Finding a site willing to host a memorial for the 257 victims of the Erebus plane crash has been “tricky” and “heartbreaking”, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture’s deputy secretary of Māori Crown Partnerships says.
In just two days’ time, it will be 45 years since the Air New Zealand scenic flight over Antarctica crashed into the side of Mount Erebus, killing everyone onboard.
Plans for a memorial in Auckland’s Dove Meyer Robinson Park divided opinions with objectors claiming it would change the tone of the gardens.
That proposal was eventually abandoned after cyclone damage and land instability meant it was no longer safe to build on the site.
Since then, both Auckland’s Cornwall and Monte Cecilia parks have declined to host a memorial.
Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington has also been shortlisted as a suitable location but the RSA does not want it.
The Ministry of Heritage and Culture’s Glenis Philip-Barbara told Checkpoint they were asking for a 100-year commitment – something many landowners were not willing to make.
“It’s been tricky, and a bit heartbreaking.”
The pushback impacted families, Philip-Barbara said, and they had promised not to establish a memorial in a place where it was not welcome.
In the meantime, the ministry continued its hunt to find a suitable location.
It was an “opportunity” to hold on to a precious piece of Aotearoa’s history, she said.
But families were ageing and the length of time it was taking to find a location was “always a worry for us”.
“What’s critical for them is that the stories of the 257 and the learnings from the Erebus disaster are never lost to this country.”
‘Extremely frustrating’
David Allan, who lost his parents and sister in the disaster, told RNZ’s Checkpoint the likelihood of any memorial being a place for directly affected family members to go and pay their respects was becoming slimmer as time went on.
He believed it may be better suited in Christchurch’s International Antarctic Centre for educational purposes.
“It’s extremely frustrating that it takes this long,” Allan said.
He believed if someone had suggested a memorial shortly after the crash, it would have gone up anywhere.
But he now found it “really hard to understand” the rationale for locations not wanting it.
Allan said he was an “optimist” but at 77, he had lost confidence that he would see a memorial in his lifetime.
Philip-Barbara said the RSA had expressed the focus of Pukeahu National War Memorial Park was to be on war memorial.
The RSA had looked at the kaupapa of an Erebus memorial “and they are not seeing alignment”.
“I wish I could give you a date to deliver by, I really can’t do that until we pin down a site.”
rnz.co.nz