1/28/14

tangiwai railroad disaster memorial

A very sad day in the history of New Zealand, a train disaster on Christmas Eve occurred when volcanic lava flow crashed into the railway bridge at Tangiwai. Click here to read the story.  The stones on the monument, I've been told, are a Maori custom of bringing a piece of  'home' to the spirits of the dead so they don't feel alone.






12 comments:

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Hi Betty. How sad tha so many lost their lives especially as the authorities did not heed the warning. it is a lovle thing to do on Christmas Eve every year as a memory to the dead.

Jill Harrison said...

a sad reminder - but at least a place where loved ones can visit.
Have a wonderful week and thank you for stopp[ing by my blog today.

Ercotravels said...

Sad memories!!!

Cynthia said...

What a terrible and sad accident. I love that the train slows every Christmas Eve and the engineer throws a bouquet of flowers in remembrance. Interesting post.

Little Wandering Wren said...

That is a terribly sad story, it is a nice moment and I like the way you pictures sit simply on the page and you have a click here for more details.
Which you can see we all have!
Wren x

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

What a tragic and sad accident. The monument is a great way to remember those that died. And the train slowing and the engineer throwing flowers each year on Christmas Eve is a nice tradition.
Thanks for visiting me and leaving a comment!

Anonymous said...

I went to the link as I didn't know anything about this tragic accident. So sad.

The monument however is beautiful and the Maori custom is truly lovely .. as is the railroad's custom of remembering the tragedy on the anniversary.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

A beautiful memorial to all those who lost their lives so tragically. Thank you for sharing, xo Karen

jp@A Green Ridge said...

That is a wonderful memorial for those who lost their lives...:)JP

Lola said...

Such sad memories for such a tragic accident.

Ida said...

Wow that was indeed a tragic event. I've never heard of this before so I found it an interesting read even though many lost their lives many were also saved. What a nice tribute to those who did not survive.

mick said...

Sorry I didn't read this last week when you posted it. I remember Tangiwai! I was young - but we had friends whose sons died on that train - and my Dad went and helped them look for their boys. After all these years I still feel like crying!