The camp was in use between 1920 and 1926 when the Kawatiri Section opened, and housed, at its greatest extent, over 300 labourers, tradesmen and other support staff.

Kawatiri was never of any great importance to the Railways Department, initially being served by only two trains a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from its opening on 21 June 1926.

This initial timetable did not last long before being rescinded, after which the Railways Department only operated heavy goods trains to the station.

An economic depression led to the establishment of a Commission in June 1930 to review the construction and operation of NZR lines around the country.

A bronze memorial plaque commemorates the 1944 accident when an aircraft operated by Air Travel Ltd crashed nearby in bush on the slopes of Mount Hope with the loss of two lives.