BODY FOUND AT FOOT OF CLIFF
Advice has been received in Invercargill of the death of a young man, Martin Ford, under somewhat unusual circumstances. Ford was employed by the Port Craig Timber Company and on Sunday morning he left for Tuatapere. His intention was to travel along a bush track between the two townships. As he did not arrive at Tuatapere that night, fears were entertained for his safety and a search party was formed. The body was found later at the foot of some steep Cliffs not far from Port Craig. -Western Star, 29/4/1927.
Port Craig is a fascinating place - one day I hope to get there. It was a logging and sawmilling settlement, started in 1916 with technology new to New Zealand which promised an efficiency of operation new to the industry. Part of what is left is the largest surviving wooden viaduct in the world - 125 metres long and 36m high.
Loading of wood onto ships at Port Craig was a difficult operation. Sawn timber was sent down on a cable to ships lying off the port - an impossible task in a heavy swell from the south. The 1923 opening of the Otira rail tunnel under the South Island's Southern Alps put a serious dent in the fortunes of the Port Craig company, allowing East Coast cities easier access to West Coast timber. Port Craig ceased operations in 1928.
Information on Port Craig and links to more can be found here.
Loading of wood onto ships at Port Craig was a difficult operation. Sawn timber was sent down on a cable to ships lying off the port - an impossible task in a heavy swell from the south. The 1923 opening of the Otira rail tunnel under the South Island's Southern Alps put a serious dent in the fortunes of the Port Craig company, allowing East Coast cities easier access to West Coast timber. Port Craig ceased operations in 1928.
Information on Port Craig and links to more can be found here.
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| Invercargill Cemetery. |
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