Pages tagged with: disasters

Only one portion of the fuselage of the Air New Zealand DC-10 remained intact on the icy slopes of Mt Erebus.

On 28 November 1979, 237 passengers and 20 crew were killed when Air New Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into the side of Mt Erebus, Antarctica. The Erebus tragedy is remembered for the terrible loss of life, the demands of the recovery operation and the debate that raged over who or what was to blame.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the ferry Wahine. With 52 lives lost, this was New Zealand's worst modern maritime disaster. The Wahine’s demise on 10 April 1968 also heralded a new era in local TV news as pictures of the disaster were beamed into Kiwi living rooms. 

It's disaster awareness week and we've provided a timeline of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, transport accidents, fires, mining accidents and other tragedies that have caused major loss of life.

Jim Sullivan interviews Superintendent Jim Morgan, 11 March 1988, about the police experience on Erebus.

John Blumsky reports from Mt Erebus after the disaster.

Hear Allan Wyllie recall the sinking of the Limerick in 1943

How police responded to the disasters, particularly Tangiwai, Wahine and Erebus

New Zealand's worst railway disaster occurred on Christmas Eve 1953. The Wellington–Auckland night express plunged into the flooded Whangaehu River, just west of Tangiwai, near Waiouru. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. The tragedy left a nation in mourning and stunned the world.

A volcanologist's photograph of the ice cave that melted on Mt Ruapehu

The events that led to the drowning of 51 people in the Wahine disaster of 10 April 1968

An inspection is made of the fallen bridge span and locomotive, 25 December 1953.

Air New Zealand promoted its sightseeing flights with the slogan 'Antarctica: the new adventure'.

The unfortunate sequence of events that led to the Tangiwai disaster

For most second-class travellers, travelling the main trunk meant a long, sleepless journey on hard-backed seats, struggling to find 'elusive comfort with the NZR pillow'.

Wreckage of first-class Car Z, 27 December 1953

Hear Prime Minister Sidney Holland's Christmas Day announcement about the Tangiwai disaster. Holland spoke by phone from Waiouru Military Camp to Wellington, where the recording was made on disc for later broadcast.

The Erebus disaster was mainly caused by an unfortunate, late change in flight path and the white-out conditions at Antarctica.

Hear Lionel Sceats talk about the Tangiwai disaster.

The wreckage of the Wellington–Auckland express and the remains of the railway bridge at Tangiwai, 25 December 1953

How locals and police responded to New Zealand's worst railway disaster

Social studies ideas and activities exploring the causes of NZ disasters

Mr W.J. Anderson, a survivor, describes his experience of the Tangiwai disaster.

The police, emergency services and civilians rescued passengers and crew from the inter-island ferry Wahine in Wellington Harbour in April 1968.

A team of New Zealand Police officers and a Mountain Face Rescue Team were immediately dispatched to the scene of the Erebus disaster.

Hear an interview with a local eyewitness of the Tangiwai disaster.

Rescue party at a wrecked carriage of the Wellington–Auckland express at Tangiwai

Flight TE901 was classed as a domestic excursion flight, so passenger documentation was less rigorous than it would have been on an international flight. Some families had not known that their relative was on the flight.

Identifying victims is a major task following any mass tragedy. A number of circumstances made this process particularly difficult at Tangiwai.

HRH the Duke of Edinburgh attends the mass funeral at Karori Cemetery, Wellington, on 31 December 1953 for 21 of the victims of the Tangiwai tragedy. A few months later the grave was exhumed when it became clear that a number of the bodies were misidentified.

This map of Wellington Harbour is adapted from the original that appeared in the police inquiry report. It shows the location of the Wahine sinking and some key points in the rescue operation.

The Wahine founders off Steeple Rock; the rail ferry Aramoana and other vessels stand by.

A lifeboat from the Wahine comes ashore alongside Seatoun Wharf, 10 April 1968.

Collapsed life-rafts from the Wahine are hauled up by police and others on the eastern shore of the harbour, 10 April 1968.

Wahine survivors are rescued from life-rafts on the eastern shore. Some people who had survived everything else died when dashed against the rocks.

Few of those involved in the recovery and identification of victims from the Erebus crash could have been truly prepared for the task ahead.

The court of inquiry that met 10 weeks after the sinking pinpointed the build-up of water in the vehicle deck as the reason the ferry finally capsized.

Police cadets (in berets) and all other available police members were called in to help.

Wahine survivors are carried off Seatoun Wharf, 10 April 1968.

The Royal Humane Society Gold Medal was presented to the New Zealand Police in recognition of heroic efforts in saving life from the Wahine disaster.

With the death of so many people, it is not surprising that the investigations into the tragedy became a source of great debate and controversy.

Fires and earthquakes have been major threats to New Zealand's Parliament Buildings.

This large waka mural decorated the second Wahine's cafeteria.

In 1895 the old Penguin initiated regular sailings between Lyttelton and Wellington. Fourteen years later, while running between Picton and Wellington, the Penguin sank with the loss of 75 lives.

Map showing the voyage of the Wahine on the day it sank in Wellington Harbour

Disasters Classroom ideas for Social Studies teachers

The Wahine disaster on 10 April 1968 spurred the formation of the Wellington Sea Rescue Service (now the Wellington Volunteer Coastguard).

Cross to the victims of the Erebus disaster erected by recovery workers in Antarctica

Recovery work among the debris of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on Mt Erebus continued even in terrible weather conditions.

Looking downhill to Lewis Bay sea ice through the wreckage of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 and a maze of body location flags

Crash site of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on the lower slopes of Mt Erebus – photo taken two days after the crash

Map showing the flight path of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on 28 November 1979

In this page from Air New Zealand's The Antarctic experience brochure, Mt Erebus – the 'sentinel of McMurdo' – is clearly visible from the DC-10's cockpit.

Survivors huddle on Seatoun beach following the sinking of the Wahine on 10 April 1968.

Members of a Japanese salvage firm and navy divers inspecting the wreckage of the Wahine

A lifeboat from the Wahine lands passengers and crew on Seatoun Beach, Wellington, after the ship capsized on 10 April 1968.

The Wahine ferry lists heavily as it sinks in Wellington Harbour on 10 April 1968.

Hear a contemporary television news broadcast about the loss of the inter-island ferry TEV Wahine in Wellington Harbour in April 1968.

Twisted train tracks lead to the banks of the Whangaehu River, Tangiwai, the scene of the railway disaster of 24 December 1953.

The cover of the book Tragedy on the track

Car Z was the only first-class carriage to tumble into the Whangaehu River at Tangiwai.

Tony Taylor, professor of clinical psychology at Victoria University, describes the effects of the disaster on police.

A Wahine crew member describes the terrible scene and the sounds of lifeboats during the disaster.

A crew member describes his experiences aboard the Wahine after the abandon ship order.

Hear the recollections of a female passenger who was aboard the Wahine when it sank.

Amateur cameraman Mr Edwin Nitschke shot this film on an 8-mm camera on Boxing Day 1953, two days after the Tangiwai disaster. Clip five of five

Amateur cameraman Mr Edwin Nitschke shot this film on an 8-mm camera on Boxing Day 1953, two days after the Tangiwai disaster. Clip four of five

Amateur cameraman Mr Edwin Nitschke shot this film on an 8-mm camera on Boxing Day 1953, two days after the Tangiwai disaster. Clip three of five

Amateur cameraman Mr Edwin Nitschke shot this film on an 8-mm camera on Boxing Day 1953, two days after the Tangiwai disaster. Clip two of five

Amateur cameraman Mr Edwin Nitschke shot this film on an 8-mm camera on Boxing Day 1953, two days after the Tangiwai disaster. Clip one of five

This police map shows the location of Air New Zealand Flight TE901's crash site on Mt Erebus, Antarctica, in 1979.

Members of the recovery party stand in front of the wreckage of the Air New Zealand DC-10 on the slopes of Mt Erebus, Antarctica.

Hear a radio broadcast of the sinking of the inter-island ferry Wahine.

Whether or not people survived the Tangiwai disaster depended largely on which class of carriage they were travelling in.

The wreckage of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 litters the slopes of Mt Erebus.

The tail of the DC-10 airliner remained largely intact and still shows the distinctive Air New Zealand koru symbol.

Recovery party accommodation consisted of tents erected close to the debris of the Mt Erebus disaster.

A member of the Erebus recovery team attends to the victim's personal effects, which are stored in plastic bags and awaiting transportation.

The bodies of the victims of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 were flown by Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules aircraft to Whenuapai Air Base in Auckland.

Members of the Mt Erebus disaster identification team at Auckland mortuary

This fire in July 1992 destroyed the old penthouse roof additions.