A regional councillor has called for a long-forgotten railway disaster in the King Country to be officially commemorated. Kirton said the Ōngarue railway disaster, which took place about 20km north of Taumarunui, marked the first major loss of life in New Zealand railway history and it remains our third worst rail accident. More significantly, the disaster showed that converting passenger carriages from gas to electric lighting – a decision already approved in principle – deserved far higher priority. By the end of that year all trains working the Main Trunk Line had been fitted with electric lighting sets. And following the terrible loss of life in 1923, for many years a jigger patrolled the section of track in question before passenger trains went through.

Source: Stuff April 16, 2021 17:00 UTC