Christchurch now the favoured spot for National Erebus Memorial

Christchurch is likely to become the home to the new National Erebus Memorial.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage announced the city as the preferred location for a memorial to honour the 257 people who lost their lives when Flight TE901 crashed in Antarctica on November 28, 1979. 

Cashmere's Cracroft Reserve has been identified by the ministry as the best site for the memorial, almost 46 years after the Air New Zealand scenic flight crashed into Mt Erebus.

Secretary for Culture and Heritage Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae said after many years of exploration, the ministry has been unable to identify a viable site in Auckland. 

A plan for a memorial at Auckland's Dove Meyer Robinson Park in Parnell faced major pushback, with objectors claiming it would change the tone of the gardens.

The plan was ultimately abandoned in 2023, after cyclone damage meant the land was unsafe to build on

In July, three potential Christchurch sites were shared with the Erebus families, via online workshops - two council-owned options (the Cracroft Reserve and Avon River sites) and the St James' Church grounds in Harewood.

Sixty-five percent of people who responded to a survey supported building the memorial in Christchurch, with nine percent conditionally supportive and 26 percent opposed to building it in the city.

Some Erebus families preferred building the memorial in Auckland.

Mayor Phil Mauger said Christchurch is ready to provide a home for the legacy of Erebus, honouring the families, the members of the recovery mission Operation Overdue. 

"Above everything else, Erebus is the story of people and of enduring loss,"  Mauger said.

"Our first priority is to ensure Erebus families and the members of Operation Overdue feel supported and welcomed here in Christchurch.

"Christchurch has long been the gateway to Antarctica, and alongside that heritage, we have a deep understanding of remembrance, healing and holding space for grief and memory. 

"We're honoured that Christchurch will be the likely home of a new National Erebus Memorial."

Christchurch City Council formally offered two sites to the ministry - Cracroft Reserve in Cashmere and the Ōtākaro Avon River bank in the central city.

Leauanae said the ministry had explored 50 different sites for the memorial in the greater Auckland area over the past two years, none of which were suitable, and was recently advised that Takaparawhau in Auckland was no longer a potential location.

"I have been heartened by Christchurch's warmth, generosity and support through the process of identifying potential sites," he said.

"Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is fully supportive of the memorial being located with Ngāi Tūāhuriri and the people of Christchurch.

"I am confident that Christchurch's warm welcome to Erebus families, and the city's experience and understanding of the importance of remembrance will provide the right space for this national memorial."

Air New Zealand and Qantas began offering sightseeing flights to Antarctica in 1977. By the time the flights ended - Air New Zealand's at the time of the Erebus disaster and Qantas in February 1980 - more than 10,000 people had taken the trip.

-Allied Media and RNZ