Railways and Society in New Zealand
Railway history, and transport history in general, have been largely neglected by professional and academic historians in New Zealand. While the field has long been popular with enthusiasts, they have tended to focus on locomotive and rolling stock minutiae, engineering feats and so on.
This short, well-illustrated book will explore the place of railways in New Zealand society, focusing especially on popular culture, food, accommodation, sport, leisure and tourism. It will consider rail's influence on literature, music and language; on food, drink and dining habits (including such icons as the railway cup and the ubiquitous refreshment rooms); tourism and leisure; railways' role in the expansion of commercial travel, regional and national organisations, the circulation of newspapers and magazines, touring by local and international cultural groups, as well as horse racing and organised team sports (especially by facilitating inter-regional and national competitions); and more recent issues around rail heritage preservation and the enduring attraction of rail nostalgia. See also related railways topics on NZHistory.net.nz.
Historian Neill Atkinson's book, Trainland: How Railways Made New Zealand, was published by Random House in October 2007.
The railway station and refreshment rooms at Taihape, around 1915
Image information:
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
Ref:
Frederick George Radcliffe Collection, 1/2-006010
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library
of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before
any re-use of this image.