South Road and High Street

The original road into Masterton from the south was along the line that the surveyor John Hughes cut, through the Three Mile Bush and, literally, through the Waingawa River near the current site of the electricity sub-station on Cornwall Road. Hughes’ Line linked up with South Road into the township.

This road proved to be unsuitable and the main road, now called High Street, was shifted further west. This allowed an easier bridging of the Waingawa River and avoided the swampy ground on the Taratahi Plains that made the original road impassable in winter.

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