Editorial: No winners in Erebus memorial debacle

The cantilevered Erebus memorial, Te Paerangi Ataata - Sky Song, was proposed for a corner of the Dove-Myer Robinson Park in Parnell. Image / Supplied

EDITORIAL

In the end, it seemed even nature didn’t want a memorial to New Zealand’s greatest aviation tragedy.

The Erebus memorial planned for Auckland’s Dove-Myer Robinson Park was finally canned by torrential rain on Anniversary weekend with a large slip in the lower part of the park into Judges Bay raising more concerns about cantilevering a concrete and steel structure.

With construction due to start two years ago, the memorial to 237 passengers and 20 crew has been contentious with local Māori, residents, families of the victims and opponents further afield. All have lost precious time and faith in due processes while having to object to the project.

Officials from then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage all the way to bureaucrats at the Waitematā Local Board have not only lost the fight to build the monument but also respect in the drawn-out saga.

Only last month, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier completed his investigation into complaints about Auckland Council’s role in the National Erebus Memorial project, finding it acted unreasonably in two areas. He’d earlier found that the ministry acted unreasonably by not consulting more widely before forming a preference for a location for the proposed site.

The memorial had its supporters; among them respected historians, aggrieved families and even some neighbours of the park. They, too, have missed out on a much-anticipated memorial and a place to reflect on still unimaginable loss.

If ever finally completed, the Erebus memorial should also serve as a reminder that consultation is still paramount and the will of the people cannot be ignored.