The+Tangiwai+train+disaster

The Tangiwai Train Disaster

The story

At 10.21 in the morning on Christmas Eve 1953 the train from Wellington to Auckland chugged along. There was nothing to suspect. The weather was fine. What was not known except the country side people, was that the Whangaehu River had flooded and washed the bridge away. The wall holding the crater of Mount Ruapehu collapsed, a huge flood of water and slit, flowed down the side of the mountain, and into the Whangaehu river. The country folk people beside the river had their lanterns out and were waving and waving for the train driver to stop, but very unfortunately the first two carriages plunged into the river. The nation was stunned. The name train and place name Tangiwai means 'weeping waters' and Maori, so that added to the sense of shock and tragedy. So perhaps the Maoris knew?



If you want to learn more about the tangiwai disaster Marcus Lush explains it very well on off the rails.

The activity

Here is a video of interviewing the survivors of the train disaster: media type="youtube" key="hmaOkfY9Jmg?hl=en" height="344" width="425"