Tangiwai is a 2,696.66 km2 (1,041.19 sq mi)[1] census area[2] and a small rural community in the Ruapehu District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.

The subsequent Board of Inquiry found that the accident was caused by the collapse of the tephra dam holding back nearby Mount Ruapehu's crater lake, creating a large lahar in the Whangaehu River, which destroyed one of the bridge piers at Tangiwai only minutes before the train reached the bridge.

[10] George Syme & Co ran a saw mill to cut totara, rimu, matai and kahikatea, linked to the station by a 1+1⁄4 mi (2.0 km) tramway[11] from 1908[12] until 1930.

[15] Most of the planting was on land with cobalt deficiency and therefore considered unsuitable for farming,[17] though it also included at least 700 acres (280 ha) of flax.

[21] It was bought by nearby pulp mill owner, Winstone Pulp International Ltd (WPI), in 1993[20] and upgraded to mill over 100,000 m3 (3,500,000 cu ft) a year, using 200,000 m3 (7,100,000 cu ft) of logs, a planer, optimiser, dry-sheds, kilns and a 5 MW (6,700 hp) wood waste heat plant, added in 2001.

[27] In 1976 Winstone and Chonju Paper Manufacturing, a Samsung subsidiary, built a thermo-mechanical pulp mill, almost 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the sawmill.

[20] In August 2024, Winstone Pulp International proposed closing its two central North Island mills due to high power prices.

During a public meeting in Raetihi on 27 August, Mayor of Ruapehu Weston Kirton urged the New Zealand Government to offer an electrical subsidy to Winstones' mills.

National Party Member of Parliament Suze Redmayne responded that the Government was working with electrical utility companies to find solutions.

Ryan confirmed that WPI would support staff by helping them to find jobs with other industry players, work with the Ministry of Social Development and Inland Revenue Department to support retrenched staff and provide access to wellbeing providers and financial advisers.

[31] WPI had previously criticised high power prices for making its business operations unsustainable, which was disputed by electrical utility company Mercury Energy.

[33] On 5 August, the company had also temporarily paused operations at both Karioi and Tangiwai, citing high energy prices.

[32] RNZ reported that many employees had said that the mill's closure would lead to job losses in the Ruapehu District and cause families to migrate to Australia for work in the timber industry.

He confirmed that the Ruapehu District Council would work with WINZ and its iwi partners to support affected workers.

In response, Labour's small business and manufacturing spokesperson Helen White criticised the Government for not doing more to keep the mills open.