Rail tourism
Tourist flights to Antarctica - Erebus disaster
Time out - life in the 20th century
Time out: recreation and leisure
Beautiful New Zealand - scenery preservation
Romantic wonderland
Even before systematic colonisation began in 1840, New Zealand had been promoted in British publications as a wild, scenic, romantic wonderland – and a place of extremes. Guidebooks responded to the growing Victorian appetite for travel, and they marketed flora and fauna and the iconic 'old-time Maori'. These interests also reflected the European fashion for the picturesque and the perception of the 'wild and primitive' romantic landscape as the antidote to the increasingly artificial and corrupt urban life of industrialised society. According to this idea, wild places were not only beautiful but could serve as areas of physical recreation and mental and spiritual rejuvenation.
Timeline to disaster - Erebus disaster
Day excursions - rail tourism
From the early days of rail, excursion and special trains gave people new opportunities to visit beaches, lakes, parks, racecourses and shows. Aside from the charms of their destination, these trips were an adventure in themselves, offering passengers the chance to experience the novelty and thrill of rail travel, often for the first time. Crucially, excursions were also much cheaper than everyday full-fare travel.
Travelling by train - North Island main trunk line
A 'dimly-lit, meat-pie journey'
Hear about train travel in New Zealand (1mb).
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