The Sinclair Tramway in Wainuiomata was built in the 1870s. It was used primarily for logging and transporting timber from the surrounding forest. It was later used to transport people to the dam.
The Sinclair Valley Tramway began operating around 1872 with wooden rails. In 1879, Mr. Sinclair sought tenders for the transport of 150 tons of steel rails, with the supposed intention to replace the wooden tramway. The tramway was used to haul logs to a mill located near the intersection of Moores Valley Road and Whitcher Grove.
It is assumed that both tramways followed the same route, with the steel tramway simply replacing the wooden one. However, there is no evidence to confirm this at present. Another possibility is that the wooden and steel tramway systems took different routes. For instance, the wooden tramway could have run along the more logical south side of Sinclair Valley, where the Gums Loop Track is located today, with a potential river crossing near “The Triangle”. This area extends to Sledge Track and is relatively flat, which earned it the old nickname “The Terrace.” It is also closer to the forests that were harvested. Additionally, if the wooden tramway had been located on this side of the valley, it could have been extended as logging progressed deeper into the area. Once the Sinclair family logged up to the Wainuiomata River, near the old dam’s current spillway, the steel tramway may have been constructed along what is now Reservoir Road to reach further into the valley. One argument against this theory is that the tramway on the north side of the valley wouldn’t require a river crossing; however, the logs still need to cross the river. Moreover, “The Terrace” is a naturally damp and at times swampy area, which may have presented challenges for laying a tramway. Regardless, what we do know at this stage is the Sinclair family were eventually stopped from logging beyond the present-day Morton Dam, or slightly further east from there and we know that the steel tramway followed the same route as Reservoir Road up to George Creek.
The Sinclair family not only owned the tramway(s) but also held a large expanse of land that they logged. Over the years, they constructed several homes on their land, including House Northbrook, a mansion located close to the tramway on what is now called Whitcher Grove. In 1880, the Wellington City Council sought to protect a proposed water catchment area at the top of Sinclair Valley for their water supply scheme. To do this, they bought land from the Sinclair family to stop this area from being logged in order to preserve the area’s natural state. In 1883, due to bankruptcy, the Sinclair family’s properties, homes, sawmill, tools, tramway rails, tramway trucks, wagons, and other assets were sold off.
The Sinclair family ceased logging operations and they left Wainuiomata. The steel tramway wasn’t decommissioned; rather, it was repurposed to carry passengers to the original dam. Over time, the tramway was replaced by what is now Reservoir Road. Today, there are only one or two potential artefacts that are known to remain from the tramway. They were located in the bush near what is thought to be the location of two camps. These are pictured in the gallery below.
