Reconnecting New Zealand

Single $1.00 'Shape of the future' gummed stamp.

At Irongate Stream north of Kaikōura, SH1 was moved seaward and away from a large landslide. A new seven-span bridge sweeps from a bluff at the southern end, landing on its new alignment atop a seawall. The old road will eventually be used as a rockfall catchment area. More than 100 bridges needed to be repaired or replaced after the earthquake. Taking about three months to complete the superstructure, the 144m bridge at Irongate was the fastest build of its kind in New Zealand history.

Single $1.00 'Taming the cliffs' gummed stamp.

Geotech teams and abseilers were an integral part of the transport recovery. In the early months they acted as ‘spotters’ that warned crews below if a landslide started to move. Working from hilltop base camps, some only accessible only by helicopter, they helped dislodge boulders and remove vegetation from the slips. They also installed geomesh and rockfall fences on the slopes. One very special job was helping the Department of Conservation to retrieve seeds of the rare Ōhau rock daisy. The plant grows only on the bluffs of Ōhau Point north of Kaikōura and was almost wiped out by a landslide. 

Single $2.00 'Moving mountains' gummed stamp.

Some landslides generated 10,000 truckloads of material, always peppered with large boulders. All of the rubble needed to be transported through narrow work sites along the coast, often relayed to temporary stockpiles which could grow to two storeys high. Keeping that fleet of dump trucks moving while bridges, culverts, roads and the railway were being rebuilt was a logistics exercise of epic proportion. This particular landslide, which came down just south of Peketa, severely damaged rail Tunnel 13.

Single $2.20 'A hard road' gummed stamp.

Until access could be established around the largest and most complex slip at Ōhau Point, it was the ‘end of the road’ for crews working north and south. These were isolated work sites, making it difficult to get materials in. Seawall blocks, each weighing five tonnes, arrived six at a time – that’s all that could fit on the back of a truck. The seawall teams worked towards each other from each side of the Point, progressing metre-by-metre as the slip above them was cleared and secured with geomesh, making it safe to work below.

Single $2.70 'Engines that could' gummed stamp.

Bringing KiwiRail’s specialised work trains into the coastal corridor was a priority during the rebuild. They were needed to carry out track repairs and to transport construction materials. Sometimes temporary structures were built so the work trains could advance towards Kaikōura, with permanent repairs occurring later. Bridge 131 at Wharenui north of Kaikōura, where readily available steel spans were pressed into use, was an example of the ‘fast if sometimes ugly’ approach that got the railway open.

Single $3.30 'A special delivery' gummed stamp.

The first freight train to travel the Main North Line after the earthquake, pictured here south of Ōaro, made the journey from Picton to Christchurch on 15 September 2017. Hundreds of people turned out to meet the train along the way. The return of freight trains, even in a limited capacity, removed about 2,000 trucks off the alpine route through Lewis Pass. Five weeks earlier, the railway had been fully connected with a ‘final weld’ at a ceremony at Half Moon Bay north of Kaikōura.

Discover more about the unique logistical challenges that come with recovering from a natural disaster. You found out greater details about the national effort that moved mountains to reconnect communities. This presentation pack included a set of stamps, miniature sheet and first day cover.

This limited edition was the ultimate collector's item for this issue. You could see the full set of stamps in even more depth and detail, and read more about the recovery with copy from North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance project director David Loe.