KOKONGA

Access to the Otago Central Rail Trail can be obtained from the Kokonga area.  The name means bend or corner, and the township was settled in the 1890's, the establishment of a railway workers camp providing the impetus for a more permanent settlement, the school roll expanding to 60. But by 1985, when the Kokonga railway station closed, the store and post office having closed in 1980, only a few people were living within the township area. The church, the old school building, moved to private property, and the store, which is now a private residence, are the only reminders of the township.