The worst railway disaster in New Zealand’s history occurred on Christmas Eve 1953, when the Wellington–Auckland night express plunged into the flooded Whangaehu River, just west of Tangiwai in the central North Island.
Tangiwai Disaster
Events In History
Articles
Responding to tragedy
How police responded to the disasters, particularly Tangiwai, Wahine and Erebus Read the full article
Royal Visit of 1953-54
For those New Zealanders who experienced it, the visit of the young Queen and her dashing husband, Prince Philip, to New Zealand in the summer of 1953-54 was a never-to-be forgotten event. Read the full article
Page 1 - The royal visit, 1953-54
For those New Zealanders who experienced it, the visit of the young Queen and her dashing husband, Prince Philip, to New Zealand in the summer of 1953-54 was a never-to-be
Page 4 - The Queen and Māori
For many Māori the royal visit raised important issues about their place in New
Tangiwai disaster
New Zealand's worst railway disaster occurred 60 years ago on Christmas Eve 1953, when the Wellington–Auckland night express plunged into the swollen Whangaehu River near Tangiwai. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. The tragedy stunned the world and left a nation in mourning. Read the full article
Page 1 - Tangiwai railway disaster
New Zealand's worst railway disaster occurred 60 years ago on Christmas Eve 1953, when the Wellington–Auckland night express plunged into the swollen Whangaehu River near
Page 2 - Wrong place at the wrong time
The unfortunate sequence of events that led to the Tangiwai
Page 3 - Search and rescue
How locals and police responded to New Zealand's worst railway disaster
Page 4 - Dealing with the dead
Identifying victims is a major task following any mass tragedy. A number of circumstances made this process particularly difficult at
Page 5 - Death at Tangiwai: a class affair
Survival at Tangiwai depended on which class of carriage you were travelling
Page 6 - Further information
Recommended links and books relating to the Tangiwai
New Zealand disasters timeline
The disasters timeline and map give an overview of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, transport accidents, fires, mining accidents and other tragedies that have caused major loss of life. Read the full article
Page 1 - New Zealand disasters timeline
The disasters timeline and map give an overview of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, transport accidents, fires, mining accidents and other tragedies that have caused major
Main image: Tangiwai book cover
The Tangiwai disaster has been explored in several books, including Geoff Conly and Graham Stewart’s Tragedy on the track
