Railways Studios - rail tourism
Railways Magazine - rail tourism
Peddling politicians - Election Days
Branding the Cook Strait ferries
Rangatira ferry poster
The biggest and the best – but obsolescent. By the time the second Rangatira entered service on the Lyttelton–Wellington route in 1972, overnight voyaging no longer appealed to many people. The ship served for just four years, the last two of them courtesy of a government subsidy.
Alexander Turnbull Library,
Reference: Eph-A-Ship-1972-01-front
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New
Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any
reuse of this image.
Promoting the fast ferry service
When Tranz Rail introduced its own fast ferry on Cook Strait, its TV advertisements showed cartoon seagulls clinging to the deck only to be plucked off one by one as The Lynx (aka 'the vomit comet') gathered speed.
Captain Michael Pryce collection
Rail trips for families advertisement
Commercial advertising in the inter-war years was frequently aimed at families, especially those living in the burgeoning bungalow suburbs around the cities. The family holiday was widely promoted as a vital ingredient in a healthy lifestyle and as a symbol of social status. As this 1930s advertisement from the New Zealand Railways Magazine illustrates, the Railways Department targeted the family travel market with special fares and packages.
New Zealand Railways Magazine
Other Ministry Websites
