Government pushed ahead with Erebus memorial at a site its consultants said was a poor option, documents reveal

Aerial impression of national Erebus memorial planned for Dove-Myer Robinson Park. Image / Ministry of Culture and Heritage

The Government pushed on with its choice of a Parnell park for the national Erebus memorial despite its consultants saying it was a poor location, official documents show.

This and other decisions were made in the context of limited alternatives and under time pressure of wanting to have a turning-of-the sod ceremony on November 28, the 40th anniversary of the country's worst air disaster.

That ceremony was abandoned after complaints there was no public consultation, or input sought from neighbours of Dove-Myer Robinson Park, also known as the Parnell Rose Gardens.

As a result, a decision on whether to grant landowner consent has been delayed until a meeting of the Waitematā Local Board next month.

Parnell resident Jo Malcolm claims documents released to her under official information legislation show the project has been rushed and poor decisions made as a consequence, beginning with the rejection of advice from the Government's hired consultants that Dove-Myer Robinson Park was a poor site.

Before and after impressions by an architect hired by local residents.

The Ministry of Culture and Heritage, which is driving the memorial project, yesterday said it was confident it had followed "a robust process".

"While our expectation was that the beginning of construction would likely coincide with the anniversary, [that] did not drive the process," project lead Brodie Stubbs said in response to questions from the Weekend Herald.

Consultants Boffa Miskell reported in August last year that the park was noisy, would struggle to "develop a new memorial identity" and had no connection with the ill-fated flight which departed from Auckland Airport and flew over the Manukau Harbour.

Of nine criteria rated from poor to excellent, the site assessment found the park was "poor" or "adequate-to-poor" in four. It was not judged to be "excellent" in any criteria and to be "good" in only one.

Though it had "reasonable" access and was physically capable of accommodating a memorial, the report noted:

• Ambient noise from Tamaki Dr and Auckland Port and "the frequent loud detractors of the railway and helipad are at odds with the desire for a place of remembrance, contemplation and reflection".

• The absence of "a relationship or significance" between the park and Waitematā Harbour which it overlooks, and the Erebus disaster, something that was at odds with the many smaller Erebus memorials.

ErebusMemorial

The consultants recommended finding "a site closer to Auckland Airport with a view over Manukau Harbour that has a connection and symbolism to Flight TE-901".

"This could be viewed as a destination in its own right and a true place for reflection and remembrance."

In an email to a senior Auckland Council official at the time, Stubbs said that while "not a glowing endorsement of the site … neither is it a fatal blow".

An offer by Auckland Council to look for sites with a view of the airport was rejected, with Stubbs noting that there was a "very strong feeling" among family members that "the memorial should [not] include any reference to Air NZ".

Malcolm, whose father-in law Alan Stokes was onboard the sightseeing flight which crashed into the side of Mt Erebus in Antarctica on November 28, 1979, killing all 257 on board, said the report was not tabled with the local board, the body that decides whether to grant landowner consent, or given to those who took part in the memorial design competition.

Before and after impressions by an architect hired by local residents.

She said the cache of documents released to her indicated Dove-Myer Robinson Park became the preferred choice by default, as other options - Cornwall Park, One Tree Hill, the Domain, Bastion Point, Western Springs and Wynyard Quarter - were ruled out for various reasons.

"Dove-Myer Robinson Park wasn't the preferred choice, it was the only choice, and I don't believe there was a mandate from the Erebus families."

The park was not among locations that were mentioned in responses to a ministry survey of Erebus family members about a memorial, she said.

"It has been an incredibly poor process from start to finish. This had been compounded because the ministry did not share information with relevant decision makers."

Malcolm said reading the Boffa Miskell report confirmed her sense something "is deeply wrong". "It was a real sense of confirmation, and it wasn't about me being a NIMBY ..."

But Stubbs told the Weekend Herald the survey of Erebus families in August last year did not ask people to nominate a site but sought their thoughts on desired characteristics of design and location.

The general preference was for a site that was secluded, in a peaceful park-like setting with gardens, trees and a natural aspect or view, Stubbs said.

"This was something that Dove-Myer Robinson offered."

"In making the final recommendation, we balanced all these pieces of advice and felt that Dove-Myer Robinson Park was the best site for the memorial."

By the time the ministry received the Boffa Miskell report it "was confident Dove-Myer Robinson Park was a good fit … so [we] did not feel investigation of new sites at this point was warranted".

Locals Jo Malcolm, right, and Annie Coney say its been a poor process. Photo / Michael Craig

Malcolm, who with another local, Annie Coney, set up a petition and Facebook page aimed at stopping the memorial in the park, said she had no doubt the aim of a sod-turning event on the 40th anniversary had driven the process.

When the Christchurch earthquake memorial fell behind, the deadline was pushed out, she said.

"When they got behind on this one, they compromised the process to still hit the deadline."

Malcolm was initially upset about a lack of consultation but now opposes an Erebus memorial being built in the park at all.

"We believe the only option is a fresh start and that starts with getting the right site and it's not Dove-Myer Robinson Park."

Before and after impressions by an architect hired by local residents.

She claimed the ministry had released only flattering renderings of the memorial, so locals hired an architect to produce images, based on information in the ministry's resource consent application, showing it from other angles.

"We want the public to know exactly how it is going to look from all sides."

Asked why the ministry did not voluntarily publicly notify its application for resource consent - as is recommended in the Government's Heritage Policy - Stubbs said the process was ongoing and it was up to Auckland Council to decide whether public notification was required.

Erebus Memorial: the story so far

The previous and current governments were approached by a group who believe it is a significant oversight that the disaster has not been recognised with a national memorial and requested it be built for the 40th anniversary.

• November 2017: On the 38th anniversary, newly-elected Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the Government wants to create one, hopefully in time for the 40th anniversary. However, a year later, she said that target wasn't possible and that the priority was to "get the memorial right rather than get it in place quickly".

• November, 2018: Waitematā Local Board, dominated by centre-left politicians, gives landowner approval in principle for use of Dove-Myer Robinson Park.

• April 2019: Design selected, Te Paerangi Ataata - Sky Song, by Wellington firm Studio Pacific Architecture jointly with designer and artist Jason O'Hara and musician Warren Maxwell.

• September-October, 2019: The project runs into controversy with complaints about a lack of public consultation. Consequently, Auckland Council holds an information weekend at the park, a sod-turning event is cancelled and landowner consent decision is pushed back to December.

Erebus will be the third national memorial to a disaster, after memorials acknowledging the Canterbury earthquake and Tangiwai train disaster.