Kopuawhara flash flood of 1938

A flash flood on the Waiau Stream at Kopuawhara in New Zealand on 19 February 1938 destroyed a railway construction workers camp killing 20 men and one woman, Martha Quinn.

A workman saw the flood waters pouring into the camp site and attempted to raise the alarm before being swept away.

The only other casualty in the area was a man at Boyd's Camp by the Maraetaha Stream at the Gisborne end of the railway line.

At the inquest John Victor Haskell, a railways construction engineer said he had selected the camp site after a year's observation and on-site inspections.

[8] After an extensive search, only two bodies remained missing, Ivan Martinac and Roderick Douglas Neish.

[11] A mass grave for 11 of those killed is in the Wairoa cemetery, with the remaining workers being buried in their respective hometowns.