Mackays Crossing
Mackays Crossing is a small place on New Zealand’s North Island, on the Kapiti Coast. It sits between Paekākāriki to the south and Raumati South to the north. The name was once written as MacKays Crossing, but in 2016 it was officially changed to Mackays Crossing to use the original Mackay family spelling.
Māori lived in the area until the mid-1800s, when European farmers moved in after land sales. In 1859, Alexander Mackay was granted land nearby. The name Mackays Crossing appears when the Wellington–Manawatu railway line was built through the land, and later when State Highway 1 crossed the railway at Mackay land.
During World War II, the area was used for defence. Camp Russell and Camp Mackay were built for U.S. troops (another camp, Camp Paekakariki, was closer to Paekākāriki). After the war, the coast-to-railway land became Queen Elizabeth Park, and inland land became Whareroa Farm.
The level crossing where SH 1 meets the North Island Main Trunk was one of the last on SH 1 between Wellington and Auckland until 2005, when a four-lane overbridge and a 2 km realignment were built to separate road and rail. The old crossing still exists to give access to Queen Elizabeth Park. The Mackays Crossing Interchange is now the southern end of the Kāpiti Expressway and the northern end of the Transmission Gully Motorway.
In 1983 the railway through Mackays Crossing was electrified, part of extending the Kāpiti Line from Paekākāriki to Paraparaumu, and the line was double-tracked up to Mackays Crossing. The double track was extended from Mackays Crossing to the Waikanae River in 2011.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:42 (CET).