Opinion: Remembering Christmas Eve 1953 – A reflection on Tangiwai disaster

The wreckage of the ill-fated train at Tangiwai, which crashed into the Whangaehu River on Christmas Eve, 1953. Photo / File

OPINION

I spent my childhood in Wanganui, at Christmas time we went to Wellsford farm where my mother's family lived.

On Christmas Eve 1953 my mother Jessie Feeney was doing wages in the city, she worked for Zembers. My sister Louise and I, young and happy, bags packed for the farm holiday, our way of travel to Wellsford was by train, from Wanganui to Marton then north to Wellsford. Jessie was held up at the office and we missed our train north.

The next day a neighbour broke the news about the Tangiwai train disaster. In Gonville where we lived a vehicle travelled the streets with a loudspeaker announcing the news, also everyone heard it on their radios. Shockwaves prevailed. As memory serves me, we did travel by train later around the Stratford rail line up to Wellsford.

Upon our return rail trip, a temporary Bailey bridge had been built.

I now give a visual view – we had learnt that a lahar had flowed down from Mount Ruapehu and washed away the rail bridge that crossed the Whangaehu River and the train and carriages fell into the river.

My sister Louise and I, young and happy, bags packed for the farm holiday. Photo / Supplied

As we travel over the Bailey bridge, I look down at the train engine on a slant to the side of the empty drained river bank. Parts of train carriages were strewn along the embankments. I spotted a child's Christmas teddy bear and other flung gifts lay idle on dry mud banks.

Carriage seats were scattered. Our strong minded mother, Jessie, sat quietly on her train seat. I walked from our carriage to the water container and filled three paper cups for us. I felt tears fall down my face as the train rumbled up the hill. We were on our way home.