Robyn Dorday, from Napier, talks to Hawke's Bay Today reporter Nicki Harper about a report written by her late husband Alan Dorday.
Family of victims of New Zealand's deadliest disaster are being asked to check a list of the names of those killed when an Air New Zealand sightseeing flight crashed in Antarctica, as work continues on a national memorial.
"A strong desire from family members, and indeed a prominent feature of the chosen design, was for the names of those who died to be inscribed on the memorial," Ministry chief executive Bernadette Cavanagh said.
"A list of names is now available to the public, and I encourage family members or family friends to check the list and get in touch with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage if there are any errors or questions.
"We are also keen to hear about preferred names."
The National Erebus Memorial project team had a complete list of passengers and crew from flight TE901, cross-referenced with a list from Coronial Services, Air New Zealand, the Births, Deaths and Marriages office, and the NZ Police Museum.
The team is also working with embassies and High Commissions to confirm the names of citizens from other countries.
The memorial, entitled Te Paerangi Ataata - Sky Song, incorporated a stainless steel walkway projecting outward to the horizon and would be erected in Auckland's Dove-Myer Robinson Park.
Mt Erebus, in Antarctica, was the sight of New Zealand's worst aviation disaster, when Air New Zealand TE901 crashed into the volcano in 1979. File photo / Alan Gibson
The design was described by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as "evoking the great emptiness" still endured by the families affected in the 1979 Air NZ plane crash in Antarctica.
The project was now in the "developed design phase", where officials were working closely with Studio Pacific Architecture on the details of the memorial, Cavanagh said.
"Erebus remains one of New Zealand's worst accidents. This memorial will go some way in reflecting the loss felt by family and friends of the passengers and crew, as well as the impact on the nation."
