KEY POINTS:
Four men killed in a plane crash in Christchurch 50 years ago are to be commemorated by a memorial at the crash site.
Pilot Robert Hamilton, first officer Harry Torgerson and passengers Tom O'Connell and James McLaggen were killed when a Bristol Freighter crashed near the south-eastern boundary of the Russley Golf Course on November 21, 1957.
Mr O'Connell ran Straits Air Freight Express, which owned the plane that was on a flight from Paraparaumu to Timaru.
Mr McLaggen was a student, while the other three lived in Blenheim.
The Russley Golf Club has approved the placement of a permanent memorial to the crash on the original site, at the initiative of club member, Phil Boyd.
It will replace an existing marker and will be completed by November 21 in time for a 50th anniversary service, the Marlborough Express reported.
Mr Boyd would like to hear from any relatives of the crew members to complete what has been a three-year project.
"I know that there would be people up there (in Blenheim) who must be related because they all had two children," Mr Boyd said from Christchurch. It was important to remember the crash in which servicemen's lives were lost, he said.
A commemorative plaque was dedicated to the crew in the 1990s, but it is located nearby close to Christchurch's airport, rather than on the crash site itself.
- NZPA
