Mourners place flowers near the site where the 11 victims lost their lives. Photo / Sarah Ivey
Family, friends and neighbours struggle to come to terms with the disaster that claimed their loved ones.
DENISE DELLABARCA
Denise Dellabarca had moved into her Paraparaumu house recently with her elderly mother, who had since died.
Mrs Dellabarca, 58, was living at the Paraparaumu house alone, and neighbours in the cul-de-sac talked yesterday of friendly chats over the fence during power outages.
They said their friendly neighbour otherwise mostly kept to herself.
Ms Dellabarca's sister-in-law, Virginia Dellabarca, said the news had come as a complete shock.
"I had no idea she was even up there, just absolutely shocked," she said. "I'm very upset, and very confused and bewildered."
Denise was "a lovely person" and a caring sister-in-law, she said.
She had worked as a legal secretary at law firm Kensington Swan for more than 25 years.
Mrs Dellabarca had been on the hot-air balloon with her Masterton cousin Valerie Bennett, after Mrs Bennett's daughter had been unable to go with her.
Mrs Dellabarca's aunt, who did not wish to be named, said her niece had been "very close" to her cousin.
"It's a shock to us all and I can't imagine it happening to someone we knew."
Denise had loved horses, which she rode at Paraparaumu, but she had since given up riding.
She also loved the outdoors and arts and crafts.
"She's very crafty ... she did her own dressmaking, all her own sewing and that. She was pretty clever."
Ms Dellabarca had moved from the Wellington suburb of Island Bay to Paraparaumu to look after her sick mother, who died a couple of years ago.
Her other closest relatives - her father, a half-sister and half-brother - have also passed away.
Ms Dellabarca's death has come as a shock to colleagues at Kensington Swan's Wellington office, who did not wish to comment after learning of the news.
- APNZ
VALERIE BENNETT
Valerie Bennett was given the trip by her Chicago-based son Gavin for her 70th birthday.
Her daughter Jacqueline, who also lives in the United States, had visited her mother about two months ago to celebrate her birthday.
Mrs Bennett's neighbour Margaret Hook said Jacqueline had planned to go up in the hot-air balloon while she was visiting.
"They couldn't get on the balloon while she was here for whatever reason, the weather or it was all booked out. That's why she went with her cousin Denise on Saturday."
Mrs Bennett's cousin, Denise Dellabarca, 58, who also died in the accident, had gone with her instead, said Mrs Hook.
Mrs Hook and her husband, Keith, who were friends of Mrs Bennett, said she had loved having her daughter from New York stay with her. Both her children were on their way back from the US after hearing the news, while her sister Lorraine Taylor, from Wellington, had gone to Carterton on Saturday.
Mrs Bennett was a widow. Her husband, Bob, died of cancer some years ago.
Mark Sowry, another neighbour of Mrs Bennett, said she was a "lovely lady".
"She was a great neighbour. You couldn't get a better neighbour. She was a hard worker," he said. "At 70 she was still mowing her own lawns and chopping her firewood. She loved going to car boot sales. She used to go every Sunday to supplement her income."
- Joanne Carroll
BELINDA HARTER, STEPHEN HOPKIRK
Belinda Elisabeth Harter, a nurse, was active in the community, participating in everything from her children's sport to co-directing a musical.
The 49-year-old mother of two had gone up in the balloon with her 50-year-old partner, Stephen Hopkirk.
The couple lived in Lower Hutt but a man at their home last night told the Herald no one there was up to making any comment at this stage.
Mr Hopkirk is believed to have worked at IBM as an IT specialist for more than 20 years and was educated at Victoria University in the 1980s.
Ms Harter had worked as a patient flow co-ordinator at Capital & Coast District Health Board in the past.
A 2007 DHB newsletter listed her as the winner of an employee recognition award, describing her as someone who skilfully carried out "the very challenging role of ensuring the appropriate placement of both acute and waiting list patients in the face of limited bed and staff numbers".
Ms Harter was also known to be very involved in supporting her children's activities as they grew up.
She was active at the Empire Table Tennis Club several years ago while her son James, who is now believed to be at Waikato University, was there.
A club member said she served for a time on the board and although she played a little she was more there to give something back to the club while her son was there.
Ms Harter was also interested in music, as was her daughter Riley, and helped to direct a musical about the Rainbow Warrior - a production which won the best New NZ play at the 1986 National Festival of Community Drama.
- Elizabeth Binning
DESMOND AND ANN DEAN
Masterton retirees Desmond and Ann Dean will be remembered as a devoted husband and wife, adored parents and a treasured Gran and Poppa.
The couple were given the $350 balloon trip as a Christmas present by their children, who were present when the balloon erupted in a ball of flames after hitting power lines during its descent on Saturday morning.
Desmond, 70, and Ann, 65, grew up in the Wairarapa, where they had three daughters and six grandchildren and Desmond, known as Des, established himself as a builder.
Masterton Mayor Garry Daniell said he had known him since their schooldays and, as a builder, Mr Dean had been a customer over many years at his Mitre 10 store.
"It's obviously affecting a lot of people. He was well respected as a competent builder and also for squash and his sporting activities."
Mr Dean had done building work for a wide range of customers, and when Mr Daniell last saw him, he was busy building playground equipment for Douglas Park School, where his grandchildren go.
A friend of the couple, Stella Rushbrook, said Mr Dean had been a builder for many years before retiring.
"He had a lot to do with the community through his work and he was really well liked. They were both such lovely people."
Neighbours described the Deans as well respected and well liked.
"They had a campervan they would cruise off in," said neighbour Paul Rushbrook. "They were semi-retired and they were enjoying life. They had a nice house and were very organised. They were family-oriented people."
Friends John and Jenny Fittall wrote a heartfelt farewell message in a Family Notice: "We will greatly miss our cherished friends taken from us so suddenly, and far too soon."
DIANA AND HOWARD COX
Diana Cox and her husband Howard Cox, of Mornington in Wellington, were a "lovely, lovely couple," a long-time colleague says.
Mr Cox was a businessman and property developer who won a battle with prostate cancer.
His wife was the administrator at the Physiotherapy Acupuncture Association of New Zealand in Wellington, where she had been working for a few years.
Denis Wood, who had known the couple for a decade, was shocked to learn of their deaths.
"They were a lovely, lovely couple ... I always found them gentle and highly likeable."
When not at work, Mrs Cox was "very well organised", she spent much of her time with their dog, said a colleague who did not wish to be named.
"Both of them were very keen on it, it was only about a year old. The dog was one of their passions."
The pair would often be seen taking the black dog, which looked like a retriever, for walks in their neighbourhood.
The Coxes were also keen supporters of the SPCA.
"They used to do the fundraising ... for the SPCA. They'd both be there with the dog collecting."
Mrs Cox was a lovely woman, and her colleague said she would often spend a lot of time on the phone talking to her.
"She's a really lovely, caring lady. She's always doing kind things for people."
Mr Cox's son, Jeremy Cox, moved to Australia before Christmas. He would return to New Zealand today for the funeral.
Mr and Mrs Cox's daughter, Sarah Scarlett, was to visit the crash site yesterday.
- Jamie Morton, APNZ
LANCE HOPPING
A private balloon trip with his son is the "marvellous" memory that stands out for the father of the pilot killed in the Carterton balloon accident.
Lance Hopping's father, Robert, was yesterday struggling with the death of his son, who left behind a fiancee, two children and two grandchildren.
"We're going against the tide a bit, but we're still upright and swimming a bit. It's pretty tough going."
Invitations to his son's wedding to Nina Kelynack were in the mail. The pair had been due to marry at Easter.
Masterton District councillor Gary Caffell, whose wife Barbara works with Nina, said a wedding invitation had arrived just hours after he heard the tragic news. "It's just so bloody sad, and to receive the invitation on the same day just made it even worse."
Robert Hopping said moments spent in the sky with his son were special.
"The best memory I've got was the first ride in the helicopter with him and going up in the balloon with him. They were great moments."
Lance had been ballooning for 17 years, and "was always interested in the air". He held a commercial pilot's licence while continuing to do odd jobs for operators, his father said.
His son was an outdoorsy man who would be sorely missed by his family and friends, Mr Hopping said.
"He was very outgoing and got on very well with people. He was very conscientious in what he did and anything he took on. He was a very, very caring person."
Mr Hopping said the family were coming to terms with their grief. Lance's son Henare and daughter Hayley were "finding it tough". Ms Kelynack was being well supported by her parents and the tight-knit community, he said.
"She seems to be a little bit brighter this afternoon, she's got good support with her family."
Balloons Over Wairarapa organiser Jonathan Hooker said the death of Mr Hopping, who he described as "safety conscious", was a "huge loss" to the ballooning community.
- Jamie Morton, APNZ
They allege the Crown ignored Treaty obligations by not engaging with them.
