Journey to Tangiwai

My New Zealand Story

by David Hill

It’s 1953 and Peter is determined that his scout patrol will get to the finals of a First Aid competition. This means travelling to Auckland by train on Christmas Eve, a journey that Peter will never forget.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Diary, Middle Grade, Childrens

Paperback

First published March 3, 2003

About the author

David Hill (born 1942) is a New Zealand author, especially well known for his young adult fiction. His young fiction books See Ya, Simon (1992) and Right Where It Hurts (2001) have been shortlisted for numerous awards. He is also a prolific journalist, writing many articles for The New Zealand Herald.

He cites Maurice Gee as his favourite author, and Joy Cowley and Margaret Mahy as his favourite children's authors.

Hill attended Victoria University in Wellington, graduating MA Hons in 1964. Hill currently lives in New Plymouth.

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

why i decided to read this book:

I decided to read the book 'Journey To Tangiwai' by David Hill as it fits under the category box on the bingo board as 'a diary, autobiography or biography'

what the book is about:

'Journey To Tangiwai' is a diary of Peter Coterills day to day life in his home town of Napier, 1953. He begins writing in his diary at age 13, all the while the forces of nature are at work and he doesn't realise that a tragic life changing event is about to take place.

My favourite quote from this book (and why):

My favourite quote from the book is "So I took a deep breath and asked her straight away, 'cos I knew that if I waited, I'd lose my nerve. And she said she'd love to come with me to the end of year school dance."

This was said by Peter to a girl named Barbara Mason (his neighbour). I liked this quote because I found it humourous. Peter did not really like Barbara at all in the beginning of his diary as she was snobby to him and overall Peter just hated all members of the Mason family. The Masons were considered rich and had flash possessions eg: house & car which Peter resented.

Something new I learned from the book:

Something new I learned from the book is how fragile life is and that we must cherish our loved ones, you never know when they are going to die so spending quality time with them is important. Life is too short.

A character or setting in this book that was interesting to me (and why):

A setting in the book that was interesting to me is Tangiwai. Tangiwai is interesting because of the train ride incident that occurred there on December 24th, 1953. A Lahar; a great mudflow from the crater lake on Mt Ruapehu was the cause of this disaster.

Out of 10, i would rate 'Journey To Tangiwai' by David Hill a 7/10. It was an interesting read.

[Poppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so um David you had no right to make me cry.

[Antony Silich · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Journey to Tangiwai’ from the ‘My Story’ collection is a great insight into the post-war period of the early 1950s . The diary of Peter Cotterill explains to us in detail the struggles and blessings of living in New Zealand at the end of the Second World War. Where New Zealand still hasn’t got the predecessors of modern day technology that we take for granted today because in the worlds eyes, New Zealand was still that small speck in the middles of the vast Pacific Ocean . Only the very well off have motor vehicles , people still use ink wells to fuel pens and steam trains were still the most efficient way of crossing the fast growing country.

As the title suggests , the terrible Tangiwai train disaster is where the story is travelling towards. With every passing month in the diary you travel closer to the tragic event , and you get a new hint at how the life of Peter Cotterill, and the Tangiwai disaster collide .

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning something new everyday . In this story you will learn about the struggles of 1953, and how over 150 lives came to a terrible end all those years ago. And it makes you ask yourself questions. What could the young men onboard the train to Auckland have done with the lives that were cut short? And will a disaster like this ever happen again in a modern world ?

[Alysha Vaigalu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I wanted to learn about the history of New Zealand and we were learning about this event in class. My favourite quote from this book was "I will have the quote in here by Thursday" Something new I learned from this book was about this certain time in history and the way people lived. This book gave me a sense of the setting and where these people lived. A character I liked in this book was Peter because he was so determined and such an intelligent young man. This book fills the category of "A book written by a New Zealander"

[Molly]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Jen]

interesting how things have changed in the last 60 odd years. St John cadets were apparently taught to put a persons broken leg back into the correct position - ouch!!! and how to give injections!

Napier Boys High use to allow the use of guns for target practise!

Interesting what the main character does at scouts too - probably mostly interesting to me as I am a part of Scouts.

Also interesting as I live where this book is set

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pity I can't give a 4 1/2 stars.

I purchased this book for my son, and read it myself.

Not so much about the Tangiwai disaster, but about live in New Zealand in 1953.

I found this book very interesting and the diary format used, makes it readable, esp for children who don't like long chapters.

A worthwhile read for all ages - plus the print is a good size.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. I hope I can get my son to read it :)

[Nav · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's slow; very slice of life. His diary is mostly about school and some girl that irritates him (and yet he somehow can't stop writing about her) and his newspaper route and using his newly earned money on ice cream - it just so happens that more important events/themes of the day occasionally intrude on that mundane day to day as his mother considers getting a job, his ex-soldier uncle takes up the cause of pacifism, his friend's ex-soldier father runs off, and he ends up having to use his scout's first aide training for real.

[Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do you read it?

[Jane Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book a lot. So much happens and it is written really well. I didn't know anything about what happened at Tangiwai before reading this book, but now I do.

[Bridgette Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt so much reading this book about New Zealand in 1953.

[Yvette · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Melissa Sowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Connor Foster-Nesbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great reading about someones personal experience of the Tangiwai Disaster.
I loved this novel.