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Kiwi of the Week

  • ada-wells-biography.jpg

    Ada Wells

    Ada Wells is remembered for her contribution to the women's suffrage campaign in the 1880s and 90s, and for becoming the first woman elected to the Christchurch City Council in 1917.

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Today in History

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Tangiwai railway disaster

1953 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 at Tangiwai. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. more...

Internal links

Travelling by train - North Island main trunk lineTangiwai railway disasterNew Zealand disasters timeline1953 - key eventsTangiwai rail disaster - roadside stories

External links

  • Tangiwai Historic Reserve (Historic Places Trust)
  • Tangiwai tragedy (1966 encyclopaedia)
  • Ruapehu and the Tangiwai Disaster (Te Ara)
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