The former Glenhope Railway Station on the Kohatu-Kawatiri Highway (State Highway 6) at Glenhope was built in 1912 and was for many years the terminus of the Nelson railway (1876-1955). It has historical significance as a rare, in-situ survivor of the Nelson railway and is significant within the wider context of New Zealand’s transport history, particularly the closure of railways in the 20th century and associated protest movements. It has architectural value as an authentic example of a Troup ‘B’ class station.

Te Tau Ihu (Nelson-Marlborough) has a long history of Māori settlement over hundreds of years, reflecting successive waves of migration through to the early 1820s-1830s. The region’s rich and layered Māori history is reflected by the eight recognised iwi – Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa and Rangitāne (Kurahaupō tribes), Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Rārua (Tainui tribes), and Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa (Taranaki tribes). Land purchases commenced from 1839 and a New Zealand Company Settlement was established at Whakatū (Nelson), with the first immigrant ships arriving in 1842. Colonial settlement slowly developed and Whakatū became a city in 1858, at which time it had just over 5000 inhabitants. Early discussions about a rail link to the rest of the South Island rail network led to the authorisation of the Nelson railway in 1871. The first 30.4-kilometre section to Foxhill opened in 1876 but further progress was slow and by 1908 the railway had only been built as far as Kiwi. The next section to Glenhope Station was officially opened by Minister of Railways W.H. Herries on 2 September 1912.

Glenhope Station was designed by architect George Alexander Troup (1863-1941), who was at that time Designing Engineer for New Zealand Railways, and constructed by Nelson builder Sydney Melville Galbraith. It has been described as a ‘simplified version’ of the Queen Anne style of the classic Troup stations and was a variation of the Troup ‘B’ class design. It was 17 feet (5. 2 metres) wide and 75 feet (22.9 metres) long and had a low-pitched gable roof with a simple truss gable screen and finial at either end. The building was clad in shiplap weatherboards and had double hung sash windows and panelled doors. Running north to south, the building comprised a luggage room, postal lobby, postal and station master room, lobby, ladies’ waiting room and ladies’ toilet (in a lean-to). Fireplaces were located in the station master room, lobby and ladies’ waiting room (the latter two rooms served by a back-to-back fireplace). A free-standing Troup type 2 platform verandah with open ends was added to the northern end of the station in 1919/early 1920 in anticipation of a visit by the Prince of Wales in May 1920.

Kawatiri became the new terminus of the Nelson Railway in 1926 but in 1931 the Kawatiri to Glenhope section closed and all further work was suspended due to the Great Depression. Glenhope Station was ‘the end of the line’ until the permanent closure of the Nelson railway on 3 September 1955, a decision which was met with considerable public outcry. The Glenhope station complex was dismantled over a week in November 1955, though the station building remained and was purchased by neighbouring farmer Newton McConochie in 1957. A.J and M.C Pettigrew took over the property in 1965 and the Pettigrew family used the building as part of their farming operation for many years, adding a lean-to roof to the western elevation for hay storage. In 2011 ownership of the wider Glenhope Station site transferred to the Department of Conservation and it was declared a historic reserve. In recent years the station building has undergone significant restoration.