The 45th Anniversary of the Erebus Tragedy
November 28 marks the 45th anniversary of the Erebus tragedy. At this time, Purewa remembers and honours the lives and the families of Captain Jim Collins, Engineer Gordon Brookes, and crew members Elizabeth Carr-Smith, Roy McPherson and David Bennett whose remains rest on our grounds.
Purewa’s connection with the victims of the disaster is deep: the remains of 79 passengers were cremated at Purewa, including 17 of the Japanese tourists who were on board and guide Peter Mulgrew. Peter was a renowned Antarctic explorer who accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on his trek to the South Pole. Hillary was originally rostered as guide on the Erebus flight, but was unable to come because of speaking engagements—Peter offered to take his place.
28 November 1979, Air New Zealand Flight TE901 left Auckland for an eleven-hour sightseeing flight to Antarctica. At 12:49 PM, the aircraft crashed into the lower slopes of Mt Erebus, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. It was the worst civil disaster in New Zealand’s history.
IMAGE: Memorial Service commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Mt Erebus Air Accident held on the Northern slopes of Mt Erebus.
From left – The Very Reverend Peter Beck Dean of Christchurch, Phil Goff Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lou Sanson CEO Antarctica NZ, Paul Hargreaves Chairman of Antarctica NZ. Photo by Phil Reid ©Antarctica New Zealand Pictorial Collection Service3.jpg 2004 CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 NZ
