National Erebus memorial plans scrapped after concerns over cliff site safety

Plans for a national Erebus memorial in Auckland’s Parnell have been scrapped due to safety concerns following extreme weather events.

The fatal Auckland Anniversary floods, followed by Cyclone Gabrielle, caused landslides on the cliff edge of Dove-Myer Robinson Park where the memorial Te Paerangi Ataata – Sky Song was to be built.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage announced on Friday that damage to the memorial site meant a “new enduring home” needed to be found for the memorial, which will commemorate the 257 people who died in the 1979 Antarctica plane crash.

Secretary and chief executive for Culture and Heritage, Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae, has met with families of the victims to inform them of the decision.

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He had also met with police and mountaineers involved in Operation Overdue – the mission to recover the victims’ bodies and investigate the cause of the crash.

“This has been a difficult decision to make because I know how upsetting it is for families. They remain at the absolute heart of this kaupapa,” Leauanae said.

When the site was selected in 2018, it was a “safe and fitting site” for the memorial, he said.

However, updated geotechnical engineering advice on the site was commissioned by the ministry following the weather events and “shows that building the memorial at the park is “no longer suitable or safe for the long term”, Leauanae said.

“Based on careful consideration of the advice, and after discussions with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, Auckland Council and our other project partners, I have decided a new, enduring site for the memorial needs to be found.”

Leauanae said Erebus families had waited for years to see a national memorial built.

It had also faced stiff opposition from Parnell residents, who believed the memorial was not suited for the park.

“While this setback is undoubtably difficult to hear, we remain committed to realising the memorial and will be taking time to carefully consider what the next steps will be,” Leauanae said.

“Manatū Taonga will continue to work closely with Erebus families, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, Auckland Council and our other partners to secure a new, permanent home for the National Erebus Memorial.”

The engineering report said three slips occurred along the cliff line within the park, with one in the vicinity of the proposed memorial.

The report said the slips had compromised the memorial development as proposed and previous geotechnical recommendations were no longer valid.

Kathryn Carter, daughter of Erebus pilot Jim Collins, said Erebus families and the government were still committed, with the support of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, to the construction of a National Erebus Memorial for all New Zealanders.

“I’m personally looking forward to the inauguration of the memorial to the dead of Erebus, from whom a great deal has been learnt by our society and culture since their departure on 28 November 1979.”

Paul Gilberd, whose grandfather died in the crash, said it wasn’t the news the families had been hoping for, as there had already been “extraordinarily long” delays.

“On the other side of that, there’s a great sense of relief among many of the families who’ve been enduring these last few years of quite unpleasant opposition to the site.”

Gilberd hoped a new site would be found swiftly and said the designs for the memorial were widely supported by the families – “so in a way, we have a memorial we all agree on”.

“We’re really looking forward to the possibility that the memorial might be in a place that it’s welcome.

”Our ancestors got on a plane to fly and look at a beautiful view from an elevated position.

“We want an elevated view which helps us remember the purpose of the trip that our ancestors went on.”

The process to confirm Dove-Myer Robinson Park as the location for the memorial has been fraught, with Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier finding in March 2022 that the Ministry of Culture and Heritage had “acted unreasonably by not consulting more widely before forming a preference for a location” for the memorial.

In March, Boshier concluded an investigation into Auckland Council’s decisions over the memorial, finding the actions of council staff advising on the project were “adequate”, if at times “unwise”.

He found the council was wrong to recommend to the Waitematā Local Board that it give landowner approval, partly because council staff “failed to share” an environmental consultant’s report with the board before it gave its in-principle support.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the government would go back to the drawing board to make sure there was “an appropriate recognition of those who lost their lives”.

“Clearly we will have to rethink what that looks like and where that might be, but we remain committed.”

Hipkins acknowledged there had been a long wait for the memorial and this was a setback.

“We want to see this through, we want to make sure there is appropriate recognition. These families have waited a long time for that.”

Ministry of Culture and Heritage deputy chief executive Glenis Philip-Barbara said some Erebus family members were in their 80s and were desperate to see the memorial built “before their time on this planet is done”.

Asked if consultation processes would be improved following the criticism from the Ombudsman, Philip-Barbara said a meeting was already locked in for the end of May to give families a progress report.

“So yes, we take all of those lessons forward into the future.”

Dame Naida Glavish has led a large group of protectors who have been opposed to the memorial at the site and concerned about its risk to Te Hā, an ancient pōhutukawa. She was relieved by Friday’s news.

“It’s been a team effort to defend a taonga that could not defend itself.”

Glavish said the ministry should have relocated the memorial from the start.

“I feel extremely sad that we had to defend our tūpuna rākau, Te Hā, from ourselves.

“There was minimal consideration, if any at all, for the age of the tree that it was here before the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”