyed. Between 1857 and 1859 much of the land in and around Strath Taieri

1080-460: The "strath" soon after their marriage in 1869. She is credited with calling the private township laid out on their property 'Middlemarch' after George Eliot 's novel. However, this origin of the name has been disputed. From whatever source it got its name, the private township of Middlemarch on Humphrey's property of Garthmyl had been surveyed on land adjoining the projected railway and several sections were already sold by 6 November 1880. A stone house

1140-560: The 27-km section to Hindon was opened in 1889. The line was completed to Middlemarch two years later. The 26 km section of line from Middlemarch to Hyde then opened in 1894. This was followed by the 16 km section from Hyde to Kokonga which opened in 1897. The section to Ranfurly opened in December 1898. The Ranfurly to Wedderburn section opened in 1900 followed by the Wedderburn to Ida Valley section which opened in 1901. The line

1200-473: The 4 km peg and shortly thereafter passes around a horseshoe curve at the foot of the Salisbury bank and begins a climb at 1 in 50 to the summit at 145 m, where it passes through the 437 metres (1,434 ft) long Salisbury Tunnel, the longest on the line. After a second tunnel, the railway runs along Mullocky Gully, crossing it over the 197 metres (646 ft) long Wingatui Viaduct , before joining

1260-688: The Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, El Alto and La Paz the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares , or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca ,

SECTION 20

#1732772234770

1320-467: The Classic period (1500–1642) is attested by a cave discovered in 1949 with its entrance blocked, containing the bodies of a Māori woman and child. It is not clear if they were trapped deliberately or accidentally. This corresponds with other sites in the area containing rock shelters with mostly domestic articles, wooden bowls, material for garments and gear for hunting weka or fishing. Charles Kettle saw

1380-460: The North Island between 1898 and 1902. The P class engines were still working the line as late as 1915. The ten U class locomotives were all allocated to Dunedin and were the mainstay of the line from the 1900s to the 1930s and B and B class engines were used occasionally. Q class engines worked the line in the 1940s. A class locomotives were introduced in 1936. The OCR was one of

1440-721: The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level , and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim. Another high-altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau . With an area of 601,882 km (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 metres, it

1500-555: The South Island, and was used to move construction materials for the Clyde Dam project. With the completion of the dam in 1990, there was little other traffic for the line and the line was closed by the New Zealand Railways Corporation on 30 April 1990. The demolition of the line from Clyde back to Middlemarch commenced on 8 December 1990 and was completed on 5 December 1991. The section from Wingatui on

1560-470: The Strath Taieri district in 1886. Anglican and Roman Catholic churches were built in 1901 and a handsome church of the local schist stone was completed for the Presbyterians in 1906. Gold mining in nearby areas such as Macraes Flat and Nenthorn buoyed up the development of the Strath Taieri and its townships, but that stalled in the twentieth century. In the 1880s, rabbits became a plague, and it

1620-810: The Taieri Gorge on the remaining part of the line. Since 1991 this has been run by the Taieri Gorge Railway Limited owned by the Dunedin City Council. In 1993, the course of the track further inland was opened as the Otago Central Rail Trail for hikers and cyclists, by the Department of Conservation. Both have proved successful in attracting visitors. As a farming district, strategically located but isolated by geographical barriers, Strath Taieri's development turned on changes in farming and transport until

1680-643: The Taieri Plain, building a bridge over Deep Stream in 1880, a suspension bridge over the Taieri River at Sutton in 1885, and the same year another over the Taieri linking Middlemarch with the Cottesbrook station. The Sutton Stream, south of the township, was bridged in 1884. There was a long pause before the 'centre road', now state highway 87, was extended north to Hyde and the Maniototo. Construction of

1740-494: The area from the top of Maungatua in 1847 and was impressed by the land's pastoral potential. Strath Taieri and its surrounding district lay beyond the limit of the coastal Otago Block which Kettle was surveying but, following the Otago Association 's settlement on that land in 1848, horizons became broader. Kettle was one of the first Europeans known to have visited the Strath Taieri when he led an exploration party up

1800-580: The district was perhaps responsible for the unexpected success of its bachelor dances, recently promoted ostensibly to find partners for its single men. That, and the emergence of New Zealand's iconic Southern Man may have led to the event's attracting visitors from around the country and overseas. Apparently, few marriages have resulted, but Strath Taieri has become known to many more people. The statistical area of Strath Taieri, which includes Middlemarch , covers 2,115.02 km (816.61 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 730 as of June 2024, with

1860-608: The early European settlers came from Tasmania . From 1861, the Otago gold rushes saw the development of a stagecoach route, the Dunstan Trail leaving the coastal Taieri Plain near Outram advancing north and west across the plateau south of Strath Taieri proper, through Clark's Junction and on over the Rock and Pillar Range to the Maniototo. A new road north through Strath Taieri was proposed in 1863. In 1864, gold-bearing ground

Strath Taieri - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-562: The first sections of the NZR system to be fully dieselised. The last regular steam-hauled train left Cromwell on 23 February 1968. Two steam excursion trains later conveyed photographers along parts of the line: A 777 to Ranfurly on 27 October 1968 and A 693 to Middlemarch on 5 April 1969. D class diesel-electric locomotives were introduced on the line in February 1957 running as far as Clyde. They were reclassed as D in 1968 and were withdrawn by 1983. The D and D engines were too heavy to run on

1980-674: The gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon , the Indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana . Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina , Autana , Auyan and Mount Roraima . They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from

2040-492: The jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyán-tepui is the source of Angel Falls , the world's tallest waterfall . The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and

2100-722: The largest lake in South America. [REDACTED] Media related to Plateaus at Wikimedia Commons Otago Central Railway The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway , now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway , was a secondary railway line in Central Otago , in the South Island of New Zealand . Construction of the OCR began in 1877 and

2160-438: The late 20th century. While the closure of the through railway saw the end of that means of moving heavy goods between the coast and the interior, the completion of the tar sealing of State Highway 87, in 1996, was the effective provision of another. With the growth of tourism, much of it motor-vehicle-based, this, with the rail trail and tourist rail services, has added a new element to the mix. The rural, pioneering atmosphere of

2220-405: The lighter rails of the Cromwell Gorge but the much lighter D class diesel locomotives (with 10.3 tonne axle loading) were allowed to run through to Cromwell. With the introduction of these locomotives on 26 February 1968 the remaining A class steam engines were withdrawn. D class diesels worked the line from 1978 to 1984 but being fewer in number were seen less often than the D s, which were

2280-477: The line had two single-deck combined road and rail bridges; at Sutton and at Hindon (only combined in recent years). Initially the line was worked by Public Works Department F class tank engines. The Railways Department used R class locomotives until 1895 when 2-8-0 T class tender engines were introduced. They were still in service in 1905. O and P class locomotives were regularly used as were 2-6-2 V class engines. The O class engines were transferred to

2340-741: The mainstay of the line until its closure in 1990. After the line to Middlemarch was taken over by Dunedin Railways (previously Taieri Gorge Railway and originally the Otago Excursion Train Trust) in 1990, their trains have primarily been operated by their fleet of six DJ class locomotives. The leased Silver Fern railcar (RM24) was used on the line, and very rarely, a steam locomotive excursions are operated, usually with an A class locomotive. Passenger services were introduced in 1900 and replaced with mixed trains in 1917, with passenger trains only running during holiday periods. Passenger trains were reinstated in 1936. One of these trains

2400-601: The most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō . The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 metres above sea level. A tepui ( / ˈ t ɛ p w i / ), or tepuy ( Spanish: [teˈpuj] ), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana . The word tepui means "house of

2460-482: The new The Silverpeaks County surrounding Dunedin and its boroughs in an inland arc. Rural recession intensified and in 1989 The Silverpeaks County was merged into a new, much enlarged, City of Dunedin. In 1990, the Central Otago Railway was closed and the line from Clyde back to Middlemarch soon uplifted. Nevertheless, a tourist train service was being operated from Dunedin to Strath Taieri by way of

Strath Taieri - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-487: The plateau, approaching the Strath Taieri by road from the south. That landscape became greener in the 1960s and 1970s as native tussock was converted to European pasture, a process protested in the works of the artist Marilynn Webb . But the postwar prosperity of farming ended in the 1970s. In October 1977, the Taieri County was merged with its northern neighbour, Waikouaiti County, thus Strath Taieri became part of

2580-453: The population expanded only a little and latterly declined. As the 20th century advanced, this large and apparently empty country maintained the character and atmosphere of a pioneering district. Middlemarch could seem to visitors like a set for 'High Noon'. The plateau country to the south, with its fantastic rock formations, tors, heightens the impression of antiquity and otherworldliness which inspired artistic responses. Until 1948, Antimony

2640-501: The second half of the gorge section the line climbs steadily to exit the gorge at Pukerangi (45 km, 254 m altitude) and then descends into the Strath Taieri plateau before reaching Middlemarch at 64 km. On the remaining line between Wingatui and Middlemarch, passing loops exist at North Taieri and Parera, service sidings at Mt Allen, and both passing loops and sidings at Hindon, Pukerangi and Middlemarch. In 2004

2700-866: The south. The Deosai Plains in Pakistan are situated at an average elevation of 4,114 meters (13,497 ft) above sea level. They are considered to be the second highest plateaus in the world. Other major plateaus in Asia are: Najd on the Arabian Peninsula , elevation 762 to 1,525 m (2,500 to 5,003 ft), Armenian Highlands (≈400,000 km (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft)), Iranian Plateau (≈3,700,000 km (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300–1,500 metres (980–4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau , Mongolian Plateau (≈2,600,000 km (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 ft)), and

2760-458: The sun of Egypt in the Otago cold.' He called it a 'landscape of splendour and order and peace', which he conceived as a pre-Biblical place. In 1945, his younger and also celebrated Otago contemporary, the poet James K. Baxter , wrote 'Upon the upland road/Ride easy, stranger:/Surrender to the sky/Your heart of anger.' The lines certainly capture the effect on some people of the experience of crossing

2820-480: The surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers . The polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation measurements of ice thickness have shown that large areas are below sea level . But, as the ice melts, the land beneath will rebound through isostasy and ultimately rise above sea level. The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau , sometimes metaphorically described as

2880-537: The township's development. It was extended to Hyde on 16 July 1894, where it had a similar effect. The line's eventual terminus was Cromwell in the Upper Clutha catchment, but it did not arrive there until 1921. To develop Middlemarch the March Creek had been diverted and for many years the township was regularly flooded until channel work on the creek ameliorated the problem. A Presbyterian preacher covered

2940-434: The way are Christmas Creek Viaduct, one of the curved viaducts, Deep Stream Viaduct, and Flat Stream Viaduct, also curved. Just before Hindon station, the railway tracks share a combined road-rail bridge with Hindon Road, a local backroad. After Flat Stream Viaduct, the aptly named "The Notches" section also presented an engineering challenge, accomplished via three short bridges and cuttings through several rocky outcrops. In

3000-500: Was 6.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 56.3% had no religion, and 36.5% were Christian . Of those at least 15 years old, 84 (15.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 90 (16.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $ 34,700, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 69 people (13.0%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15

3060-415: Was built and occupied by Mr. Kirk and his family by the winter of 1881. By 1891, there was a hotel, eight houses, two blacksmith shops, two stores, a school and twenty tents occupied by workers building the railway. Following the abolition of the New Zealand provinces in 1876 the Taieri County was formed, whose Deep Stream Riding included Strath Taieri. The county improved the road traversing the plateau from

SECTION 50

#1732772234770

3120-641: Was involved in the Hyde railway disaster of 4 June 1943, which claimed 21 lives and was at the time New Zealand's worst railway disaster (since surpassed only by the Tangiwai disaster ). The passenger trains were again replaced with mixed trains in 1951, in turn replaced with Vulcan railcars in 1956. The railcar run was cut back to Alexandra in May 1958 and railcars ceased running on 25 April 1976. The line remained open for some time longer than most other branch lines in

3180-492: Was made operative on 28 July 1939. On 4 June 1943, the derailment of the Dunedin Cromwell Express on the outskirts of Hyde cost twenty-one lives. Because the accident was attributed to the negligence of the engine driver, the government became liable for more than £200,000 in compensation. The modern equivalent would be several million dollars. Postwar development was slow and while farm production increased,

3240-410: Was mined at Hindon . The celebrated New Zealand painter Colin McCahon as a schoolboy in 1936, had what he later described as a 'vision' looking westward from a point on the coastal hills over the Taieri Plain apparently to the plateau country south of the Strath Taieri proper. He later said his art had been an attempt to communicate this vision. He described it as seeing a landscape 'standing far from

3300-467: Was once called Gallayat Plateaus, rising 3,300 ft above sea level. Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau , which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau or King Haakon VII Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station , which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward

3360-416: Was only by strenuous efforts this was contained by the 1940s. Runs were broken up for closer settlement in 1894 and later, but the valley remained thinly populated. In 1914, there was a move to have the Strath Taieri Riding transferred to the Maniototo County, which was unsuccessful. In the 1930s, attempts to get a water supply for Middlemarch were also unsuccessful. However, an electricity supply to Middlemarch

3420-415: Was opened to Omakau in 1904. Omakau-Chatto Creek opened in July 1906 followed by the line reaching Alexandra in December 1906. The line was opened to Clyde in April 1907. There then followed a delay until the section through the Cromwell Gorge was resumed in 1914. The line reached Cromwell, 236 km, in 1921. The Clyde - Cromwell section (20 km) was closed in 1980 due to construction of the Clyde Dam ,

3480-445: Was reported at Hyde at the head of Strath Taieri and now the northern limit of Dunedin. Briefly, there were two thousand people there. Goldfields to the east and north saw the 'middle Taieri valley', as Strath Taieri was sometimes called, surrounded by prospering districts. Edward Wingfield Humphreys (1841–1892) is credited with naming the valley 'Strath Taieri'. Alice Humphreys (née Hawdon, 1848–1934) moved to her husband's property in

3540-425: Was taken up by pastoralists on lease from the Crown. One of these leaseholds, Cottesbrook, became the centre of several sheep stations put together by the Tasmanian Gellibrand family. A group of buildings, including a homestead, office, cottage, cook house, butcher's shop and large shearing shed were all built from the local stone. They remain, fine examples of masonry and distinctively Australasian design. A number of

3600-414: Was that 297 (55.9%) people were employed full-time, 93 (17.5%) were part-time, and 18 (3.4%) were unemployed. In 2021, there is one primary school in the Strath Taieri District, at Middlemarch. There were several schools in earlier times. 45°24′20.7″S 170°11′0.51″E  /  45.405750°S 170.1834750°E  / -45.405750; 170.1834750 Plateau Plateaus can be formed by

#769230