u/BertOfAotearoa

The wrecked Auckland–Wellington express (Geoff Conly and Graham Stewart)

The Auckland−Wellington express ploughed into a huge slip that had slumped across the tracks at Ōngarue, north of Taumarunui in King Country. Seventeen people were killed and 28 injured. This was the first accident to claim more than four lives since the beginning of New Zealand’s railway history 60 years earlier.

The disaster occurred just before 6 a.m. There was no chance to stop as the train was rounding a sharp bend. Locomotive Ab 748, its tender and the following postal van were thrown off the track. Further back in the train, the force of the impact telescoped three wooden carriages. At least 12 passengers were killed instantly. The engine driver and fireman were both badly injured, but survived. Most of those in the sleeping cars at the rear of the train only learned of the accident when they were woken so their bedsheets could be used as bandages.

Ōngarue remains the country’s third-deadliest rail disaster, behind the Tangiwai (see 24 December) and Hyde (see 4 June) tragedies, which killed 151 and 21 people respectively.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/auckland-wellington-express-train-disaster

Poll tax certificate (Archives New Zealand, LS 24/1 1615)

Parliament passed the Chinese Immigrants Act. After this received the Royal Assent, a ‘poll tax’ of £10 (equivalent to around $2000 today) was imposed on Chinese migrants and the number allowed to land from each ship arriving in New Zealand was restricted. Only one Chinese passenger was allowed for every 10 tons of cargo. In 1896 this was changed to one passenger for every 200 tons, and the tax was increased to £100 (equivalent to $20,000).

As employment on the goldfields dwindled, anti-Chinese prejudice had intensified, with calls for Chinese immigration to be restricted. In 1881 New Zealand followed Canada and the Australian colonies in imposing entry taxes on Chinese immigrants.

Numerous organisations opposed to Chinese immigration emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Anti-Chinese Association, the Anti-Chinese League, the Anti-Asiatic League and the White New Zealand League.

Further restrictions on Chinese migration and residency in the 1920s rendered the poll tax largely inoperative, and it was waived by the minister of customs from 1934. However, the legislation was not repealed until 1944, long after other countries had abandoned such measures. In 2002 the New Zealand government officially apologised to the Chinese community for the injustice of the tax.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/poll-tax-imposed-on-chinese

Boxing match, New Plymouth, 1930 (Puki Ariki, PHO2009-334)

The New Zealand Boxing Association (NZBA) was formed to promote and foster amateur boxing in this country. After drawing up its rules and obtaining parliamentary sanction, the association staged its first New Zealand championships in Christchurch later in 1902.

The NZBA helped to inaugurate the Australian championships (in which New Zealand boxers competed) the following year; these ceased to be an inter-dominion event in the 1920s. The first legal professional bout was fought in Wellington in 1905 and the NZBA’s first official professional title was won in 1907.

Timaru boxer Bob Fitzsimmons had already won two of his three world professional titles when the NZBA was set up. And it was in boxing that New Zealand won its first individual Olympic gold medal, in 1928. Ted Morgan, a virtual unknown, overcame the handicap of dislocating the first knuckle of his left hand to win gold in the welterweight class at Amsterdam. The NZBA amateur lightweight champion in 1925 and 1927, Morgan had to move up a class to fight at the Olympics after putting on weight during the voyage from New Zealand.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/nz-boxing-association-formed-christchurch

Sketch of Te Kooti probably drawn by Thomas Ryan, 1880s (Alexander Turnbull Library, A-114-004-2)

Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki of Rongowhakaata was arrested near Gisborne in 1865 after allegedly helping a ‘rebel’ Pai Mārire force. Released and then re-arrested, he became one of hundreds exiled to the remote Chatham Islands.

Here Te Kooti established the Ringatū faith, which was adopted by many of his fellow exiles. In July 1868 he masterminded an uprising by 300 prisoners who overpowered their guards, captured the schooner Rifleman and sailed for New Zealand, landing near Poverty Bay six days later.

When the government refused to negotiate with them, the whakarau (exiles) fought their way inland. In November they raided Poverty Bay, killing many people – Māori and Pākehā – who had crossed Te Kooti over the years (see 10 November).

Te Kooti was an effective guerrilla leader, but no military genius. After defeat at Ngātapa in early 1869, he retreated to the remote Urewera Ranges. For three years, he was pursued across the central North Island by Pākehā and kūpapa (allied Māori) forces.

When his Tūhoe hosts were forced to surrender, Te Kooti sought the protection of King Tāwhiao. The government pardoned him in 1883.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/te-kooti-escapes-from-the-chatham-islands

Wreckage of the National Airways Corporation DC3 (NZ Herald/newspix.co.nz)

The 1963 crash of a National Airways Corporation DC3, with the loss of all 23 people on board, remains the worst air accident within New Zealand. 

The flight departed from Auckland, bound for Wellington via Tauranga, Gisborne and Napier. The weather was stormy, but forecasts underestimated the force of the wind. During its descent into Tauranga, the plane was caught in a turbulent downdraught and slammed into a ridge on the Kaimai Range. Insufficient altitude and navigational problems contributed to the crash, but the ferocious winds were the crucial factor. It took rescuers two days to locate and reach the crash site.

A Court of Inquiry noted that there was no distance-measuring equipment at Tauranga airport, technology which would have given the pilot an accurate indication of how far he was from his destination. It recommended that this equipment be installed at all commercial airports and suggested a review of minimum safe altitudes for flights, Aircraft should carry locator beacons so they could be found quickly if they crashed. 

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/nac-dc-3-skyliner-crashes-in-the-kaimai-range-near-tauranga