THE TANGIWAI RAILWAY DISASTER

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, 8 km west of Waiouru. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. The tragedy left a nation in mourning, and stunned the world.

How did it Happen?

The accident was caused by a sudden release of thousands of tonnes of water from the crater lake of Mt Ruapehu which surged down the Whangaehu River in a massive wave.�The swift and turbulent deluge, known� as a lahar, uplifted huge quantities of sand, silt, boulders and debris. Sometime between 10.10 and 10.15 p.m. it struck the concrete pylons of the Tangiwai railway bridge, sweeping away three quarters of the decking and track.�

Minutes later, Arthur Cyril Ellis, a young Taihape postal clerk, saw the light of the approaching locomotive Ka 949. In a desperate attempt to warn the driver he ran towards it waving a torch. Later investigations showed that the brakes had been applied, but not soon enough.�

At approximately 10.21 p.m. the engine, tender and all five second-class carriages plunged off the southern bank. The leading first-class carriage, car Z, teetered on the severed bridge and was boarded by Ellis and a guard, William Inglis, before crashing into the torrent below. The two men, together with passenger John Holman and an unidentified man, saved all but one of this car's 22 occupants by lifting them through the windows.�

Search and Rescue:

Within half an hour help had arrived and a gruesome, hazardous search and rescue operation began. Members of the New Zealand Forest Service, soldiers from Waiouru Military Camp, police, navy and Ministry of Works personnel, groups of farmers and other local volunteers worked throughout the night.�

At 3 a.m. Prime Minister Sid Holland� left for Waiouru to oversee rescue efforts.�

Forty-five minutes after the accident the river had subsided markedly, and by daybreak the scene resembled 'a mud estuary at low tide'. The topography in some areas had completely changed, and twisted and splintered carriages littered the landscape.�

The Victims:

Many of the survivors were 'shocked, filthy, choked with silt and half blind with oil'. But they were the lucky ones. In all, 131 bodies were recovered and 20 people remained unaccounted for.�

Pathologist Dr J.O. Mercer pronounced the main causes of death to be drowning and asphyxiation by silt.�

Special prayers were said at Christmas Day services throughout the country and many� messages of sympathy were received from overseas.�

Tangiwai was the world's eighth biggest rail disaster, and it dominated headlines world-wide.

On 31 December Prince Philip, who had arrived in New Zealand with Queen Elizabeth II eight days earlier, attended the state funeral for 21 unidentified victims in Wellington. They were buried at Karori Cemetery in an 18-metre long grave.�

On the last day of the royal tour the Queen awarded Ellis and Holman the George Medal for their services at Tangiwai. Inglis and Arthur Bell, who had single-handedly rescued 16 people, received the British Empire Medal.�

Board of Inquiry:

On 18 January 1954 a Board of Inquiry� was established to investigate the accident. Henry Hopkins, William Appleton� and chairman Wilfred Stilwell were assisted in their inquiries by James Healy, the superintending geologist at the Geological Survey, DSIR.�

On 23 April the board reported that no one was to blame for the disaster. As a result of its findings an early warning system was installed upstream on the Whangaehu River.�
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By Nicola Costello

THE TANGIWAI RAILWAY DISASTER

How did it Happen?

Search and Rescue:

The Victims:

Board of Inquiry:

Related links:

Bibliography