Significance to New Zealand
The 1979 Erebus Disaster was one of New Zealand’s greatest disasters due to the tragic amount of people lost on the 28th of November. The significance of the crash did not only extend to the victims and their families, but influenced every New Zealander as well as the nation as a whole.
Erebus Victims Not Forgotten
Since the disaster in 1979, the people who died in the Erebus crash have been commemorated and remembered by New Zealanders. Waikumete cemetery contains a mass grave for the victims of the crash, and also commemorates those who died with a memorial listing the names of unidentified or unrecovered crash victims. Waikumete Cemetery held a memorial service in 2009 to honour the crash victims on the 30th anniversary since the disaster, and also continues to remember them by placing a
wreath at the site every year. The government also made efforts to honour crash
victims, as a memorial flight to Antarctica for 6 family members took place in
2009 and another in 2010 for 80 more family members. A 26 kg koru capsule,
containing messages from loved ones was also placed on the mountain in 2010,
next to a steel cross placed in 1989. Such efforts have given family members
the closure they have needed to move on from the tragedy
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Air New Zealand Finally Apologizes
Video:
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe apologizing to families of the Mt Erebus crash victims and to the public, on behalf of Air NZ |
After the Erebus Disaster, New Zealanders suffered a dramatic loss of trust in Air New Zealand due to Judge Mahon’s report condemning the company. Air New Zealand’s reputation was damaged and it took a while for New Zealanders to look past the tragedy that was on Air New Zealand’s head. On the 23rd of October 2009, CEO of Air New Zealand, Rob Fyfe apologized on behalf of Air New Zealand to the families of those who were lost in the Erebus Disaster. Speaking directly to the victim’s loved ones who were among the audience; Fyfe apologized for the lack of “support and compassion they should have received from Air New Zealand”(3). This speech was of much significance to New Zealanders as Air New Zealand was finally apologizing for their hand in the Erebus Disaster. This gave more closure to the families of crash victim’s -especially the families of the two pilots- and helped New Zealand as a nation, move on from the tragedy.
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The fact that anniversaries are still being held and apologies are still being made regarding the Erebus disaster a good 34 years later, makes the significance of the disaster evident. These acts of commemoration remind us that the disaster did happen, people do remember it, and will continue to honour those who died at Erebus in the years to come. Though Erebus was one of New Zealand’s deadliest tragedies in our short history, it has shaped New Zealand as a society. The 1979 Erebus Crash has not defined us, but more so integrated its way into New Zealand’s national identity.
(3)- Quote directly from video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnDL_zeueTQ - uploaded 1/11/09, visited 9/6/13