Anzac Day: 13 people set out for Mt Ruapehu in 1990, but just 7 returned alive

Sunday, 25 April 2021

An homage to the heroes of the Army tragedy of Mount Ruapehu, in 1990, marked Anzac Day commemorations in Stoke.

Anzac Day, the national day of remembrance, is usually dominated by stories of heroic deeds far away and long ago, but one service took the time to reflect on a tragic chapter of New Zealand Army history which was “as heroic as any from war, but unfortunately too few know of”.

Colonel Bernard Isherwood spoke about the tragedy at a memorial service in Nelson.

“Unlike most stories shared today, it’s not about battles in far-flung fields,” he said, but here in New Zealand, and resulted in “the greatest loss of life since WWII” for B Company, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

Thirteen people – 10 soldiers, a navy rating and two Army Adventurous Training Centre instructors – set out on a mountaineering course on Mt Ruapehu on August 9, 1990. The course was meant to introduce novice mountaineers to winter mountain conditions and ski-touring.

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Sonny Te Rure (now Tavake) and Rayner Berger recovering in Waiouru Hospital after their harrowing night on Mt Ruapehu. Tavake received an award for bravery for his actions that night.

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Colonel Bernie Isherwood was the President of the Inquiry that investigated the 1990 Mount Ruapehu Tragedy. He paid homage to the heroism of the trainees who sacrificed themselves to save their fellows during a long, tragic night.

“Thirteen personnel parted camp that morning. Only seven returned.”

Isherwood was the president of the Court of Inquiry which investigated the tragedy, and he recounted the story, quoting from one of the survivors at length.

The party set out on Thursday morning in clear conditions, spending the night in a since-removed permanent shelter, the Dome Shelter close to the summit.

On Friday they constructed three snow shelters, which they stayed in overnight. The following day, conditions “deteriorated significantly”, but the 13 men stayed in the snow caves for another night. It was the day after that, Sunday, when things took a turn for the worse.

“The decision was made by the two instructors to move back to the Dome. Visibility was reduced to a few metres and wind-speed had extended to an estimated 150kmh, strong enough to lift some men off the ground.”

In their attempts to find the Dome Shelter, the men accidentally made their way to “probably the most exposed position on the mountain”, a flat area about 200m away from the Dome. When it proved impossible to find, the men dug trenches and used their packs to provide shelter – unsuccessfully.

Sergeant Geoff Snowden, Lance Corporal Jaggard, the two instructors, along with Privates Grant Mumby, Brendon Burchell and Rayner Berger at a memorial service shortly after the disaster. Jaggard was censured in the inquiry findings for his poor leadership.

Winds were too strong to build snow shelters, and by this stage two people had hypothermia, one was frostbitten, and others were becoming exhausted. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon.

At this stage, the senior instructor, Sergeant Geoff Snowdon, set off down the mountain with Private Brendon Burchell in search of assistance. It took them almost 13 hours.

The service at Nayland College marked all Anzac soldiers, current and previous, but Isherwood’s speech lauded the young trainees of the Ruapehu Tragedy in particular.

“From last light, the soldiers were left without leadership, as the last instructor climbed into his sleeping bag and took no further part in the proceedings,” Isherwood said.

He quoted survivor Lance Corporal Barry Culloty about the men’s experience that night, about how word filtered through the men to get into sleeping bags, but four soldiers had already deteriorated to the point of being incapable of doing so.

Private Brendon Burchell recovering at Waiouru Hospital. He was awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal for his efforts to get help, an almost 13-hour trek down Mt Ruapehu in the dark and stormy conditions.

“We gathered them into a group, and Privates [David] Stewart and [Sonny] Te Rure went in search of packs to get the sleeping bags out … Each time a sleeping bag was found, they came back to the group and took one away and put him in a sleeping bag as best they could. They left finding sleeping bags for themselves until last.”

Culloty himself collapsed, and was dragged into a sleeping bag by Stewart. Stewart spent the remainder of the night removing snow buildup from Culloty.

Culloty ended up sharing a sleeping bag with another soldier, whose sleeping bag was blown away. A third soldier tried to join them, after the man he had been sharing with died. Stewart and Te Rure (now known as Tavake) let him share their single sleeping bag, but it blew away while he tried to join them.

Some time later, that soldier died. So did the man Culloty was sheltering with.

Help did not arrive until after 5:30am the following morning – the time when Snowdon and Burchell made contact with Alpine Lift staff to raise the alarm.

Only five of the men left on the mountain that night survived. Stewart was not one of them.

“It seemed impossible that Private Stewart, given his physical and moral strength, leadership and selflessness, should have died. I have no doubt in my mind that if he had chosen to take care of himself, he would be here today,” Culloty said.

Isherwood said the inquiry he presided over made two recommendations: “one was that the Army Adventurous Training Centre should be reviewed in terms of procedure and personnel and the other that awards be presented to Stewart and Tavake”.

It took nine years, but eventually Stewart, Tavake, and Burchell were awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal in 1999 for their heroism – especially given their limited training and experience at the time.

“Private Stewart’s award is well below what he should have received,” Isherwood said.

He said only the Government could increase the honours he posthumously received, and called on it to do so.

“Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friends.”

Privates Brett Barker, Jeffrey Boult, Mark Madigan, Stuart McAlpine, Jason Menhennet, and David Stewart all lost their lives. They were between 18 and 23 years old.