Pupils mark 1886 Tarawera eruption

Pupils and teachers walked through Rotorua in old fashioned costumes to replicate life before the eruption. Photo / Ben Fraser

It was like a nuclear bomb.

That's how Te Ao Marama Bennett, 7, described the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption.

Yesterday marked the 127th anniversary since the mountain erupted, claiming the lives of at least 108 people.

Te Ao has been learning about the eruption at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Koutu and visited the Buried Village yesterday with 230 other pupils from the school.

Most pupils dressed up in old-fashioned costumes and the older students gave speeches about what life was like before the eruption.

"I dressed up like an old man from the olden days," Te Ao said.

After visiting the village, pupils walked through the City Focus to the Government Gardens, bringing the history of the Tarawera eruption back to life.

Some students and teachers wore name tags with the names of the 108 people who died during the disaster.

Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Koutu social studies teacher Hamihi Duncan said this was the first time they had held a school trip to the Buried Village during the anniversary.

"In our social studies class we have been looking at the history of the Tarawera eruption and the people that lived here, also what life was like here back in those days."

Many of the students were related to people who had died in the disaster, including ancestors from iwi groups Tuhourangi and Ngati Rangitihi.

"The pupils are also learning about who they are," Mr Duncan said.

Tuhourangi kaumatua Anaru Rangiheuea attended yesterday's event to speak to the students about the history of the eruption.

Maraea Douglas, 9, said it would have been quite scary during the explosion.

"It's like rocks coming out of the mountain and lava," she said.

Tiaki Early Learning Centre also joined in the field trip with Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Koutu.

The 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption lasted six hours destroying several villages and the famous Pink and White Terraces.