The man shown opposite is my father, Neville Mosen. The photograph was taken in May 1962 by Rob Bowater and published in Wellington's Dominion newspaper. Dad was a Raetihi borough councillor and, along with other businessmen, he closed his shoe store as a sign of protest against the government's proposal to close the Raetihi-Ohakune railway line. All stores and offices in Raetihi were closed from 12.45pm to 2.00pm that day -Tuesday, 29 May 1962. On that day NZR's General Manager, Mr A T Gandell, and the Minister of Railways, Hon J K McAlpine, came to town. At a packed public meeting in the Theatre Royal, the minister announced that the branch line would remain open for another 12 months. A reprieve. 'Use it or lose it!' the town was told.
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