Erebus memorial: Protesters handed eviction notices, tents pulled down

Thursday, 25 November 2021

Watch a video of the Te Paerangi Ataata – Sky Song design, which shows how the memorial design will appear in the natural landscape of Dove-Myer Robinson Park.

The group protesting a planned memorial to the victims of the Mt Erebus disaster has been handed eviction notices.

The memorial, Te Paerangi Ataata – Sky Song, is to be erected at Dove-Myer Robinson Park, also known as the Parnell Rose Gardens, in Auckland’s inner east.

Construction was supposed to start in October but was delayed by protesters, many of whom have erected tents at the site, blocking their vehicles from entering the park.

Protesters at the Erebus Memorial Site have been issued with eviction notices.

On Thurday, Auckland Council issued eviction notices to the group, warning them to vacate the area within 48 hours.

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About seven tents were also pulled down, leaving just four standing.

The protesters previously said they supported the memorial, but not the location.

The Erebus Memorial Site is proposed to be erected at the Parnell Rose Gardens.

They said having the memorial at the rose gardens would make people sad in a place that was supposed to be happy.

They also claimed construction would damage the roots of a nearby pōhutukawa, but Manatū Taonga – Ministry of Culture and Heritage has refuted that.

A group of kaumātua had also placed a rāhui, or ritual ban, on the site.

An artist’s impression of Erebus National Memorial in Dove-Myer Robinson Park.

On Thursday, protester Helen Loveday said she felt “angry and betrayed”.

The remaining tents would be removed, but the ‘protectors’ would still block the entrances to make sure trucks couldn’t get in, she said.

Fellow protester Jo Malcolm said only seven or eight people were on site at 11.30am when six council cars and two trucks appeared.

The group had not been living in the tents due to the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown, she said.

Malcolm, who husband lost his father in the Erebus disaster, said attempting the eviction so close to the anniversary of the crash was “particularly unkind”.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, whose rohe the park and memorial fall within, said in a statement it remained “completely in support of this very worthy and long overdue memorial”.

Ministry chief executive Bernadette Cavanagh said contractors’ attempts to resume site preparations on Thursday morning had been disrupted by protesters.

“I am disappointed in the current situation at the National Erebus Memorial site and the way this small number of protesters is behaving,” she said.

Cavanagh said she was confident the culture and heritage of the park would be protected.

“It is our view that the concerns held by protesters have been fully addressed.”

Dan Moloney, who lost his father, flight engineer Nick Moloney, on Erebus, previously said he was frustrated by the three years of delays over the project.

He has accused the protesters of spreading misinformation and confusing the public.

Paul Gilberd, whose grandfather Peter Tanton died in the disaster, said he was thrilled at Thursday’s progress at the site, and had taken phone calls from five other victims’ family members on the matter.

He thanked the council and police, and acknowledged what he called the “steadfast support from Ngāti Whātua”.

Thursday's move at the memorial site came at the same time a representative of the victims’ families had sought a meeting with Mayor Phil Goff to try to break the pause on construction.

Mace Ward, Auckland Council’s general manager of parks, sports and recreation, said compliance officers were assisting the ministry by “uplifting and storing any property” located on the project site.

“Property left in a park can be seized under Auckland Council’s Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw.”