Forty years ago today was our worst tragedy at sea in living memory. The inter-island ferry, the Wahine, with 734 passengers, struck rocks in the Wellington harbour and sank. 51 people died. This was the Easter holiday and many people were travelling to the North Island. In 1968, air travel was not very common because it was very expensive.
At that time, the inter-island ferry between the North and South islands, left from Lyttelton Harbour (near Christchurch) around 8pm and usually arrived in Wellington in the early morning. Passengers slept in cabins on board. However, on April 9th when the ship left, there was a terrible storm which continued the next day, one of the worst storms New Zealand has ever had. Today, if the weather is really bad, the ferry does not sail. On April 10th, the ship reached the entrance to Wellington Harbour in the early morning but was unable to get into the harbour and then hit rocks. This damaged one propeller and the bottom of the ship, and water entered the engine room. Soon after 1pm, the passengers were told to leave the ship and jump into lifeboats. At 2.30pm the Wahine capsized which means it turned over.
The passengers landed all around Wellington Harbour which has many rocky places especially near Eastbourne, Many of the people who died were thrown onto the rocks when the lifeboats came near the shore. The sea was very rough and people were not able to control the small boats easily. Some died of the cold, even after they reached the shore because it was impossible to find everybody around the large harbour.
If you live in Wellington or visit, you can see more about the Wahine disaster in the Museum of City and Sea. |