Before most people had cars or telephones, let alone television and the Internet, the railway provided many communities with their main connection to the outside world.
This timeline lists New Zealand’s worst natural disasters, transport accidents, fires, mining accidents and other tragedies that have caused major loss of life.
All aboard! The North Island main trunk railway is 100 years old in 2008. Take a trip back in time to explore the epic construction of the line, the heyday of the steam passenger train and the place of the iconic railway refreshment room in New Zealand life.
Members of Parliament and guests are assembled in front of the 'Parliament Special' in 1908. Members of Parliament travelling by rail received free gold medallion railway passes.
New Zealand's worst railway disaster occurred on Christmas Eve 1953. The Wellington–Auckland night express plunged into the flooded Whangaehu River, just west of Tangiwai, near Waiouru. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. The tragedy left a nation in mourning and stunned the world.
An island nation half a world away from its main trading partner, New Zealand in the mid-20th century was overwhelmingly dependent on sea transport for its prosperity and security.
On a fine, calm day ‘Cruising on The Interislander’ can be like a luxury Mediterranean cruise, but Cook Strait can be one of the world's roughest stretches of
water. Often, the ferry experience is less The Love Boat and more the 'chuck bucket'.
For most second-class travellers, travelling the main trunk meant a long, sleepless journey on hard-backed seats, struggling to find 'elusive comfort with the NZR pillow'.
The transformation of space through new communication and transport systems was a preoccupation in nineteenth-century New Zealand; twentieth-century society was no less intent on bridging gaps between people and places.
Politicians used the ferries to
travel between their electorates and Wellington,
so they scrutinised the Union Steam Ship Company's management of the ships.
Crossing Cook Strait is often idyllic, but it can be one of the world’s roughest stretches of water as it's part of the westerly wind belt known as the Roaring Forties.
One of the early issues parliamentarians discussed was pay for MPs, and one of the biggest difficulties MPs faced in the early years was travelling to Parliament.
Cook Strait ferries were vital to the flow of freight and
passengers between the North and South islands, and interruptions because of bad weather, mechanical problems or strikes and lockouts inevitably
hit the headlines.
As inter-island passengers switched from trains to
private cars in the 1960s, the Maori was converted to a roll-on roll-off
ferry, loading vehicles through a stern door.
Premiere twice in the 1870s, Julius Vogel was a staunch advocate for provincial rights, who pushed for independence for the South Island. Colonial treasurer in the Fox government, he set up a bold economic programme of public works and large-scale assisted immigration, that relied heavily on borrowing money from the London money market.
Resembling a modern European or Asian metro station, Auckland’s gleaming Britomart Transport Centre has helped boost rail commuter patronage in this sprawling, car-dominated city.
This slide show illustrates the vital role played by horses and mules on the Belgian battlefields. Hundreds of these animals were employed hauling field guns and delivering munitions, rations and other supplies to the front line, often in appalling conditions.
The establishment of scenic reserves along highways was to return great benefit for the travelling public once the motor car became more widely available in the 1950s and 1960s. Morere Springs Scenic Reserve is a well-known example.
In his speech introducing the Scenery Preservation Bill, Premier Seddon was nostalgic about his first views of the Buller Gorge in the 1870s. Scenic reserves were established in the Upper and Lower Buller Gorge in 1907, and these have been added to since that time.
