Bouquets and tributes at the Mount Maunganui landslide cordon on Wednesday morning. Photo / Corey Fleming
Community vigils are planned in Mount Maunganui tomorrow to honour those affected by the deadly slips in the region, one week on.
The vigils will be a chance for the community to honour and pay respects to the families of Mauao landslide victims Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15, and Max Furse-Kee, 15, and Welcome Bay Rd slip victims Austen Keith Richardson, 10, and Yao Fang, 71.
The recovery operation at the Mount Maunganui landslide continues with police warning it could take days or even weeks.
The first vigil is being organised for Thursday morning at Pilot Bay near the cordon, with a second planned in the evening at Coronation Park.
There will also be a remembrance event outside the Welcome Bay Hall and Welcome Bay Community Centre at 2pm on Saturday.
Pilot Bay vigil organiser Tanya Golaboski invited the community to join her and others from 9am to 10am, with a minute’s silence planned for 9.30am, followed by a karakia.
“I just felt so heavy and so sad with what’s happened with Mauao. Mauao has been a big part of so many of our lives for so long,” Golaboski said.
“That’s what the Mount is, it’s Mauao.”
Golaboski, who is the event co-ordinator at Eagle Ridge in Ohauiti, said she wanted to acknowledge it being one week from what happened and acknowledge what the families must be feeling during this time.
She said she hoped to have someone tell the history of Mauao.
Each of the victim’s names would be read at the event. Golaboski said family members could speak for their loved ones if they wanted.
Songs Whakaaria Mai and How Great Thou Art would be played.
“It’s just all about being together.”
Golaboski said she sought police permission to host the vigil and was permitted to do so, provided it was a safe distance from the cordon.
“I’ve had Elliott Funeral Services reach out to me this morning and they are going to make up some flyers with a bit of a service on it.
“I also have Matt from Massive Music who is coming down to do some music for us with a speaker and microphone.”
People were being encouraged to car share where possible to avoid any congestion in the area.
Later in the evening, people were invited to attend a second vigil organised by Tauranga City Council.
The gathering, at Coronation Park in Mount Maunganui from 7pm, would provide a space for quiet connection, shared grief, and peaceful reflection, the council said.
A karakia was expected to be held at 8pm.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said tomorrow’s gathering was a moment for the community to be together during an “immensely difficult” time, and to remember those lives recently lost.
“Our community is grieving deeply. This is a time for us to come together with compassion, to honour the lives lost, and to wrap support around those who have been affected.
“There is no right way to grieve – some may come to reflect in silence, others to stand alongside neighbours and whānau. However people choose to take part, they are welcome."
He said the community could stand in solidarity with the families affected by the “terrible tragedy” and say thank you to all the emergency response workers and volunteers who continued to work “tirelessly” to return loved ones to their families.
More information could be found on the council’s website.
Any family members who wanted to speak or share their loved one’s name at tomorrow morning’s vigil could contact Tanya Golaboski through a Facebook message.
An event to remember Welcome Bay Rd slip victims Austen Keith Richardson, 10, and Yao Fang, 71 will be held at 2pm Saturday outside the Welcome Bay Hall and Welcome Bay Community Centre.
Mother and daughter duo Louise Newton and Tracey Peck organised the event. Newton said people had been putting flowers at the Mauao cordon, and she felt a similar opportunity should be offered in Welcome Bay.
Newton and Peck were both widowers and felt empathy for the families who were grieving, especially Austen’s parents, who had lost both a child and a mother.
“I know how they feel, in a sense,” Newton said. “It’s just a way of saying, you know, we feel sorry for everybody who’s lost someone.”
The duo planned to set up a board and pens underneath a tree, visible from the road, for people to write messages on. Newton said she would also bring flowers and candles to light.
“We will be there for anybody who wants to come around. People can write their thoughts, or they can reflect.
“They don’t have to talk. They can stay there for two minutes, two hours, or just write a message on the board.
“If they want to bring flowers, they can. Or gifts, toys. It doesn’t have to cost money to do something.”