Tangiwai Disaster Film Clips

Tangiwai Disaster | Film Clips | Radio Files | Tangiwai Memorial

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.

You will need Real or RealOne Player Basic to play these video clips.

Lower quality version	Higher quality version
Clip 1 (499k)	Clip 1 (2.9mb)
Clip 2 (471k)	Clip 2 (2.5mb)
Clip 3 (293k)	Clip 3 (2.7mb)
Clip 4 (584k)	Clip 4 (3.1mb)
	Clip 5 (3.1mb)

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. You can also see Prime Minister Sidney Holland and future Prime Minister Walter Nash walking around the crash scene.

Still images taken from Tangiwai film