Information that the Makatote Tramway was constructed around 1905 has not been able to be substantiated. According to George Berry and other informants, the first people milling this piece of bush were the Pedersen family. Fifteen members of the Pedersen family had moved into the Waimarino District by 1914 setting up mills at Pakihi near Raetihi, and at Rangataua to the east of Ohakune. Charlie (Charles E.) Pedersen owned the Mangawhero Sawmilling Company at Karioi with two of his sons, Arthur W. and Alfred (Fred) E, and their wives were the principals of the Karioi Sawmilling Company Limited, which was incorporated on 19 December 1927. All were from Raetihi, and the men are listed as sawmillers. Evidently the company did not begin business operations until 17 January 1929, and the mill later closed down on 18 December 1931. The Karioi Sawmilling Company was struck off the Companies Register on 3 July 1934. The history of the Makatote site between the years 1931 to 1934 is unclear, but in 1934 the bush was surveyed, and J. Myles prepared timber-cruising sheets. Myles recorded the amount of available timber by surveying a line in Block VIII, Manganui Survey District, State Forest 67 and Block V, Ruapehu Survey District, State Forest 42. The species listed included: matai, miro, totara, rimu and kahikatea. It appears that land in Block VIII Manganui, State Forest 42 was also considered. The sale of the cutting area Lot 11 (immediately to the north of the area cut over by the Karioi Sawmilling Company) was advertised in the New Zealand Gazette on 13 September 1934, and two tenders were received, one from Mr Thomas Dinwoodie, a sawmiller who had mixed success in previous operations in the region, and one from Mr Edhouse of Crighton Brothers Limited in Ohakune. References from the Bank of New Zealand described Dinwoodie as a "reliable man in small way but appears to be doing fairly well at present. Providing he doesn't meet with a reverse consider him safe risk for 128 pound per month, over 37 months." His business associates D.G. and K.S. Glendinning were also considered reliable, and Dinwoodie's tender was accepted. Dinwoodie subsequently formed the Dinwoodie Timber Company with the Glendinning brothers, and in November 1934 he was issued with a sawmill license (No. 16/42/72) for Lot 11 of State Forest 42, Block VIII Manganui and Blk V Ruapehu Survey Districts, covering the period 18 October 1934 to 17 April 1939. The license allowed for the erection of a sawmill and the cutting of rimu, matai, kahikatea, totara and miro, estimated contents totalling 3,347,600 ft board measure and 500,810 ft, cubic measure. The purchase price was 5100 pound, of which Dinwoodie paid a deposit and his one guinea license fee. The balance was to be paid in 37 equal instalments by promissory notes. An attached schedule shows Lot 11 to be the northern area of the site encompassing the Makomiko Stream; the block to the south is marked as 'Karioi S.M. Co.'s Cut Over Area'. He was subsequently issued with a lease for part of SF 42 for the purposes of erecting a sawmill, backdated so that it was valid for the same 5-year period. The site was 2.86 acres in extent, being two irregular pieces of land adjacent and east of the main road and either side of the lay-by or road reserve. Dinwoodie was also required to obtain a tramway license, which was delayed. Director of Forestry A.D. McGavock stated that "the license in question is not comparable to an ordinary tramway license [as] the formation is already completed, the tram being the old tram of the Karioi Sawmilling Coy [and] the route traverses planted ground of what is in effect a regenerated and managed forest. It was considered that the original sawmilling unit "laid out and left to this Service a permanent asset...for use of which succeeding licensees must pay fees...and which they must maintain". The arrangement was seen as a test case for this relatively new situation of private tramways on Crown Land. Another modification to the draft license agreement was the reduction by 75% of the one chain right-of-way that "would give the right of destruction of many planted trees". However the extent of the tramway was corrected: "In connection with the formation, I would point out that this not already completed [sic], as the formation of the whole of the left hand branch and part of the right hand branch towards the eastern extremity had to be undertaken by the above sawmilling company [Dinwoodie Timber Co.]". The tramway license was finally issued on 24 September 1935, but was backdated to 18 October 1934. It was valid for 4.5 years and pertained to Lot 10 of State Forest No. 42. The license allowed the Dinwoodie Timber Company Limited "to occupy the land specified in the Schedule hereto as a tramway route for the purpose of using and maintaining a tram-line and running a tram thereon". An attached plan showed the extent of the existing tramway, which crossed the 'Bulls-Taumarunui Road' (State Highway 4) to meet up with the North Island Main Trunk railway. The license allowed no other use of the land - any trees felled for maintenance of the tramline would be assessed and charged for. Dinwoodie was also required to "provide for the State Forest Service free carriage of young trees and materials for replanting, from Railway Siding or the main road adjacent to sawmill site to any place along the tram route... at such time as the trolleys are returning unloaded to the workings". The technology (horse/bullocks/steam haulage) used by Dinwoodie in his initial milling operations is unclear, but in 1936 he purchased a new RD6 Caterpillar tractor and used it to retrieve the logs and deliver them to the mill. Sawmilling companies were major owners and users of the Caterpillar tractor in the Taumarunui region, and were serviced by Gough in Taumarunui. John Marriner "had a bush contract for Dinwoodie" and his family had moved there in 1931. His son Dick enjoyed riding on the new tractor with the driver, Tommy McCann, and even drove it himself at times. The tractor was garaged in the old stables and ten-year-old Dick helped with cleaning down the RD6 tractor at night. The new technology soon created legal and financial problems for Dinwoodie however, and in October 1936 the local Forest Ranger reported that Dinwoodie had asked for additional access points for his tractor, but that these had been denied. He stated Dinwoodie "was misled by the agent selling the tractor as to the nature of the track required with the result that his track on his right-of-way is now a channel of mud". The tractor had also left the right-of-way and damaged young exotic trees, and the ranger requested that action be taken for trespass. The cost of the damage was put at 38/9/- pound, and it was paid by 14 May 1937. The hauling of logs through mud evidently led to difficulties with mud getting into the mill machinery as well, which was particularly bad if stones had become embedded. By March 1938 it was reported that Dinwoodie had found tractor logging unsuitable, and in June 1938 he asked for postponement of a promissory note, as he had closed his mill for at least a month to lay new tramlines. He had ordered a specific rail tractor however and was awaiting its delivery. On 12 October 1938 K.S. Glendinning wrote to the Conservator of Forests to ask for the postponement of the promissory notes, which had fallen due. He stated that he and his brother recognised their responsibilities as guarantors, but obviously needed time to pay, and pleaded extenuating circumstances on behalf of Dinwoodie. In June 1939 Dinwoodie applied to cut over the remaining area of timber in Lot 10, State Forest 42 (the area cut over by the Karioi Sawmilling Company), having completed his harvesting in Lot 11. Tenders were advertised and Dinwoodie's poor financial record was taken into consideration As his payments had been met, he was granted the license (No. 1905) from 24 July 1939 for a period of one year. The company soon experienced further financial difficulties however, and went into liquidation in June 1940, with a debt of over 438 pound owing to the State Forest Service. Cut timber to the value of approximately 630 pound was left in Lot 10, and arrangements were being made for Dinwoodie's creditors to work the area. A creditors meeting was planned and the Conservator of Forests recommended that a new license be issued for the balance of the uncut timber and to clear the cut timber, as a means of retrieving some of the debt. It has not been established whether this transpired, but Dinwoodie retained his involvement with the sawmilling industry, as a 1943 electoral roll lists him as a sawmiller at National Park. The area of the Makatote Tramway is also reported to have been used for the extraction of silver pine for fence battens. According to George Berry, who was a schoolboy at Horopito when Dinwoodie was operating, "some distance into the bush there is another clearing which is the point to which the operators in silver pine accumulated their material". The date for this has not been established, but may have been after the millers left, as happened elsewhere on Maori land milled by the Marton Sash, Door and Timber Company where the owners cut out kaikawaka for fencing battens.

Mill Site The first evidence of the Makatote Tramway is the mill site, which is accessed via an unmarked track that crosses the road reserve into the Tongariro National Park. The mill site is in a relatively flat, open area and although there is no structural evidence of the mill, there are artefactual remains, most notably a metal plate (possible boiler plate) and various domestic items such as billies and pails. The size and structure of the mill is unclear, but its position is verified by historical maps/plans. Tramway The Makatote Tramway site consists of a branching network of tramlines that head in an easterly/north-easterly direction across the relatively flat land to the east of State Highway 4. These tramlines and their associated features such as skid sites and draglines were constructed as a result of milling operations by the Karioi Sawmilling Company (1929-1931) and Dinwoodie Timber Company (1934-1939). There are both wooden and metal rails, as well as a corduroy track in the northwest of the site. Whilst no conclusive comments can be drawn about the sequence of construction, historical documents indicate that the "the whole of the left hand branch and part of the right hand branch towards the eastern extremity" were constructed by the Dinwoodie Timber Company. Main branch: The tramway begins from the mill site and continues in a northeasterly direction. Few sleepers and rails are remaining, but the formation is clearly visible. A bogey wheel was also observed on the main branch, shortly before a junction where it splits into two (hereafter referred to as the 'left-hand branch' and 'right-hand' branch'.) Left-hand branch (LHB): The LHB runs in a northerly direction from the main branch junction and it has several side branches to the east and west. The second side branch to the west of the LHB is notable for its in situ rails, bearers and sleepers, and it also has a points change. It leads to a skid site and log hauler, which is imprinted with the name 'S. Luke and Co Ltd, Wellington' - one of the 13 principal log hauler manufacturers in New Zealand. The log hauler has a noticeable crack in the side, and is likely to have been abandoned here as a result. The LHB then continues past the side branches for a distance before splitting into two at the former boundary between Lots 10 and 11. The left left-hand branch (LLHB) has more in situ sleepers, rails and bearers than the LHB, and there are numerous water pits along both sides of the tramway. These pits are of varying shapes and sizes, including one with clearly excavated sites measuring 2m x 1.5m, with a depth of 2.3m. The LLHB also has two skid sites, a causeway and a bridge crossing. The right left-hand branch (RLHB) of the tramway runs in an easterly direction from the junction, and is a very different formation from the LLHB with its in situ lengths of wooden tramway. The RLHB has two bridge crossings and largely consists of intermittent sections of corduroys, though there is a small length of wooden tramway at the very end of the branch, which was discovered after cutting through an area of fairly dense natives. This wooden tramway leads to a skid site and associated draglines. There is also a junction partway along the RLHB, at which point you can either continue straight ahead, or loop back along a corduroy track towards the LLHB. Corduroy track: A corduroy track begins at the junction on the LRHB and continues in a northwesterly direction as far as the western edge of former Lot 11 (see Figure 5, Appendix 4). There are two distinct draglines off this track to the northeast, and both run down to the Makomiko Stream. The southernmost dragline has a bridge across the Makomiko Stream and continues on the other side, but there was no clear crossing for the dragline at the northwestern end of the corduroy track. The latter dragline was of particular note as parallel logs had been placed on the upward slope to assist with the hauling of logs. A large skid site was located and recorded to the northwest of the corduroy track, almost at the western edge of former Lot 11. The exact age and function of this corduroy track is unclear, but Dinwoodie possibly used this track for hauling logs with his R D 6 Caterpillar. Right hand branch (RHB): The RHB heads east up a slight incline with exotics planted on either side of the formation, and then continues in a north-easterly direction towards the edge of former Lot 10, where a skid site and associated drag lines were recorded. Historic maps indicate that it continued beyond this point into the block of Lawson's Cypress, and although draglines are visible in this area on aerial photographs, these were not located during the archaeological survey. The RHB is overgrown in places, but continuous lengths of wooden rail, including a section of double tramline, are present, and there are metal rails further along the branch. There are also a number of bridge crossings along the RHB and several side branches with skid sites and draglines, including two to the south which cross the stream. Recorded artefacts along the RHB (and its side branches) including numerous bogey wheels. Skid Sites and Drag Lines 16 skid sites have been recorded within the Makatote Tramway site, either adjacent to the main branches or at the end of side branches. These skid sites are of varying condition and size, but they all have the same basic construction whereby a series of base lateral logs supported several cross beams, which the logs were hauled onto. The lateral logs were notched to support the cross beams. Wire rope was frequently observed around tree trunks in close proximity to the skid sites, and scaffolding marks were also recorded on two tree trunks. Associated draglines also varied in their length and depth; some were difficult to detect whilst others were clearly visible with a depth of 1 to 1.5 metres. In some cases, the drag lines also forked, as seen with the drag line that runs off the corduroy track down to the Makomiko Stream and continues on the other side. This drag line is 2 metres wide, 0.6m metres deep and has a length of 243.5 metres before it forks into two branches. The left hand branch continues for another 49 metres whilst the right hand branch continues for a further 229 metres. House Sites There are no structural remains of any houses associated with the Makatote Tramway and mill, but oral history interviews indicate that there were 3 houses, located in the clearings along the eastern side of State Highway 4 (between the road and the National Park). These clearings were inspected as part of the archaeological survey of the site, and relevant features were recorded. A pit was noted in the northern most clearing (House Site 1) and various artefacts were observed including a white china plate with the inscription 'Victoria/China/Czechoslovakia'. The next clearing to the south (House Site 2) contained a number of pit features, and further pits were recorded in the bush to the north of this clearing, as were artefacts such as ceramics, bottle glass and an enamel billy. Two in situ wooden posts and a metal pipe were also recorded in this clearing. Two pits and a wooden post were recorded in the third clearing (House Site 3) heading south towards the Makatote Gully, and a fourth, much larger clearing (House Site 4) contained a pit filled with twentieth century European artefacts, including broken ceramics and glass.