Coal was discovered at
Kawakawa in 1864. Rails and wagons from the
Auckland & Drury railway were used for the
gauge,
horse-drawn tramway from the mine to the Derrick wharf on the
Kawakawa River at Taumarere. The tramway opened on 26 December 1867 and was completed on 16 January 1868, after which the mine was transferred to the newly formed Bay of Islands Coal Company. Horses and the wooden tramway line were replaced on January 28, 1871, by the first steam engine to run in the North Island. In 1874 Bay of Islands Coal Company agreed with Auckland Province that the government would take over the tramway and build the extension. The line was closed from 2 to 11 December 1876 to allow for it to be converted to
3 ft 6 in gauge. Work on the Kawakawa River viaduct and first mile of the extension to Opua was completed in April 1881, a contract was let on 10 December 1880 for the remaining and a start was made in June 1881, but it wasn't until October 1883 that authority was sought for a solid platform at the station, which was rebuilt'''' before 7 April 1884, when the extension opened. When the line opened to Opua, the to the Derrick Wharf closed. The company declined an offer to run the line, so the track was operated by
New Zealand Railways Department. The company sold the tramway to the government and paid 6% of the total cost of the line to lease it back. The station was originally closer to the village, between Bridge 5 (Tirohanga Stream) and the Rugby Club, but, after closure on 7 April 1974,''
it was moved east, near the bridge over the Kawakawa River. In 1883, as a railway, and then in 1890 as a tramway, a Kamo-Puhipuhi link was proposed, with a possible Taumarere-Puhipuhi extension, including a 1 in 12 incline. Possibly it was the same proposed tramway depicted in an undated plan of the station. Taumarere had one By 1898 it had a platform, water tower, cattle yard and a
passing loop and a loading bank was added in 1916. The siding was removed about 1955.'' A wooden platform was built at the rugby ground in 2011. == Long Bridge ==