Water tank or vat A water tank or vat as they are known in rail circles, was a vital necessity to service steam trains. The first tank was said to have been shifted to this site in 1908. and had to be ensured of a constant water supply. The existing tank relocated here in circa 1927 is said to be constructed of kauri timber with 2 ½ inch x 4 inches thick planks and is kept water tight by the pressure of the water within the tank pushing on the 50 or so timber stays, slightly angled and carefully designed to fit together. The water is supplied by a dam that was constructed in circa 1877 up an unnamed creek about 100 metres into the bush from near the wharf. The water was gravity fed through pipes to the railway tank. By 1897 there was a water reservoir added downstream of the dam. This dam and reservoir used to supply water to the wharf, hotel and locomotives. as well as some of the rail department houses. It has by all accounts remained a reliable water source for the trains and the town being supplied by the snow fed mountain