Memorial buoy monument unveiled in Napier as port victims recalled on Workers’ Memorial Day

Napier Port employee Ryan Baker at Monday's International Workers Memorial Day commemoration in Napier, which included the unveiling of a mounted buoy memorial to those who have died from injuries in workplace incidents at the port. Photo / Doug Laing

A memorial buoy set as a monument on a grass reserve near the gates to Napier Port has been unveiled to open up to the public a place of remembrance for family and friends of people who died from injuries received on the wharves.

It came on International Workers Memorial Day on Monday, with the memorial including commemorative plaques that had been on the Appley Wall Memorial inside the western gates of the port.

The unveiling was carried out by two port employees who lost family in work tragedies at the port, and at least three others who had lost their lives at the port or other work sites were represented at the annual gathering, during which port operations were shut down for staff to be able to attend.

Phil Taana was working on the port when brother Rep Taana was killed on March 27, 2006, and Ryan Baker, a son of Kevin Baker, who died on June 21, 1993, took on a job at the port in 2012.

Among his roles, Taana has since been involved in many discussions with Maritime NZ, which now oversees portside health and safety. “I guess you can call me a consultant,” he said.

Phil Taana (centre) and Ryan Baker (right) who remembered a lost brother and a lost dad respectively at Monday's International Workers Memorial Day, and unveiled a memorial buoy monument commemoration in Napier. At left is Te Kaha Hawaikirangi, who led and closed the memorial service. Photo / Paul Taylor Photography, Alphapix

Baker had been working in sawmilling for about five years before he started at the port, and said at first it was “a bit overwhelming” being on the wharves where his father died the day before his 50th birthday.

He said he soon overcame the trepidation, pleased to see the commitment at the port to safer conditions and realising the changes that had been made over the years.

Napier Port CEO Todd Dawson said Workers Memorial Day is a reminder that everyone in the workplace needs to remain vigilant about risks to health and safety, and it is a “collective responsibility everyone returns home safe at the end of the day”.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.