The devastation at Tangiwai was so great that some of the bodies were never recovered, despite an extensive search and clean-up. Photo / Graham Stewart (inset)
The devastation at Tangiwai was so great that some of the bodies were never recovered, despite an extensive search and clean-up. Photo / Graham Stewart (inset)
On the 70th anniversary of New Zealand’s worst rail disaster, a new Herald podcast recalls the tragedy and lessons of Tangiwai. In episode two, host Hamish Williams talks to the Herald’s man on the spot and learns how the nation and the world absorbed the shocking news.
Graham Stewart has a rare honour to his name. He was the first photographer to have a photo published on the front page of the New Zealand Herald, when he snapped the young Queen Elizabeth arriving in the country in 1953.
The photo ran on Christmas Eve. Two days later, in a double achievement Stewart has mixed feelings about, he had a second historic front page photo - this time showing the carnage of the Tangiwai rail disaster, which killed 151 people on the Christmas Eve Wellington-Auckland express.
Stewart admits he was a little slow off the mark for a newsman. His father woke him at 1am on Christmas Day after a railway friend had tipped him off about the crash, which he thought his news photographer son might be keen to cover.
“Forget it, I said” recalls Stewart. “No one’s interested in a railway accident when the Queen of England is in town.”
It turned out the Herald newsroom was very interested. Stewart’s bosses told him to drive from Auckland to the crash scene as soon as possible.
What he found when he arrived has left a lasting impression.
Former Herald photographer Graham Stewart with one of his photos from the Tangiwai disaster crash scene. Photo / Dean Purcell
“I can never forget it. You couldn’t believe as we walked down through the silt to see the destruction, it was unbelievable.”
Stewart documented the site thoroughly, all the time wearing a shirt and tie, the standard dress code of photographers in the 1950s.
“Some of the carriages had been twisted and torn apart like sardine cans. And all around you could see clothing, children’s toys lying in the mud. Some still wrapped in Christmas paper.”
He photographed one man who was lucky to be alive.
“He ended up waking up in the top of a tree on the river bank and as he said to me, apart from his underpants, he had been stripped of all his clothes by the river.”
Stewart’s apartment today is a gallery of New Zealand history, with his own photos of royalty, sports heroes, Sir Edmond Hillary and more. Among these largely joyful images one photo stands out - the tragic scene at the Whangaehu river on Christmas Day 1953.
Tangiwai: A Forgotten History is available at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. The series was made with the support of NZ On Air. For video and photos, go to nzherald.co.nz/tangiwai
