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This film was made using an 8mm camera by amateur cameraman Mr Edwin Nitschke on Boxing Day, 1953, two days after the disaster. We are most grateful to Mr Nitschke's family for making this available to us - it has never before been publicly screened. The approximately 5 minutes of total footage clearly shows the wreckage of the train and bridge against a backdrop of the still-swollen Whangaehu River.
The clips are provided below in low and higher resolution Windows Media Player (available on most Windows-based computers) and Real/RealOne Player formats. You can also see still images of the film below.
Clip one: scenes of train wreckage; Prime Minister Sidney Holland and future Prime Minister Walter Nash walking around the crash scene.
Clip two: wrecked carriages by the river; remnants of bridge.
Clip three: Police and army at the scene; bulldozers clearing rubble
Clip four: wrecked carriages by the still-swollen Whangaehu River
Clip five: Holland and Nash viewing the river; broken bridge; general wreckage.
Still images taken from Tangiwai film
