History of the Bridge to Nowhere

The Bridge to Nowhere is a memorial to men, woman and children of the Mangapurua Valley - New Zealand's hardiest pioneers.

Visiting this area known as "The Valley of Abandoned Dreams" will give you an appriciation of the battles and hardships these families endured, in their endeavours to create a farming livelihood in this harsh environment.

Opened in 1917 as one of the Governments land settlement schemes for Returned Service men, 35 holdings were eventually developed into farms which were marginal at best.

The Bridge to Nowhere was built in 1935, and was intended to be the link between the Central North Island and Taranaki's route to the coast. Ironically enough, the first of the Mangapurua settlers to leave the Valley has adandoned their holdings by the time the Bridge was constructed.