The original Railway Hotel was built by Alexander Smith in 1876, at a cost of £1500-1600. Built of brick and wood, it was a popular destination for visitors disembarking at the railway station opposite. The hotel was fully replaced in 1896 with a larger and more formal structure designed by McKenzie and Gilbertson, which still stands today.

Invercargill’s railway was one of the earliest established in New Zealand. Designed and built by V.J. Carter and Company for the Southland Provincial Railway, the terminal and its station opened in 18 October 1864. Banks, Government offices and many businesses were officially closed at 12 noon that day, with a bell-ringer walking through the town asking people to attend the departure of its inaugural trip. The Station, based upon an English-style, was replaced with a newer building in 1978.

The Municiple gasworks were opened on 3 February, 1876, to supply Invercargill to enable lamp-lighting on the city streets. The plant continued until 1956, when it was replaced by a new one.

The New River Estuary is a tidal lagoon, receiving fresh water from the Waihopai and Oreti rivers. In 1856, Governor Brown announced a town would be built, to be named in part after the Superintendent of the province, CaptainWilliam Cargill, and the Celtic word “inver” meaning estuary or “at the mouth of”.

Sources: ‘Invercargill Railway Station (1864 – 1978)’ by C. Kerr, REF: LC 725.31 INV; ‘Southland Times’, 7 June 1876; ‘Centenary of Invercargill Municipality (1871 – 1971)’ by J.O.P. Watt, REF: 993.98 WAT; ‘Estuaries in the Oreti’, Environment Southland website (https://www.es.govt.nz/environment/estuaries/Pages/Estuaries-in-the-Oreti.aspx)