IPENZ Engineering Heritage Jobhunt Foundation

News & Events

New United Kingdom railway Virtual Archive
Network Rail in the United Kingdom has recently launched its website’s Virtual Archive. This digital collection means you can learn more about the history of Britain’s rail network through archival material, like the original drawings for the Forth Rail Bridge and many other structures.

‘Titanic Sinks!’: New Zealand press coverage of the Titanic disaster, 1912
Ministry for Culture and Heritage historian, Peter Clayworth, looks back at the Titanic disaster a century later and New Zealand’s reaction to the tragedy.

Gisborne-Napier railway left hanging after slips
Storms in late March caused a number of spectacular washouts along the Gisborne-Napier railway.
Napier-Gisborne Railway Line: IPENZ Engineering Heritage Record information

Pearse flew long after Wrights
Conclusive evidence has been found that Richard Pearse did not fly an aeroplane before the Wright brothers in 1903.
Richard Pearse Memorial: IPENZ Engineering Heritage Record information

New to the IPENZ Engineering Heritage Register

At its April meeting the IPENZ Engineering Heritage Board confirmed the registration of Kopu Bridge in the Coromandel, as well as the Makohine Viaduct and Raurimu Spiral on the North Island Main Trunk railway. These places have been assessed as being among New Zealand’s engineering achievements of special or outstanding significance.

  • Kopu Bridge, Waihou River
    The Kopu Bridge has special heritage significance as the only remaining complete example of a swing span type of bridge in New Zealand. Until recently the structure was the longest remaining single-lane traffic bridge still in use in the country.
  • Makohine Viaduct, North Island Main Trunk railway
    As the highest New Zealand viaduct at the time of its construction in 1902, the Makohine Viaduct is a lasting tribute to Peter Seton Hay’s engineering achievements and initiative.
  • Raurimu Spiral, North Island Main Trunk railway
    The Raurimu Spiral is an exceptional example of engineering problem solving and ingenuity. Robert West Holmes’ masterpiece displayed creativity in overcoming the challenging sudden drop in landscape at the north of the Central Plateau.

Engineering sites recently added to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust register

Several places of engineering interest have been added to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) register, or undergone a registration review, over the last few months. Information on these Category 1 historic places is now available on the NZHPT website: www.historic.org.nz.