Concept designs for Auckland memorial of Mt Erebus air disaster released

Friday, 15 February 2019

Six concept designs have been released for Auckland's planned Erebus memorial.

They include a bridge-like structure, a terraced garden and steps down to a reflective pool.

The national memorial is planned for Dove-Myer Robinson Park, also known as the Parnell Rose Gardens.

The design proposal for this memorial says it represents the adventurous spirit of the flight's crew and passengers.

It is intended to honour the 257 people who died on November 28, 1979 when an Air New Zealand flight crashed into Mt Erebus in Antarctica.

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This design, enclosed by trees, is intended to draw a person's attention towards the sky.

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Six anonymous design teams were selected in December.

This design is intended to pay homage to the mountains of Antarctica and volcanoes of Auckland.

Ministry for Culture and Heritage chief executive Bernadette Cavanagh said the designers were provided with comments from family members of Erebus victims and were also given the chance to talk to some of them about what they would like to see.

'Feedback from the families on the designs will be presented to the National Erebus Memorial Design Panel when they meet in March to evaluate the designs,' Cavanaugh said.

The panel would recommend the finalist to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the final design would be announced in May.

Cavanagh said the release of the designs was a significant milestone.

Earlier, ENM spokesman Richard Waugh said the proposed site for the memorial was consistent with what families had said about an elegant and accessible location that wasn't a cemetery.

'I think our advocacy group is very commending of the process.

'It's firming up after several years of work so we are very happy about the process.'

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said it was appropriate that victims of the plane crash be commemorated.

'Dove-Myer Robinson Park/Taurarua Pā is a beautiful site. We're pleased to have [a] proposal that meets the wishes of many family members of the Erebus victims and acknowledges that the flight left from Auckland,' Goff said.

'Feedback included that the site be a place of peaceful contemplation and reflection and a place for informal family gatherings.'

The 40th anniversary of the crash will be marked in November with the memorial planned to be completed in early 2020.