A new shelter on the Pleasant Point to Cave cycleway is paying tribute to the area’s railway heritage.
The shelter, created by the Pleasant Point Lions Club, is located by Sutherlands Hall and serves not only as a place for cyclists to rest and refill their drink bottles but was constructed to look like a mini version of the station that had once functioned in the Sutherlands area.
Sutherlands local and project contributor Michael Brosnahan said the idea for the project came about a couple of years ago while they were working on the cycleway, which follows the old railway line to Fairlie.
‘‘The plan had been to have the cycleway carry on along the fence [outside Sutherlands Hall] but we thought if we moved the fence boundary back we could add in a shelter and the cycleway could carry on straight through.
‘‘We thought having something like the shelter would draw people in and also make people more aware of the hall. I brought up the idea in a Lions meeting, they backed it and we went from there.’’
The shelter was constructed by Tony Brady and Duncan McFarlane with help from Pleasant Point Lions members and also features a storyboard detailing the railway history of the Sutherlands area.
Joan Scott, who created the board along with Kathy Brosnahan, said it featured the few images they could could find of the old Sutherlands Station, as well as a timeline and various stories about the railway.
‘‘We added the timeline to help give a sense of how things progressed. Phil Blair [Timaru Signs & Graphix] did the graphics for us and we just went out and asked anybody and everybody for information.
‘‘Mark Denne at the railway had some photos and then we got some of them from the museum. We have an image of the original shed, Michael’s ticket from when he was on the last train and a great story about a guard.
‘‘A lot of people from around the community contributed to it.’’
Pleasant Point Lions Club past president Tom Lambie said it was important to honour the local history of the area.
‘‘It was just creating something to mark the history and to give a point of interest for people on the cycle trail. It’d be quite nice if other stations actually did a history board, to help make the trail more interesting.
‘‘It’s also providing a service to the people on the bike trail. I was particularly keen on having the water supply. We like to be involved in tangible things and things that help the community.
‘‘There’s a whole lot of people that have helped us. It’s not just Lions, it’s been a real community project.’’
