Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford at his wedding to Hannah Ralph in January.
Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford at his wedding to Hannah Ralph in January.
On the evening of January 21, National MP Tom Rutherford went to sleep planning to spend the next day ticking off the remaining items on his wedding to-do list.
Instead, he and the nation woke to news unprecedented rainfall had caused a slip in Pāpāmoa’s Welcome Bay which killed twopeople. Hours later, a major landslide occurred at the base of Mount Maunganui, killing six people at a popular campsite.
As the representative for Bay of Plenty which includes Pāpāmoa and part of Mount Maunganui, Rutherford had to put to one side his wedding duties and address the immense shock and trauma experienced by his community.
While Rutherford and Hannah Ralph, now his wife, didn’t entertain postponing 18 months of wedding planning, the MP spent the day after his January 24 wedding back on the job, meeting with distraught family members of those missing and attending a community vigil.
Reluctant to publicise his nuptials out of respect to a community grappling with the loss of eight lives, Rutherford has spoken to the Herald about the conflicting feelings of “joy and grief” as he married his soulmate.
“Obviously, for me on a personal level, I was feeling very conflicted with the timing of the wedding and then this happening in my own community,” he said.
Rutherford, 29, spent Thursday on the ground at the Mount Maunganui slip site. He spent the day before his wedding there too, alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as well as making a visit to the site of the Pāpāmoa landslide.
“I did find it really conflicting, but I knew that my priority needed to be my community, and then on the Saturday, my priority being Hannah and our marriage.
“I definitely felt really torn but staying committed to both the recovery efforts, whilst also quietly marrying ... it was a big priority for me.
“It’s difficult to balance joy and grief at the same time.”
Rutherford, 30, had been with 28-year-old Ralph for four years and the pair had planned their union since 2024, although Rutherford confessed it had been a long-held dream of hers.
“She just needed to find the bloke that was going to stand at the end of the altar!”
Rutherford acknowledged their eagerness to be married was difficult to balance for the couple, given the circumstances.
“It was a challenging period for us but [she] knew that I needed to do what I needed to do for my community.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why we make such a formidable and strong team, her support for me, her love. She was very understanding.”
The tragedy was front of mind for those at the wedding.
The pair were married in an intimate affair at the popular wedding venue, Black Walnut, in Whakamārama, a 30-minute drive from Tauranga.
Even with the nature of the occasion, Rutherford noted the slips were front of mind for many guests.
“Everyone’s got a story or a connection to Mauao and to Mount Maunganui, whether it’s having climbed the Mount, stayed at the campsite, eaten at one of the cafes or swum at the beach.”
That includes the newly married couple, who had their first date walking up Mauao and were later engaged on Ōmanu Beach, just down from the mountain.
“Our connection with the mountain is really special to us as well and you are right, conflicting emotions, but as I said, we’re a strong team.”
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
