Erebus Crew Memorial Garden
 

On Sunday, I was at Auckland Airport and finally had the opportunity and time to do something I had been meaning to do for several years. I stopped at the Erebus Crew Memorial Garden on Tom Pearce Drive ( the road heading east from the airport).

The garden is marked by a small, easily-missed, blue and white sign, in front of a small Pohutukawa tree:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3..._IMG_2192a.jpg
There is a convenient parking place just after the sign.

The memorial is a small stone engraved with the names of the crew:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3..._IMG_2191a.jpg

There were new flowers there, presumably placed there on the anniversary, four days before my visit:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3..._IMG_2190a.jpg

The garden is a very pleasant and tranquil place, looking out over the mangroves of the upper reaches of Manukau Harbour, towards the approaches for 23L and 23R:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3..._IMG_2194a.jpg

I drove there, but for anyone in transit, it would be a 30 minute walk from the Domestic Terminal and perhaps 10 minutes more from the International Terminal.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...42/NZAA001.jpg

Thank you. Wish we'd known about that during our final visit to NZ. I and my family were extremely close to being on that flight...

Without in any way wishing to detract from the memorial or its sentiments, what about the passengers? Do they have their own memorial somewhere else?

HD,

Sorry you missed the garden. It is a very tranquil place. I found it quite moving.

Did you know that Sir Edmund Hilary was supposed to be the commentator on that flight, but had to back out? Peter Mulgrew took his place.

Lukeafb1,

I did not in any way mean to ignore the passengers who died in this crash. I posted the information because the garden is not well known and I thought the information would be of interest to readers of AH&N, particularly since it is within walking distance of the airport.

There are many memorials to all the passengers and crew. A good source of information is Erebus memorials | NZHistory, New Zealand history online

IFT,

My comments were in no way meant to be a criticism. I was just curious about a 'passenger' memorial. Thanks for the added information.

Lukeafb1,

You're welcome.

Something else of interest I found while looking up other memorials is the NZALPA Jim Collins Memorial Award:

Jim Collins Memorial Award