Tug-o-war over stage coach

Attempts to find a new home to display a 134-year-old West Coast stage coach has sparked a tug-o-war among heritage enthusiasts in Hokitika.
Built in 1876, the A Hall coach, which once plied the Otira Gorge before the advent of the Otira Tunnel in 1923, has effectively been mothballed since the 1970s, latterly under the care of Westroads at the former county depot, in Kaniere. It has had only a handful of public outings in recent times.
Westroads is now seeking new accommodation for the relic, and both the Westland Heritage Park and Heritage Hokitika have designs on making it a centrepiece for tourism, in time for the opening of the new Ross to Greymouth cycle trail.
Heritage Hokitika vice-president Chris Ward said yesterday the coach could be placed at a number of possible locations in the town to complement other nearby attractions, especially the West Coast Historical Museum.
“We are looking for sites in town where it could be kept on display,” he said.
“There are a number of proposals to take the stage coach out of Westroads and hopefully bring it into town. Heritage Hokitika is very keen to see it displayed, and not just tucked away in a shed somewhere.”
“The stage coach certainly has historic connections with the area but it has to be kept in a sheltered area, where it can be protected from the weather.”
A temporary solution might be sought before a more permanent home could be found.
However, officially the coach is officially part of the Westland Heritage Park collection, which started at the Kaniere depot, and heritage park secretary Ian Gilbertson said Westroads had already made a verbal offer to them to display it at the airport compound.
“Westroads suggested that we could take it and we would like to display it along with the collection of gigs and drays already at the park. We are trying to get another shed so we can put it on display,” Mr Gilbertson said.
“It would be great to have, it is a classic piece of West Coast history but we can’t put it anywhere at the moment. I have approached Development West Coast to get some money for a shed, there are all sorts of options but all of them are expensive.”
Meanwhile, Heritage Hokitika this week accepted a second project on the go, to assess five statues, including marble sculptures of Robbie Burns and the Pioneer Statue, for possible repair.