Mount Tarawera erupts
- When
- 10 June 1886
- Where
- Mount Tarawera · Tarawera
- Reach
- Several regions
The mountain split along 17 kilometres, buried the villages of Te Wairoa, Te Ariki and Moura, and destroyed the Pink and White Terraces.
Around 120 people died, almost all of them Māori. Ash fell across the Bay of Plenty and the eruption was heard in Christchurch. The Terraces at Lake Rotomahana had been the colony’s foremost tourist attraction, and their loss ended the first era of New Zealand tourism. Guide Sophia Hinerangi sheltered dozens in her whare at Te Wairoa; a phantom waka seen on the lake days earlier is still recounted as a warning.
Regions affected
Sources
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