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extravagant proposals for railway extension. They included, among the more reasonable plans, one for a line to ‘Upper Ashburton’. Arrangements were made for its construction and a contract let for the first 103 miles to Westerfield. The County Council then took advantage of a passing visit from the new Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, on 3 May 1879, to have construction officially opened with the usual ceremony—and with Tinwald en féte for the occasion.

John Hall became Premier six months later and his government set up a commission to report on the various railway schemes. Wright was a member and made himself unpopular by his condemnation of many of the projects, but he must also bear responsibility for the decision that the Mount Somers branch line should be continued. According to the report ‘The cost will be small and it will serve a large agricultural district and at the same time open out a coal mine and stone quarries. . . .”⁸¹

The twenty-five miles of track to Mount Somers were not completed until October 1886 because of numerous interruptions caused by violent controversy over the route. The first intention was that the line should run through the closely inhabited Ashburton Forks area but protests from Mount Somers secured a decision in favour of that township as terminus. Then A. E. Peache, as chairman of the Mount Somers Road Board, objected on behalf of those—apparently the great majority of ratepayers—who preferred the original route between the north and south branches of the Ashburton River. During 1882 and 1883 he headed deputations to two successive Ministers of Public Works—who were induced to inspect the routes—and to the Premier. In the meantime, Wright, whose advocacy of a railway line to serve his large Surrey Hills property had raised the most pointed criticism, resigned from both Parliament and County CounciJ because of ‘slanderous statements’ accusing him of acting in self-interest.⁸² Nevertheless he was successful, against the wishes of the Ministers, in having a commission appointed to investigate the routes. The findings of C. Napier Bell, engineer of the Lyttelton Harbour Board as commissioner, were virtually in favour of an extension from Mount Somers to Springburn as the line was by that time within two miles of the former township. This last piece of line was completed by 1889.

No large amount of regular traffic was expected on the line. The train ran once each way on three days a week. The highest figures found for Mount Somers were of only some 7500 sheep loaded in