Andre Petera, Alicia Toki with son Jordan and their beloved Karnin, known as Tino, who died in the Abbey Caves tragedy. Photo / Jodi Bryant
A worried mother who called her son’s school three times with concerns about a heavy downpour on the day of his school trip to Abbey Caves was repeatedly dismissed.
However, on her final call, she sensed fear in the receptionist’s voice and was told the principal had instructed she was not to be given any information.
Seventeen Whangārei Boys’ High School students found themselves trapped in a cave as floodwaters surged during the May 2023 excursion. Among them was Karnin Petera, who died there.
The school board was formally charged in May 2024 by WorkSafe with two counts of exposing people to the risk of harm or death. It pleaded guilty in July.
Today, grief hung heavy in the air as all involved gathered in the Whangārei District Court, where the school was forced to confront the loss.
The details of what occurred on that day have not previously been made public but at today’s sentencing Karnin’s parents, whānau and fellow students heard of the tragic circumstances before, during and after his death.
Judge Greg Davis had previously raised the idea of holding the sentencing at a marae, however, the courtroom was instead rearranged into an open space with tables moved out and chairs set up so all parties could face each other. A photo of Karnin was front and centre in the room.
The members of the Board of Trustees – whose names are suppressed – were seated in the jury box while family members and supporters of the Petera whānau along with students and their parents took most of the court seating.
The tragedy unfolded on May 9, 2023, after Whangārei had been experiencing significant downpours for days leading into the excursion.
The school had planned field trips to Abbey Caves with one teacher and an education outdoor training coordinator.
Abbey Caves reserve is located within Whareora, Whangārei, and features three limestone caves, the first being over 300m long. It is a regular site for Northland school excursions. Water flows through all caves and can get chest-deep in areas on days without rainfall.
Rain had been heavy for days, with an orange weather warning on the day the Year 11 student, also known as “Tino”, entered the caves with his classmates before being swept away in strong currents as water levels rose quickly.
The force of the water sucked him down and his foot became trapped between two rocks.
A search and rescue operation was launched where multiple students had to be rescued from nearby rocks. It would be another 10 hours until a team of plumbers with underwater cameras responded to the desperate search and helped locate Karnin.
He was found dead.
His death rocked the community and questions were raised about who made the call to continue the school trip in such bad weather.
Karnin’s parents, Alicia Toki and Andre Petera, had their victim impact statement read in court and recalled the days leading up to the event and the multiple concerns raised with the school about the weather that went ignored.
Toki said the night before the rain was exceptionally heavy and she thought the trip would be cancelled.
When no cancellation notice came and she dropped Karnin off in the morning, flooding was already beginning to appear in central Whangārei and she became even more concerned.
Her last text to her son was telling him not to go into the cave if he didn’t want to.
“It should be okay,” Karnin replied.
She called the school three times within 30 minutes, questioning whether the trip was being cancelled but was told everything was fine.
“I called back and when she picked up I could tell something wasn’t right. I said ‘I know it’s flooded in there because they’re trapped aren’t they?’” Karnin’s mother asked.
“The administrator told me ‘Karen [the principal] told me not to tell anyone what was happening’. I told her she was f***ed.”
Messages began coming through that children were stuck in the caves and that it was all over the news.
“I was angry everyone knew but the school hadn’t communicated anything. I was so worried about Tino.”
When she arrived at the caves she was told the children were being loaded onto a bus and they could meet them back at the school.
“I asked if they had found all the boys but they didn’t answer. One officer said ‘yes’ and another said ‘I can’t tell you’.”
Doing as instructed, Toki went back to the school, where other parents were gathering. The principal made a beeline for her and said she needed to speak with her.
“I said ‘Whatever she had to say, she could say it now’. She said ‘All the other kids have come back, except Karnin. We haven’t been able to find your son’.”
Emergency workers eventually found Karnin but it was another hour before he was able to be brought out.
The parents felt that following Karnin’s death, salt was added to the wound as people began finger-pointing and no one took responsibility.
“One of the things that has amplified the death is our interaction with Whangārei Boys’ High School and feeling like they’re passing the buck to teachers involved, instead of taking responsibility for its health and safety protocols.”
The parents also criticised the restorative justice process and said the principal had tried to dictate what went into the final report.
“This made us feel the principal was trying to put the blame on the teachers.
“We’re concerned that one of the reasons they didn’t cancel was because of the hassle involved with paperwork with postponing.”
The parents hoped workplaces would take climate change seriously and the extreme changes that can occur.
They also urged the council to close the caves permanently with guided tours only.
“If the safety of work relies on weather forecast, you need to factor in a much larger margin of error,” Toki said.
Judge Davis questioned Worksafe asking although the board had been charged, what responsibility lay with the teachers?
“At what point is there an obligation for those physically on the ground to take their own assessment?”
Worksafe’s lawyer Emma Jeffs said the failings had occurred before the excursion in that the school had no emergency or health and safety plan prepared should anything happen in the caves.
“Part of the failing was failing to have an emergency plan, my understanding is they went in and there was nothing of note that was going to be particularly difficult – the water was running but not more than the teachers had previously experienced.
“However, when they were in the cave the lack of an emergency plan is the failing of the school,” Jeffs said.
The school’s lawyer Marie Wisker said the board had taken full responsibility and had implemented changes in its systems.
“The systems were insufficient. The result of the board’s failures was tragically he lost his life and all of those 16 students, and the teacher were all victims of this.
“The school has learnt from this incident and fully accepts they could have done more to ensure the safety of everyone on that trip.”
Wisker said all outdoor excursions needed to get prior approval from the board and a traffic light system had been put in place, which includes updates on cancellations.
“The board is not shying away from its responsibilities. It is taking its responsibility in helping educate others and to deter others from making the same mistakes.
“I do want to be clear the school is deeply regretful. I know it doesn’t bring Karnin back and the school board is devastated in its failures of responsibility that a student did not return home safely as he should have been,” Wisker said.
Judge Davis chose not to read out the 20-page summary of facts as he said it was harrowing and had brought tears to his eyes.
“This is hard stuff for any person to hear.”
Judge Davis noted many parents had raised concerns about the wisdom of the school’s decision to continue with the trip.
Submissions had been made that although Northland was in a severe weather warning, the school had assessed that did not necessarily mean Whangārei would be affected.
“How wrong that assessment was.”
Judge Davis said the decisions made on the day had troubled him and the trip should have been cancelled.
“For me, there is some difficulty conceptually of those on the ground could have equally pulled the pin in the way we would have expected the board to have done as well.
“When the group entered the cave, the water levels were apparently low, but this was also a situation where it appeared Whangārei city had been subject to significant flooding, it should, in my view set off alarm bells.
“Had those alarm bells been rung, we might not have had to deal with the issues we are dealing with today.
Judge Davis closed by offering a mihi to all those affected by Karnin’s death and ordered reparation of more than $500,000 to the victims, specific amounts were suppressed.
Judge Davis also said he would have imposed a $300,000 fine but the school had no ability to pay.
The six-hour sentencing closed with the hymm Whakaaria Mai amid tears.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
A witness reported seeing a police officer setting up a rifle.