OPINION
There’s nothing more powerful than the connection of people.
That’s the feeling I got after watching the Netflix documentary on the 2019 White Island/Whakaari eruption that claimed the lives of 22 people.
The sobering hour-and-a-half-long film takes viewers from the safety of their living rooms to the unparalleled destructive power of Mother Nature through survivors’ and rescuers’ accounts with minute-by-minute footage.
It highlights how brutal the planet can be in an instant and how important Whakaari is to Whakatāne both spiritually and economically. But it’s the awe-inspiring power of the human spirit and helping others that resonated the most.
Whakaari erupted at 2.11pm on December 9, 2019, shooting out a column of steam and throwing a wave of hot rock, ash, and acid gas across the crater floor — 47 people were on the island at the time.
The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari director Rory Kennedy (Downfall: The Case Against Boeing) did an amazing job highlighting the actions of the heroes who risked their lives to save others.
It’s the type of stuff that movies are made of, especially when you factor in guide Tipene Maangi wasn’t supposed to be there, that it was Hayden Marshall Inman’s 1111th visit to the island and how it was Brian Depauw’s first-day flying solo.
With executive producers Leonardo DiCaprio and Ron Howard, and the score by Hans Zimmer (Interstellar, Gladiator, Inception) and Steve Mazzaro (Army of Thieves), it’s been given the full Hollywood treatment but its creators were careful not to lay blame.
There are a few powerful quotes from Whakaari survivors about how beautiful, isolated and dangerous the island could be that stood out.
“It’s [Whakaari] kind of like a scene out of Jurassic Park when you approach it,” helicopter pilot Depauw said. “Landing on White Island the first time was kind of like landing on the moon.”
Hamiltonian Goeff Hopkins said: “You actually get the feeling of the vastness and the power of what you’re encroaching on - this glimmer of Mother Nature at her most beautiful but her most deadly.”
But one line from American tourist Lauren Urey, who was on her honeymoon with her husband Matt, sticks out the most.
“I felt for sure we’re going to die today and I just want our bodies to be found together.”
Matt Urey, who has an outline of Lauren’s hand on his wrist around the burn scars, said the pair were still getting surgeries monthly and, had he known what they do now, they wouldn’t have stepped foot on the island.
“I understand no one controls nature but you need to at least give me the chance to make an informed decision.”
I was in Whakatāne within a few hours of the eruption, sent to report the events that followed.
I had never been there before but remember distinctly how sad it felt, especially at the waterfront near the mouth of the Whakatāne River where a cordon had been set up.
The morning after, one local told me on his walk around town how “everyone’s heads are down” and that it was the polar opposite of the usual where people were happy to stop and chat.
Who could blame them?
But what’s particularly amazing was the courage of Mark Law and the other pilots who decided to fly to the island to help — despite orders it was too dangerous for air ambulance and paramedic helicopters to land.
Their efforts resulted in 20 casualties being found on the crater floor, with 12 injured flown out over 40 minutes, and eight deceased repositioned for later recovery.
Of the 12 helicoptered out, 10 died.
The film reminded me a lot of Axle Hamblyn, the toddler who went missing for 19 hours in a forestry block near Tolaga Bay in May 2021 wearing only a T-shirt, nappy, and gumboots.
The family was new to the area but within hours of his disappearance, forestry workers, fencers, volunteer firefighters, police and local farmers joined the search; it seemed no one in the district could bear the thought of staying home while Axle was out there in the elements.
The hills were flooded with people calling out for him, others jumped into nearby rivers to look for him; several were cooking kai for the searchers.
That outpouring of support and aroha [love] came without conditions, just like the Whakaari rescuers’ efforts.
Earlier this year, Law was bestowed with the New Zealand Bravery Star - the country’s second-highest bravery award. Six others were also recognised for their selfless heroism during the chaos of the tragedy.
In this topsy-turvy world that we find ourselves living in, there’s an awful lot of sadness and hate but tales like these show that people still care deeply for one another, even strangers and that’s worth remembering.
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari begins streaming on Netflix today.
The couple spend five months a year in America running their business.