The Bealey River is a small river located in the Southern Alps

Southern Alps

The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is a tributary of the Waimakariri River

Waimakariri River

The Waimakariri River is the largest of the North Canterbury rivers, in the South Island of New Zealand. It flows for 151 kilometres in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean....

. Its valley forms the eastern approach to Arthur's Pass. The river and the Bealey settlement are named for Samuel Bealey

Samuel Bealey

Samuel Bealey was a 19th century Canterbury, New Zealand politician.He came out to Canterbury in 1851, a pastoralist with capital to invest in farming. He married Rose Ann, daughter of Archdeacon Paul in 1852. Having made money, he returned to England, in 1867 and died there...

, a 19th century Superintendent of Canterbury Province

Canterbury Province

The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. On the east coast the province was bounded by the Hurunui River in the north and the Waitaki River in the south...

 and pastoralist.

In the first half of the 20th century, the New Zealand Railways Department

New Zealand Railways Department

The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...

 (NZR) dumped withdrawn locomotives and wagons in the river to stabilise its banks and prevent erosion. 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

NZR N class

The N class were 12 steam locomotives that operated on the national rail network of New Zealand. They were built in three batches, including one batch of two engines for the private Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, the WMR, by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1885, 1891, and 1901...

 (later NZR N 453) by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust

Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust is a charitable trust based in Wellington, New Zealand, and is actively restoring former Wellington and Manawatu Railway locomotive No.9 , to full working order.-The trust:...

in 2003.