Wahine, 1968 - Police Response to Disaster

• Police Response to Disaster
• Tangiwai, 1953
• Wahine, 1968
• Erebus, 1979
• Image and Media Gallery
  View all images, sound, and films in this feature

Tragedy in Wellington Harbour

We formed a human chain along the back of the ship there and as the people would come out of these big double doors, the ship was on such an angle ... they'd have to physically grab on to us and work their way along to the back of the ship where ... they would slide down the deck of the ship and have somebody at the bottom to catch them. That's one of the most terrible things that I'll always remember that's seeing those people helpless as they slid down and broke limbs and one thing and another on the bottom railings, people couldn't catch them.

Memory of a crew member on board the Wahine.

The loss of the inter-island ferry TEV Wahine in Wellington Harbour in April 1968 is different from the two other events in this exhibition. Both the others were virtually instantaneous, and occurred in geographically remote locations so the police role began in the aftermath. In the Wahine case, however, the disaster developed over several hours in the harbour of the capital city and involved an active rescue operation. The police were therefore on the spot throughout.

A freak storm

The southern North Island is normally off the track of tropical hurricanes but sometimes one will stray further south. On this occasion a warm tropical air mass encountered a cold southerly storm, resulting in exceptionally violent turbulence. At about six o'clock in the morning on 10 April 1968, as it entered Wellington Harbour, the overnight ferry from Lytellton encountered the most severe storm ever recorded in Wellington. The ship lost first radar then steering and was grounded and holed on Barrett's Reef, where she began to list and take in water.

Unfortunately, until the last moment the master of the ferry reported that she was in no immediate danger. The organisation of a rescue effort was therefore delayed by hours because the gravity of the situation was not recognised on shore. At the same time the storm was tearing roofs off houses, toppling trees and causing widespread chaos to which the emergency services also had to respond.

Abandon ship!

Just before 1.30 p.m., the Wahine began to heel over and the order was given to abandon ship. In atrocious conditions the 734 passengers and crew took to the lifeboats and life-rafts. Even though the reef was close to the western shore and the Fort Dorset military base, a shift in the wind and tide drove many of the survivors across the harbour to the rocky, unpopulated eastern side near Pencarrow Head. A major problem developed for the rescuers because the only road to Pencarrow became impassable due to huge seas breaking over it. Some of the survivors reached the shore only to die of exhaustion. Fifty-one people died from drowning, exposure or injuries from being battered on the rocks.

Co-ordinating the rescue

Chief Inspector George Twentyman of Police National Headquarters had been involved in the Tangiwai disaster operation and other emergency situations. Though he had no formal operational responsibility in Wellington District, and was not actually on duty, he volunteered his services and took charge of co-ordinating the rescue from 2.05 p.m. on 10 April until 1.20 the following morning.

One of his first actions was dictated directly by the Tangiwai experience. When he had observed the confusion and stress created by handling inquiries in the same place as the rescue effort. He therefore immediately set up separate groups in different locations to handle aspects of the operation and allow the rescue effort to go forward unimpeded. For example, a survivor assembly station was created at Wellington railway station under Inspector I. N. Bird, a passenger and crew information point at another location and mortuary and property sections elsewhere again. By 1968 a national Civil Defence organisation existed and this allowed for a quick mobilisation of local authority, military and civilian volunteer assistance. There was reasonable clarity about respective spheres of operation; for example, the Wellington harbourmaster controlled the sea rescue.

In all, 371 police members were involved that day, out of a total of 629 in the Wellington District, National Headquarters and the training school. This represented everyone who was not ill, out of the district, or on other essential duties. According to the historian of police honours and awards, at least 35 members risked their own lives and at least 22 other members worked long hours under shocking conditions to assist survivors. The real sum of self-sacrifice can never be known.

Court of Inquiry

Twentyman realised that a court of inquiry was bound to follow. He therefore requested six police department shorthand typists to work in the control room, in relays of two, recording every decision and communication. These records, together with the personal reports of the officers commanding sections, formed the basis for a very full debriefing report on the police organisation during the disaster. This was the first time this was ever done but is now standard practice. The subsequent court of inquiry 'had no criticism to offer and nothing but praise for the police effort.' The operation was outstanding in the circumstances and provided lessons and a template for future occasions.

Police Diving Squad

One unrecognised outcome of the disaster was the recognition of the police diving squad some months later. At this time it existed only as a group of voluntary enthusiasts around the Wellington and Hutt District. Some of these members, including Detective Senior Sergeant John Cagney, performed a dangerous dive on the Wahine wreck to recover the radio log from the bridge. This was one of the first high-profile police diving missions and provided vital evidence at the court of inquiry.

Next page: Erebus, 1979