Sound Archives: the Mt Tarawera Eruption

Sarah Johnston from Nga Taonga Sound and Vision presents some eyewitness accounts of the Tarawera eruption which took place 130 years ago last week.

Painting of the Pink and White Terraces by john Clarke Hoyte, 1835-1913.(Otago Uni collection)

Near the site of the White Terraces after the 1886 Tarawera eruption with Stephenson Percy Smith's survey party en route for Tarawera. (Alexander Turnbull Library)

Photograph taken by Charles S Spencer showing the site of Te Wairoa Pa and surrounding environ covered in ash following the eruption of Tarawera in 1886. (Alexander Turnbull Library)

View of waka in front of the Pink Terraces from the shore of Lake Rotomahana circa 1880 to 1886. (Alexander Turnbull Library)

Photograph of a group at Guide Sophia's buried whare at Te Wairoa Rotorua district after the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera taken by the Burton Brothers ca 1886 (Alexander Turnbull Library)

Lake Tarawera was the home of the famous Pink and White Terraces and in 1886 tourism was already a booming industry in the area.

Māori living in villages nearby such as  Te Wairoa were earning a living guiding tourists across the lake to see the terraces and hotels and stores had sprung up to house and feed them. 

Te Wairoa is today known as the Buried Village.

On the night of the 9th of June violent earthquakes began shaking the whole Bay of Plenty area. 

The cloud was visible as far away as Taupo - and it was felt further away than that.

There are some reports of people in Christchurch and Blenheim seeing flashes in the sky and certainly the earthquakes were felt and the rumbling was heard all over the North Island.

Pink and White Terraces final location 'discovered'

environment

20 Mar 2018

Researchers say they have found the final burial site of the famous Pink and White Terraces, 132 years after the Mt Tarawera eruption engulfed them. A full archaeological investigation kicked off in… Audio, Gallery