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Extant Road Steam in New Zealand

Click here for the "Surviving Steam Road Engines" index page.


The attendance of several road engines from New Zealand at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in 2018 coincided with the offer of pictures of more from Phil Barnes and I thought it time I started to make a record of what exists in a country where populationwise there may be proportionately almost as many active as there are here in the UK. There are also regular gatherings whose ambience would be instantly recognisable to anyone who has been to a medium size UK steam rally. 

Necessarily there is a very different mix of engines, most were supplied for agricultural purposes. This is NOT a comprehensive list, I would welcome submissions to increase the coverage. 

Back in 1987, a New Zealand Traction Engine Register was published, copies are extremely hard to come by, a classic case of "rare as hen's teeth" A quick summation comes out at just under 300. of course only a fairly small proportion are serviceable at any time and of these I suspect that only a minority appear in public. 

What I believe was the largest steam gathering in New Zealand's history took place between March 24th and 26th 2006 at Rangiora, north of Christchurch. It was designated as a "Burrell Special Traction Engine Rally" and from the list which appears on https://steamscenes.org.uk/events/2006/new-zealand/, there were some 77 road engines present, Burrells making up just under half those present. Those in this list who attended, 25 in all, are indicated with a "@" in the notes column. 

There are some reference links for those contemplating a visit but frankly the web presence of road steam in New Zealand is minimal.

Latest addition are Fowler 12921 (21st November 2023), engines from Wilson Lythgoe's April 2023 visit, a Garrett portable at the Goldfields Museum, Otago (19th October 2022), pictures from 2022 Horse Power Rally at Timaru (4th October 2022),  two Case traction engines (5th September 2022), previously an Aveling and Porter traction engine 7484/1912 (11th April 2021) and a Hornsby portable (14th September 2020).


Click on a thumbnail for a larger picture, then click the link or the 'back' button to return to this page.

Steam Rollers

Location

Maker

Number

Year

Notes

1 Tokomaru Museum, North Island Aveling and Porter 8109 1913
2 MOTAT, Auckland Aveling and Porter 10863 1924
3 Wanaka Toy and Transport Museum, Otago Fowler 14258 1914
4 Fowler 16773 1926 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
5 Marshall 55620 ca 1910-11 Picture taken at Great Manawutu Steam Fair, 17th March 2019
6 Marshall 78578 ca 1924/5 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
7 Tokomaru Museum, North Island Marshall 85055 1929
8 Eltham, North Island McLaren 725 1903
9 Dunedin Gasworks Museum McLaren 1831 1925 Diesel Conversion
10 Next to SH11 at the bottom of Lemons Hill
near Kawakawa acting as a post box. North Island.
Ruston and Hornsby 122112 ca 1923

Traction Engines

Location

Maker

Number

Year

Notes

101

Aveling and Porter 7217 ca 1910-11 Picture taken at the Great Manawutu Steam Fair, 17th March 2019

102

Aveling and Porter

7304 1911 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

103

South Island

Aveling and Porter

7484

1912

104 New Plymouth, North Island

Aveling and Porter

7806

1912

Picture taken at the Taranaki Vintage Machinery Club's Hay Days event in mid Feb 2019.
105 Aveling and Porter 11358 1925 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

106 Brown and May 7530 1906 "Pippin"
Picture taken at the Great Manawutu Steam Fair,17th March 2019
107 Burrell 2409 1901 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
108 Dunedin Gasworks Museum Burrell 2632 1903
109 Tawhiti Museum, near Hawera, North Island

Burrell

2763

ca 1905 @
110 Burrell 2835 1906 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

111 Burrell 2886 1907 Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022

@

112 Burrell 3049 1908 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

113 Burrell 3051 1908 Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022
114 Burrell 3130 1909 Picture taken at Weeting Rally, UK, 2018

@

115 Burrell 3142 1909 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

116 Burrell 3148 1909 Picture taken at Old Warden Rally, UK, 2018

@

117  Burrell 3165 1909 Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022

@

118 Burrell 3227 1910 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

119 Burrell 3229 1910 Picture taken at the Great Dorset Steam Fair, UK, 2018
120 Burrell 3255 1910 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

121 Burrell 3259 ca 1911 Picture taken at McLeans Island, Christchurch, 2002
Seen also at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022
122 Burrell 3510 1913 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

123 Burrell 3519 1913 Picture taken at McLeans Island, Christchurch, 2002

@

124 Burrell 3558 1914 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

125 Burrell 3522 1913 Picture taken at Old Warden Rally, UK, 2018

@

126 Foster 3456 ca 1906 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

127 MOTAT, Auckland Fowler 8270 1900
128

Makaroa in the Hutt Valley, North Island Fowler 12920 1911
129 Fowler 12921 1911 Picture taken at Plains Railway, Ashburton 50th, November 2023
130 Fowler 13597 1912 Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022
131 Marshall 57913 1912 Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022

@

132 Ashburton, South Island. Marshall 59534 1912
133 Marshall 59601 1912 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

New Zealand Timber Museum, Putaruru, Waikato  McLaren 455 1892 Previously at Te Amorangi Trust Museum
134 McLaren 792 1903 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
135 McLaren 917 1906 Picture taken at the Great Manawutu Steam Fair, 17th March 2019
136 McLaren 957 1909 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
137 McLaren 1019 1909 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
138 McLaren 1174 1910 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
139 McLaren 1188 1910 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

140 McLaren 1241 1910 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

141 McLaren 1266 1914 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023

@

142 McLaren 1341 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
143 MOTAT, Auckland McLaren 1428 1912
144 Ashburton, South Island. McLaren 1718 ca 1922 @
145 McLaren 1719 ca 1922 Picture taken at Great Dorset Steam Fair, UK, 2018

@

146 McLaren 1817 1926 Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022

@

147 Maewa Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies   12747 1899
148 Robey 32701 ca 1913 Picture taken at Great Dorset Steam Fair, UK, 2018
149 Case (736) 1915 In 2022. said to have been imported with the next entry 'about 20 years ago'.
Roger Mahan Heritage Centre, Geraldine, Canterbury
For 'General Use'
50 HP Data from displayed 2015 safety certificate and amateurish hand made plate on the smokebox.
150 Case (6718) 1918 Roger Mahan Heritage Centre, Geraldine, Canterbury
Said to be for 'road haulage' 
Carries a non-original plate 6718 and painted '1918'.
Also a proper cast plate "ENG. P-S 18 No." with CASE and 'SIZE 50 HP"

Portable Engines

Location

Maker

Number

Year

Notes

201

Burrell 1475 1890

Picture taken at Old Warden Rally, UK, 2018

202

Kauri Museum at Matakohe, North Island Davey Paxman 20428 1922
203 Garrett 24515 1903 Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023
204 Kauri Museum at Matakohe, North Island Garrett 1906
205 Goldfields Mining Museum, near Cromwell, Otago Garrett
206 Hornsby 2000 ca 1870

Picture taken at Horse Power Rally, Timaru, 1st October 2022

207 Great Barrier Island Hornsby stuff.co.nz article 
Tripadvisor picture
208 Ashburton, South Island Marshall 4483 1879
209 MOTAT, Auckland Marshall 41306 1904
210 MOTAT, Auckland Marshall 50276 ca 1907-08
211 Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown, Otago Robey 5359 ca 1880
212 Paeroa Historical Maritime Park, North Island Ruston Proctor 23494 ca 1899

Steam Lorry

Location

Maker

Number

Year

Notes

301

Foden 11660 ca 1925

Picture taken at McLeans Island, 15th April 2023


There are many surviving road vehicles (traction engines) in New Zealand, Olwyn Whitehouse has sent me a list of some tractions engine related pages from his website (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlscant/site_index.htm):

His site also contains an article which includes information on the Timaru steam crane.

There are a few pictures of engines from my own 2002 visit to New Zealand on this site

There are numerous annual traction engine rallies in New Zealand as evidenced by the pictures on this page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/branxholm/sets/72157621858570779/detail/, finding out about them is another matter altogether.

From a quick internet search there seems to be no all embracing site that covers the scene there, indeed finding permanent websites for recurrent festivals is a challenge!. So, please check out these major players and my apologies to those left out. Frankly the typical quality of their websites is poor (OK, crap) and giving up and using a Facebook page which is impenetrable to outsiders is a complete cop out.

North Island

Steam Traction Society Inc, Feilding http://www.steamtraction.org.nz/ (Great Manawatu Steam Fair, but link dead by October 2019).)

South Island

Canterbury Steam Preservation Society (McLeans Island) http://www.steamscene.co.nz/

Waipara Vintage Festival - biennial in theory but the last one seems to have been held in 2016.

Edendale Vintage Machinery Club http://www.edendalevmc.co.nz/ and https://www.facebook.com/Edendale-Vintage-Machinery-Club-757185841007874/  

Southbrook Traction Engine Club https://www.facebook.com/Southbrook-Traction-Engine-Club-180900582363673/ 

There is a magazine 'Vintage Scene' - website www.vintagescene.co.nz.

Finally, this UK website has a record of all the 79 engines which attended the New Zealand Burrell Special Rally in 2006 - http://www.steamscenes.org.uk/events/2006/new-zealand/engines/.  


Rob and Yuehong  Dickinson

Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk