Name There has been some confusion around the name of Te Aute. On 8 December 1912 the name of the next station, Pukehou, was changed to Te Aute and Te Aute was changed to Te Nahu. Then, on 14 September 1913 the name was changed to Opapa and Pukehou reverted to its original name. From the 1930s the address 'Te Aute, Opapa' was sometimes used.
Construction and alterations Te Aute station was first built between 1874 and 1876. It was part of the
Paki Paki to
Waipukurau contract, tendered on 15 July 1874 for £19,532 by
Charles McKirdy, of
Wellington, who built the
Rimutaka Incline and several other lines. A local contractor tendered £29,173. There were allegations of mismanagement and disputes about the contracts. However, in 1876, the Minister for Public Works,
Edward Richardson, attributed delays only to unexpectedly heavy land claims and floods. S Tracey and Allen, of
Napier, tendered £7,989 for track for the Paki Paki-
Waipawa length in September 1875. Te Aute station was tendered on 12 April 1875, the platform on 17 May and the goods shed on 25 August. Joseph Sowrey got the £195 contract to build the station on 30 August and completed it by 29 October, the £485, x goods shed by 14 February 1876 and a water tank by 26 May 1876. McLeod & Co built a 5th class
stationmaster's house and loading platform by 26 October 1875. There was a Post Office at the station from 1885 to 1949, with a telephone from 1914. and burnt down the station, but just 6 days later authority was given for a new station. By 1896 Te Aute had a
5th class station, platform, cart approach, loading bank, cattle and sheep yards, fixed signals, stationmaster's house, urinals and a
passing loop for 36 wagons. Electric lighting came in 1940.
Refreshment rooms Refreshment rooms were added in 1878. Complaints were made in 1896 that trains didn't stop long enough for refreshments. In 1889 £175 was spent to add a ladies room. In November 1895 £45 was approved for erecting railway-owned refreshment rooms to replace the burnt ones. From then on they were let by 3-yearly tenders, until at least 1912. A 2010 guide said the rooms were open from 1897 to 1945. The refreshment rooms were at the north end of the platform, separate from the main building. and 1972.
Services Initially Te Aute was a temporary terminus, from
Spit. It isn't clear when the extension from
Paki Paki opened. It may have been 11, though Parliament was told opening was on 16 February 1876. Whichever, it seems the passenger trains still ran only to Paki Paki, at least until late March 1876 and Te Aute continued to be served by a mail coach, The train/coach journey from Napier to Wellington then took 2½ days. Te Aute remained the terminus until Monday 28 August 1876, when the line was extended to Waipawa. reduced to 2 in 1881 and back to 3 in 1883. From the opening of the link to Wellington in 1891, Te Aute had 4 trains a day in each direction, which continued in 1896. Opapa featured in annual returns from 1895 to 1918, when it lost its officered station status. For example, in 1917 Opapa issued 3,077 tickets and loaded 69,137 sheep.
Closure and restoration The station closed to passengers in about 1966 and the goods yard was lifted in 1981. Tablet control ended in 1991. but was dissolved in 2004. Opapa Railway Heritage Trust had replaced it in 2015.
Te Aute bank Te Aute has a 1 in 46
gradient to the south of it,
Pukehou being higher than Te Aute. == Incidents ==