Opinion: May Day - a day to remember those who had lost their lives

Underground coal mines are as close to Papatuanuku as you can get without being buried, says Te Taru White.

Tena koutou katoa

May 1 (referred to as May Day) was celebrated in many northern hemisphere countries as an international day honouring workers and their fight for a shorter working day.

In the mining community, it is also a day to remember those who had lost their lives.

As a young Maori geologist working in the Huntly coal mines in the mid 1980's, May Day represented camaraderie where dangers were quietly accepted. It is here where my thirst to find myself as a Maori grew.

In those days, it was uncommon to find Maori working as geologists but not uncommon to find Maori working at the coal face literally. These men were genuinely warm to me and I believe proud that one of their own was the mine geologist. I helped them to find the coal - they helped me to find myself. They were my extended family.

Underground coal mines are as close to Papatuanuku as you can get without being buried.

I could venture most places and would seek solace in quiet abandoned spaces several kilometres underground.

I would turn off my lamp and listen in the darkness to Papatuanuku.

The creaking and groans you could hear as the coal de-stressed with no other sounds or light were surreal. As crazy as it sounds, Papatuanuku was talking to me.

These were real epiphany moments where my western science interpretations and my Maori self were on a collision course.

Dangers were ever present which strengthened the bond between us.

On one occasion a fire broke out in the Huntly West mine.

I used a drilling rig to drill holes through the coal seams and pumped a sodium carbonate mix (lime) into the fire. In this smoked filled mine, everything was done by feel.

48 hours later, the fire was out. To put things in context, in 1992 the West mine blew up. Thankfully no one was in the mine at the time.

Thirty-two years later, I believe I have found myself.

However, I cannot leave this page without commenting on the Pike River disaster.

I do not believe the mine should be re-entered. The risk to life is too great.

Those men shared the dangers together, have died together within the bosom of Papatuanuku.

This should be their final resting place, to be sealed and made as a memorial to them.

As May Day looms, they will be remembered!!

Te Taru is from Te Arawa, Tainui and Ngati Porou descent and is the chairman of Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Rotorua Lakes Council partnership. His website is http://tetaruwhite.com.