Notes

Summary: 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. The accident was caused by a sudden release of thousands of tons of water from the crater lake of Mt Ruapehu which surged down the Whangaehu River in a massive wave. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.


On Christmas Eve,1953, New Zealand’s worst rail disaster occurred near Tangiwai, just north of Waiouru.