Transportation Token [Free Rail Pass]
Maker and role
New Zealand Railways, Commissioned by
Production date
1908
See full details
Object detail
Accession number
2013.25
Maker
Description
9ct Gold medallion-style token. Obverse features image of a kiwi in a landscape with the text "FREE PASS / N.Z.R." and a whakairo border with a Victoria crown at the apex. Reverse engraved "KAIPARA". Gold bale attached.
Brief History
These rail passes were issued to Members of Parliament and were minted so they could travel on the main trunk line on the 'Parliament Special,' the first through trip from Wellington to Auckland in August 1908, still months before the line was completed in November 1908. A temporary rail track was laid so that MPs could travel to Auckland on the occasion of the arrival of the US Great White Fleet. This rail pass was owned by John Stallworthy, a Liberal Party member, who held the Kaipara seat between 1905 and 1911.
Marks
FREE PASS / N.Z.R. Inscribed
KAIPARA Engraved
(small cross) Maker's Mark
FREE PASS / N.Z.R Logo
KAIPARA Maker's Mark
KAIPARA Engraved
(small cross) Maker's Mark
FREE PASS / N.Z.R Logo
KAIPARA Maker's Mark
Media/Materials
Other name
Medallion
Credit Line
New Zealand Railways. 1908. Transportation Token [Free Rail Pass], 2013.25. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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