BOOK LAUNCH

Underground book launch?

How would you launch a book about an historic railway tunnel?

Or where would you do it?

In the Tunnel of course. Maybe?

Well actually, no. But the brand new book about the Otira Railway Tunnel did have its time of total immersion.

It was decided that fifteen cartons of the book ‘Through the Alps’, should at least get a taste of life underground, after all the book is about the Otira Tunnel, which is about to celebrate its centennial on August 4th.

The 500 copies of the book were printed in Greymouth, before most were loaded onto Kiwi Rail’s Tranz Alpine at the Mawhera Station, for their trip through the Tunnel, ready for the official launch in Arthur’s Pass, by publishers the Arthur’s Pass Association.

At the book launch on July 15th, authors Bruce Shalders , Diane Gordon-Burns and Chris Stewart , spoke about the huge amount of research it has taken to write about this unique engineering marvel. The book covers the controversy over the route, the planning, surveying and the construction, with all its trials and difficulties over fifteen years. Also covered is the social history, and the beginnings of both Otira and Arthur’s Pass. The Tunnel, at the time it was built, was New Zealand’s largest engineering project, the longest tunnel in the British Empire at 8.5 kilometres long, and a steep upward grade from West to East.

Simon Williams.