Whanganui Vintage Weekend to feature excavated ‘Skunk’ locomotive as display

The historic locomotive "Skunk" will be on display at SteamRail Whanganui Inc over Vintage Weekend.

The 150 year-old steam locomotive nicknamed “Skunk” will be on full display at SteamRail Whanganui Inc’s open days over Anniversary weekend.

The historic locomotive was excavated from Whanganui’s South Mole in October after sitting buried under the dunes for more than 75 years.

“It’s significant as being the first New Zealand-built steam locomotive,” SteamRail Whanganui President Blair Jordan said.

It is one of the oldest surviving steam engines in New Zealand and played a key role in helping build Whanganui’s port.

This weekend will give people the opportunity to view Skunk at the beginning of its restoration journey as SteamRail Whanganui Inc works closely with New Plymouth-based HPFS Solutions conservation specialists to determine the next steps.

The restoration of the locomotive would be a challenge due to the salty, harsh conditions it was found in, said Jordan.

“In a lot of ways, it’s still waiting to determine what’s going to happen.”

Samples of the steel structure were taken for testing by HPFS Solutions just before Christmas.

Next steps for the restoration process and determining how much can be salvaged will depend on these test results.

The locomotive is being kept outside in the meantime to allow the sun to naturally wash the salt out of the steel, and the SteamRail team have begun removing other debris.

“It’s had a big hose-down and everything else to get rid of the sand and a clean-up,” Jordan said.

Visitors will be able to view the rusty relic along with information about its history over Whanganui Vintage Weekend as part of SteamRail Whanganui’s larger open day display.

“Skunk” was built by Lion Foundries in Wellington in 1875, along with sister locomotives the “Wallaby” and “Opossum”.

It began work in Foxton in 1876 on rail construction and subsequently helped to build the line north through Marton and Whanganui.

It switched owners several times before returning to Whanganui to aid in building the South Mole in the early 1900s. Following the completion of the South Mole project, it was offered up for sale but found no buyer.

The locomotive was left at the South Mole, where it was slowly forgotten and consumed by the sand dunes, with its last known sighting being in the 1950s.

“There was a building over it, but a storm blew the building away,” Jordan said, “ ... and just over the years the sand dunes slowly buried it.”

It was rediscovered in 2025 by the site supervisor of a Mills-Albert Ltd construction crew who had begun work related to rebuilding the South Mole as part of the Te Puwaha port revitalisation project.

The open days at 151 Taupo Quay run from 10am to 3pm, Saturday, January 17 to Monday, January 19.

Erin Smith is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.