The original plan was for 2 moles – one from Taiora Head and one at Aramoana but due to budget restraints only the one at Aramoana was constructed. The aim of the mole was to protect the harbour entrance from silting by directing the tidal flow to keep a channel open for ships.
Construction started in 1884. Wooden piles were driven into the seabed with a railway line being built on the top to cart rorck from a local quarry. This rock was continually dumped along the mole for 4 years. Convict labourers were originally used, changing to unemployed men in 1886.
The mole was not built to its full specified height. Due to this and other factors it was decided to rebuild the mole with more piles driven, more rock added and with it being heighten and extended in the 1920s. Between 1926 and 1945 steamer ships were scuttled to protect it from erosion. Some streets in the township are named after these ships.
Near the end of the 1950s concrete structures called tetrapods were placed at the end of the pole to protect it. These had to be reinforced with more rocks and asphalt to stop them being move around by the sea.
As we saw on our trip (10/9/2025) the mole requires ongoing upkeep to keep it being effective against the ravages of the sea.
Written by Jan Palmer