Survivors, families of the dead and first responders fill Whakatāne's Mataatua Marae for a commemoration service on the one-year anniversary of the White Island/Whakaari eruption.
"'What's for dinner Mum?' 'Love you Mum'."
Hayden Marshall-Inman's mother, Avey Woods, still waits for his texts.
Whakaari White Island tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman's body was never recovered after the volcano erupted on December 9 last year.
He was one of the two tour guides killed along with 20 tourists.
Woods remembered her son as a loving and kind man who would do anything to help someone. She also recalled their special bond.
Woods spoke to the many gathered at Mataatua Marae today for the Whakatāne commemoration service live-streamed at Mataatua Reserve where people stood in silence.
Survivors, families of the dead, first responders, and people from throughout Whakatāne came together, falling silent for a minute at 2.11pm - the same time as the eruption.
A wreath was placed at Mataatua Marae. Photo / Andrew Warner
Woods told the crowd that she remembered breaking down on the beach the day after Marshall-Inman died.
"Calling his name, sobbing and a stranger puts their arms around you while you cry, you wail, sob and call out his name."
To this day, Woods did not know who the lady was on the beach and hoped she was listening "because that shows what a community we are".
She said grief affected everybody differently and believed no one ever got over the loss of a loved one.
Those who were injured on the day could not be forgotten either, with a long road ahead, she said.
Everybody had been badly affected by the eruption, she said.
"I won't lie, it's extremely hard, you can be at the shop and suddenly you're full of tears. All our family has been torn apart, everybody has been torn apart through this."
Hayden Marshall-Inman's mother Avey Woods. Photo / Andrew Warner
She spoke of one of Marshall-Inman's last good deeds. After going out for dinner they passed a woman working on the side of the road. He dropped his mum home before going back to give the lady a high-vis jacket, to keep her safe.
"That's the kind of person Hayden is.
"To this day, I still miss his ute backing down our driveway to call in and see Mum or have dinner. We all have our own memories of Hayden. As all mums know, Hayden was a part of me."
Woods visited Ohope Beach daily, where she felt most connected to Marshall-Inman and said Whakaari was the perfect resting place for him.
She thanked those who had supported her in the past year and said her son's strength, spirit, and inspiration kept her going.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy were among the dignitaries who attended.
Both women extended condolences to the families and praised the rescuers, first responders, and the wider Whakatāne community.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor-General Patsy Reddy welcomed on to Mataatua Marae in Whakatane. Photo / Andrew Warner
Ardern said the day of the eruption was "devastating" and "deeply personal" for those in Whakatāne, with the scale of the tragedy becoming apparent soon after it happened.
"No more so than for this community - Whakatāne."
She said the actions of rescuers were "courageous" and thanked first responders and others involved after the eruption.
"Today we remember those who passed away, those who were injured and their whānau," she said.
Ardern sent a message of love to survivors and affected families overseas and in the room.
"The impacts of this eruption were felt here on our shores with the lose of Tipene Maangi and Hayden Marshall-Inman but it was also felt acutely abroad too."
Ardern said those who had died in the eruption would be "forever linked" to New Zealand.
Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner said they were "eternally grateful" for what the first responders did on that day and continue to do. The eruption "shook us to the core", she said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner. Photo / Andrew Warner
"The emotion was plain to see and to feel. But what was also evident was the overriding sense of camaraderie," she said.
Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi - whose nephew Tipene Maangi was killed in the eruption - was at the reserve to commemorate those who lost their lives and to "stand in solidarity" with their families.
Remembering the dead
The dead included teenagers, elderly tourists, a family of four, and two Kiwi tour guides.
Many of those injured or killed were Australians who had been visiting from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship docked in Tauranga.
Those who survived spent months in intensive care units in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere fighting for their lives.
Last week WorkSafe New Zealand confirmed charges had been laid against 13 parties in relation to the eruption.
Other messages
Other people affected by the eruption from around the country also shared written, video and audio messages during the service.
This included American couple Matt and Lauren Urey, Rick and Ivy Reed, and Sydney couple Nick and Marion London.
"People often ask us how we're feeling and we tell them we're not great but we're grateful," Nick said, and the quick thinking of guides Kelsey Waghorn and Jake Millbank saved their lives.
The sister of Australian Rick Elzer, who died alongside his girlfriend Karla Mathews, teared up in a video message where she showed her brother's final resting place.
Speaking through a translator, a Chinese survivor said the eruption changed her life.
