Bealey River
River in South Island, New Zealand
title: "Bealey River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-the-canterbury-region", "rivers-of-new-zealand", "arthur's-pass-national-park"] description: "River in South Island, New Zealand" topic_path: "geography/new-zealand" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bealey_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary River in South Island, New Zealand ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Bealey River |
| image | Bealey River valley.JPG |
| image_caption | The Bealey River runs towards the top of the photo in the centre. The Waimakariri River runs from left to right |
| map | |
| map_caption | Route of the Bealey River |
| pushpin_map | New Zealand#New Zealand South Island |
| pushpin_map_size | 270px |
| pushpin_map_caption | Mouth of the Bealey River |
| source1_location | Goldney Glacier |
| source1_coordinates | |
| mouth_location | Waimakariri River |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | New Zealand |
| progression | Bealey River → Waimakariri River → Pegasus Bay → Pacific Ocean |
| tributaries_left | Twin Creek, Bridal Veil Creek, Devils Punchbowl Creek, Graham Stream, Bretts Stream, Mingha River |
| tributaries_right | Margarets Tarn, McGrath Creek, Wardens Creek, Avalanche Creek, Rough Creek, Snow Creek, Halpin Creek, Greyneys Creek |
| bridges | White Bridge |
| :: |
| name = Bealey River | image = Bealey River valley.JPG | image_size = | image_caption = The Bealey River runs towards the top of the photo in the centre. The Waimakariri River runs from left to right | map = | map_size = | map_caption = Route of the Bealey River | map_alt = | pushpin_map = New Zealand#New Zealand South Island | pushpin_map_size = 270px | pushpin_map_caption = Mouth of the Bealey River | pushpin_map_alt = | source1 = | source1_location = Goldney Glacier | source1_coordinates = | source1_elevation = | mouth_location = Waimakariri River | mouth_elevation = | mouth_coordinates = | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = New Zealand | length = | discharge1_avg = | basin_size = | progression = Bealey River → Waimakariri River → Pegasus Bay → Pacific Ocean | tributaries_left = Twin Creek, Bridal Veil Creek, Devils Punchbowl Creek, Graham Stream, Bretts Stream, Mingha River | tributaries_right = Margarets Tarn, McGrath Creek, Wardens Creek, Avalanche Creek, Rough Creek, Snow Creek, Halpin Creek, Greyneys Creek | waterfalls = | bridges = White Bridge
The Bealey River is a small river located in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. It is a tributary of the Waimakariri River. Its valley forms the eastern approach to Arthur's Pass. The river and the Bealey settlement are named for Samuel Bealey, a 19th-century Superintendent of Canterbury Province and pastoralist.
Locomotive dumpsite
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Bealey_River,_New_Zealand.jpg" caption="The Bealey River close to the township of Arthur's Pass"] ::
In the first half of the 20th century, the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) dumped a number of withdrawn locomotives and wagons in the river to stabilise its banks and prevent erosion, particularly near the railway bridge across the Bealey River. Some of these locomotives and wagons have been recovered by heritage groups with the aim of restoring them to operating condition, including WMR No. 9 (later NZR N 453) by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust in 2003. Most of the other locomotives and components have since been either buried or scrapped. The more substantially complete remains of ex-WMR No. 10 (later NZR N 454) are believed to be buried in the river bed near Cora Lynn, further up the river.
During the early 1920s, NZR used a former quarry near Cora Lynn station as an open-air workshop to strip locomotives of useful parts before they were dumped. This quarry was host to a number of locomotive parts including the frame of V 132, which had been retrofitted with Walschaerts valve gear in 1898 as an experiment by NZR. Shortly after this frame was salvaged in 1997–98, Tranz Rail and the Department of Conservation initiated a clean-up operation in the old quarry, burying many of the locomotive parts there into the access embankment.
Similarly, NZR used the Bealey River as a place to scrap old wooden passenger coaches in the 1950s and 1960s. These carriages would be brought from Addington Railway Workshops in Christchurch, shunted into the riverbed, and then burnt to recover their metal parts for scrap or as spares for other operating vehicles.
Other locomotive dumps
Climate
|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Bealey (1867–1880) | Jan record high C = 28.3 | Feb record high C = 29.3 | Mar record high C = 29.2 | Apr record high C = 23.1 | May record high C = 18.3 | Jun record high C = 14.9 | Jul record high C = 12.4 | Aug record high C = 14.4 | Sep record high C = 20.6 | Oct record high C = 23.7 | Nov record high C = 26.3 | Dec record high C = 29.0 | year record high C = 29.3 | Jan avg record high C = 26.5 | Feb avg record high C = 25.9 | Mar avg record high C = 23.0 | Apr avg record high C = 19.1 | May avg record high C = 15.1 | Jun avg record high C = 12.3 | Jul avg record high C = 10.2 | Aug avg record high C = 10.8 | Sep avg record high C = 16.0 | Oct avg record high C = 19.6 | Nov avg record high C = 22.3 | Dec avg record high C = 24.3 | year avg record high C = 27.5 | Jan high C = 19.2 | Feb high C = 18.7 | Mar high C = 16.9 | Apr high C = 13.6 | May high C = 9.6 | Jun high C = 6.5 | Jul high C = 5.6 | Aug high C = 6.9 | Sep high C = 10.5 | Oct high C = 12.9 | Nov high C = 15.0 | Dec high C = 17.5 | year high C = | Jan mean C = 13.9 | Feb mean C = 13.5 | Mar mean C = 12.2 | Apr mean C = 9.3 | May mean C = 5.7 | Jun mean C = 2.8 | Jul mean C = 1.8 | Aug mean C = 3.0 | Sep mean C = 6.0 | Oct mean C = 8.3 | Nov mean C = 10.2 | Dec mean C = 12.7 | year mean C = | Jan low C = 8.6 | Feb low C = 8.3 | Mar low C = 7.5 | Apr low C = 5.0 | May low C = 1.9 | Jun low C = -0.8 | Jul low C = -2.0 | Aug low C = -0.7 | Sep low C = 1.6 | Oct low C = 3.7 | Nov low C = 5.4 | Dec low C = 8.0 | year low C = | Jan avg record low C = 2.7 | Feb avg record low C = 2.1 | Mar avg record low C = 0.3 | Apr avg record low C = -1.8 | May avg record low C = -4.7 | Jun avg record low C = -8.6 | Jul avg record low C = -9.9 | Aug avg record low C = -7.1 | Sep avg record low C = -3.9 | Oct avg record low C = -2.7 | Nov avg record low C = -0.5 | Dec avg record low C = 0.9 | year avg record low C = -11.8 |Jan record low C = 0.6 |Feb record low C = -0.6 |Mar record low C = -1.7 |Apr record low C = -3.6 |May record low C = -10.6 |Jun record low C = -15.1 |Jul record low C = -18.9 |Aug record low C = -10.3 |Sep record low C = -5.6 |Oct record low C = -9.6 |Nov record low C = -2.2 |Dec record low C = -3.9 |year record low C = -18.9 |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 114.6 |Feb rain mm = 112.6 |Mar rain mm = 149.1 |Apr rain mm = 131.2 |May rain mm = 169.4 |Jun rain mm = 142.9 |Jul rain mm = 147.3 |Aug rain mm = 166.8 |Sep rain mm = 185.8 |Oct rain mm = 193.5 |Nov rain mm = 163.0 |Dec rain mm = 168.0 |year rain mm = |source = NIWA (rainfall 1871-1900) {{cite web |url = https://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/ |title = CliFlo -The National Climate Database (Agent number: 4638) |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 29 Jul 2024}}
References
References
- "Place Name Detail Bealey River". Land Information New Zealand.
- [http://www.wmry.netfirms.com/salvage.htm Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust: Stage I - Salvage] {{webarchive. link. (17 December 2006)
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