Wahine Remembered

On 10 April 1968 the interisland ferry sailed into a savage storm and sank at the entrance to Wellington harbour. Fifty-one people died on the day and a further two people died from injuries sustained during the sinking.

To commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the sinking of the Wahine on Sunday April 10, the Museum of Wellington City & Sea will be hosting a day of events.

10.30am, 11.30am, 3.30pm
The award winning documentary, The Wahine Disaster by Sharon Barbour, will screen in the Museum’s historic boardroom on the hour from 11am with the last screening occurring at 4pm. This feature length documentary details the tragic events of April 10 1968 and includes moving accounts from both survivors and their rescuers – some of whom had never been interviewed before. It also features animation which illustrates, for the first time, how the Wahine came to be one of New Zealand's worst sea tragedies.

12.45pm
Cantoris choir - one of Wellington's foremost choral music groups - will perform a set of moving and hauntingly beautiful works by Anton Bruckner – an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets.

2.00pm
Albatross, wild weather and the perilous Cook Strait. Phil Dickson will discuss the weather on that fateful day; Gavin McLean, Minister of Culture and Heritage, will talk about the perils of navigating the Cook Strait; and expert ornithologist Sandy Bartle will talk about the effects of the storm on birdlife.

The original Wahine bell located in the Museum’s permanent Wahine exhibition space will also toll every half hour from 10am to 5pm, marking the passage of time at sea.

Event listed by museumofwellington

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