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The New Zealand Ministry of Works and Development, formerly the Department of Public Works and often referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988. The Ministry had its own Cabinet-level responsible minister, the Minister of Works or Minister of Public Works.
The Head Office of the Ministry was in the Vogel Building in Wellington, named after former Premier Sir Julius Vogel, who helped create the Public Works Department during his term in office. This building held the Vogel Computer, one of the largest in New Zealand and used by several government departments for engineering work. The Ministry moved to the Vogel Building in about 1965 from the Old Government Building on Lambton Quay.
During the latter years of the Ministry there were seven District Offices (Auckland, Hamilton, Wanganui, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) each headed by a District Commissioner of Works. In each District there were a number of Residency Offices (headed by a Resident Engineer) and each had a number of Depots. In addition there were Project Offices set up for a particular purpose, such as to build a power project, airport, tunnel or irrigation scheme.
While the policy functions were either disestablished or passed on to other Government departments, the commercial operations were set up as Works and Development Services Corporation (a state-owned enterprise) and the computing bureau and the buildings maintenance units were sold. The corporation had two main subsidiaries, Works Consultancy Services and Works Civil Construction. These were sold in 1996 and became Opus International Consultants and Works Infrastructure respectively, and the corporation was disestablished.
Under the Public Works Act 1876, the Department of Public Works was responsible for the operation of New Zealand's railway network from 1876 until 1880, when operations were transferred to the New Zealand Railways Department. This transfer did not end the PWD's railway operations, as it still operated railway lines when under construction, sometimes providing revenue services prior to the official transfer of the line to the Railways Department. The PWD owned its own locomotives and rolling stock, some second-hand from the Railways Department, and it operated some small railway lines that were never transferred to the Railways Department. One example is a 6.4km branch line built in 1928 from near the terminus of the Railways Department's Kurow Branch to a hydro-electric dam project on the Waitaki River. This branch was not solely used to service the dam project; the PWD used its own rolling stock to provide a service for school children who attended school in Kurow, and occasionally special Railways Department trains operated on the line with PWD motive power, including a 1931 sightseeing excursion to view the under-construction dam. This line was removed in April 1937 as the PWD no longer required it.
PWD Number | NZR class and number |
Type | Builder | Introduced | Withdrawn | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F36 | 0-6-0ST | Neilson | 1879 | 1886 | Named "Edie Ochiltree". Ex NZR. Returned to NZR as F 13 1886-1964. Preserved at Ferrymead Railway | |
A | 0-4-0T | E.W Mills | 1878 | 1884 | Named "Opossum". From NZR. To industry 1884-1952. Preserved at Shantytown, New Zealand | |
472 | 2-4-4-2 | ALCO | 1947 | 1954 | Mallet Compound. From Taupo Totara Timber Co.. Preserved at Glenbrook Vintage Railway | |
501 | WF | 2-6-4T | A & G Price | 1906 | 1909 | Built to WF specification for PWD. Sold to NZR, 1909. Renmbered WF467 |
502 | WF | 2-6-4T | A&G Price | 1906 | 1909 | Built to WF specification for PWD. Sold to NZR, 1909. Renmbered WF468 |
503 | F 37 | 0-6-0ST | Neilson | 1879 | 1940 | Formerly named "Rob Roy", by NZR. |
504 | E 175 | 0-4-4-0T | Vulcan Foundry | 1900 | 1917 | Named "Josephine". Ex Dunedin and Port Chalmers Rly. EX NZR. Preserved at Otago Early Settlers Museum. |
505 | C 194 | 0-4-2ST | Neilson | 1893 | 1945 | Sold to industry, 1945. |
506 | D 198 | 2-4-0T | Neilson | 1899 | 1930 | |
507 | L 207 | 2-4-0T | Avonside | 1901 | 1931 | To industry 1931-1972. Preserved at Museum of Transport and Technology, Auckland. |
508 | L 208 | 2-4-0T | Avonside | 1901 | 1931 | To industry 1931-1974. Preserved at Shantytown, New Zealand |
509 | L 219 | 2-4-0T | Avonside | 1903 | 1948 | To industry 1948-1973. Preserved at Silver Stream Railway. |
510 | D 315 | 2-4-0T | Scott Bros. | 1901 | 1930 | ExNew Zealand Midland Railway Company No.6 |
511 | ||||||
512 | C 132 | 0-4-2ST | Dübs | 1885 | 1927 | Industrial use 1927-1971. Preserved at Silver Stream Railway. |
513 | D 196 | 2-4-0T | Neilson | 1914 | 1955 | |
514 | 0-6-0ST | Barclay | 1915 | Unknown | Last used in the Tangarakau area. No details exist of subsequent sale or disposal.[1] | |
515 | ||||||
516 | R 33 | 0-6-4T | Avonside | 1917 | 1932 | Single Fairlie. |
517 | D 145 | 2-4-0T | Neilson | 1919 | 1955 | |
518 | 0-4-0T | Barclay | 1919 | 1942 | To industry 1942. Converted to Petrol-Mechanical 1960. | |
519 | D 108 | 2-4-0T | Scott Bros. | 1920 | 1930 | |
520 | D 142 | 2-4-0T | Scott Bros. | 1920 | Unknown | |
521 | ||||||
522 | ||||||
523 | ||||||
524 | ||||||
525 | ||||||
526 | 0-4-0ST | Davenport | 1921 | 1937 | Bought new. To storage 1937-1999. Preserved at East Coast Museum of Technology, Gisborne, New Zealand. | |
527 | 0-4-0ST | Davenport | 1921 | Unknown | ||
528 | 0-4-0ST | Davenport | 1921 | 1935 | To industry 1935-1945. On display at Bruce Bay. | |
529 | 0-4-0ST | Davenport | 1921 | Unknown | ||
530 | 0-4-4-0T | Climax Locomotive Works | 1921 | 1924 | Sold to Ellis and Bernand, Ongarue | |
531 | 0-4-0T | Barclay | 1921 | 1940 | To NZR Ways and Works branch 1940-1954. Preserved Silver Stream Railway. | |
532 | ||||||
533 | 0-4-0T | Barclay | 1921 | 1943 | Dumped at Oaro. Still extant. | |
534 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | Unknown | Last recorded PWD use at Taneatua, 1927. | |
535 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | 1935 | To industry 1935-1960. Preserved at Oamaru Steam and Rail. | |
536 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | 1947 | ||
537 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | 1950 | ||
538 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | 1941 | Written off after collision with a truck near Oaro. | |
539 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | 1947 | To New Zealand Army 1947-1962. Preserved Tokomaru Steam Museum | |
540 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1921 | 1951 | To industry 1951-1960. Preserved at Ocean Beach Railway | |
541 | ||||||
542 | Y 542 | 0-6-0T | Hunslet | 1923 | 1945 | Bought new. To NZR 1945. To industry 1957-1985. Preserved Museum of Transport and Technology |
543 | Y 543 | 0-6-0T | Hunslet | 1923 | 1938 | Bought new. To NZR 1938-1958 |
544 | Y 544 | 0-6-0T | Hunslet | 1923 | 1945 | Bought new. To NZR 1945-1957. |
545 | ||||||
546 | ||||||
547 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1924 | 1930 | Retained for parts. Scrapped 1939. | |
548 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1924 | 1936 | Retained by PWD for parts. Preserved at McLeans Island by Canterbury Steam Preservation Society. | |
549 | C 236 | 0-4-2ST | Dübs | 1925 | 1929 | From NZR Maintenance Dept. Dumped at Te Kuha, 1929. Recovered 1995, preserved at Westport Railway Preservation Society. |
550 | 0-4-0T | Fowler | 1925 | Unknown | ||
551 | 0-6-0T | Barclay | 1928 | 1951 | Purchased from Wellington Farmers Meat Co 1921-1928. To Burkes Creek Colliery 1951-1962. |