Onerahi Branch

Roughly 20 years later the maintenance bill was rising and the wharf's inadequacies were being revealed as it was too shallow for some vessels to access.

This was far superior to the coastal steamers and both passenger and freight traffic on the Onerahi Branch rapidly spiralled downwards.

In 1914, a railway was surveyed to run south from Whangārei to Waipu, and although World War I delayed the start of any work, the construction of formation was in progress in 1920.

However, in 1924, construction was abandoned without any track being laid as road transport was beginning to compete with rail and an insignificant branch to serve local farming interests was no longer seen as necessary.

In 1979 it was suggested that Marsden Point could be used for forestry export, and a 14-kilometre branch from the North Auckland Line was proposed, but it was not built.

In 2007, however, the proposal was revived, and the Northland Regional Council is currently negotiating land purchases that would allow the link to be constructed.