Successive governments have silenced the history of the Erebus disaster since the crash on 28 November 1979.  

We are calling for this to stop, and for New Zealand’s worst aviation disaster to be remembered in perpetuity, through siting the proposed National Erebus Memorial where it belongs – as part of our nation’s aviation history – in a dedicated park adjacent the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT), Western Springs Precinct, Auckland.

Context 

Since the crash, there has been ongoing sidelining and silencing of the Erebus disaster.  

The personal belongings of family members, including the photos (films) found on the ice, were impounded by the Government, not to be released for 100 years.  They sit in cartons locked away in Archives in Wellington.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage – which is charged with establishing the National Erebus Memorial – continues to sideline the story of Erebus, by failing to support the memorial being located next to and sustained by association with New Zealand’s museum of aviation history. 

Previous site selection

The previous site selected by the Ministry at Taurarua / Mataharehare (Dove Myer Robinson Park, Parnell), in the absence of due process, was not suitable, failed to gain community support, and failed to meet Erebus family wishes that the history of Erebus be known and remembered through time.

Proposed site

Margaret Brough, who lost her father Aubrey Brough at Erebus, comments:

It’s been 44 years, and none of us are getting any younger.  It’s time to ensure that the disaster is remembered so the same thing doesn’t repeat.  This memorial needs an institution behind it to tell the stories when we are all gone.  

At MOTAT, the worst disaster in New Zealand aviation history would be remembered by generations to come, next to the honoured memorials to those who paid the ultimate price in service of this country at war (WWII Bomber Command and Sir Keith Park Memorial Aviation Collection).   

We call on the Prime Minister, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and Local Government, to ensure that New Zealand’s worst aviation disaster is known in perpetuity, through creating a dedicated Erebus Memorial Park next to the Aviation section of the Museum of Transport and Technology.  

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