On 31 May 1886, a ghostly war canoe was seen on Lake Tarawera after the water suddenly rose then fell

The waka & paddlers were seen from a boat with Māori & European visitors accompanied by Guide Sophia Hinerangi

Sophia (born c.1830-34 to Kōtiro Hinerangi of Ngāti Ruanui & Scotsman Alexander Grey/Gray) had been guiding for c.16 yrs

Guide Sophia consulted tohunga Tūhoto Ariki who regarded the waka wairua (spirit canoe) as a bad omen

He prophesied Māori to be punished for exploiting Terraces with tourism & not paying due respect to ancestoral values

A 17-km-long rift had split Mount Tarawera from the Wahanga peak at northern end to Lake Rotomahana in south-west

Amount & height of volcanic material measured 5 (> 1 km3) on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) scale of 0-8 (highest)

At Lake Rotomahana, the silica hot springs (Pink & White Terraces) were mostly destroyed with fragments found underwater

The Terraces were regarded as the "8th Wonder of the World" & tourists would bathe in the natural hot pools

Several settlements were destroyed or buried in ashfall, including Te Wairoa (nowadays 'The Buried Village' to tourists)

The settlements destroyed or buried included Te Tapahoro, Moura, Te Ariki, Totorariki, and Waingongongo

Locals formed search parties & estimates of the number who lost their lives varied from c.120 - 153

The Tarawera eruption was the largest & with the most loss of lives in NZ during the past 5 centuries

The Government sent a group of surveyors to assess the area

The survey party's findings were recorded in "The eruption of Tarawera : a report to the Surveyor-General" (1886)

Map of Tarawera eruption which covered land with millions of tonnes of ash & debris, transformed lakes & flattened bush

Ash was deposited as far east as East Cape and on ships at sea in the Bay of Plenty

At 2.45am, Mt Tarawera's 3 domes - Wahanga, Ruawahia & Tarawera - erupted & fountains of lava began to flow

A cloud of ash was thrust 10 kms skywards

Flickers of lightning were seen

The ash filled the sky which became pitch black the following day from Rotoiti to Maketū

SurvIvor Ina Haszard's painting in 1935 which she painted from her memory & her sister Clara's description

The rising magma turned the groundwater & lake water into steam

Craters on the south-west side of the mountain blasted open

A crack 17 kms long formed which extended as far south as Waimangu & spewed steam, boiling mud & ash

Tohunga Tūhoto Ariki was dug from his whare 4 days later & taken to Rotorua Government Sanatorium where he later died

Survivors at Te Wairoa included 62 people who had sheltered with Guide Sophia in her whare

(The number who'd sheltered with her was estimated by Guide Sophia)

Schoolmaster's wife Amelia Haszard was dug out alive & two of her daughters had escaped earlier

However, Schoolmaster Charles Haszard, his son & 2 of his 4 daughters & a nephew died inside the schoolhouse

Group photo of some of the survivors at Te Wairoa which included Guide Sophia

Estimates of the number of people who lost their lives varied from approx. 120 to 153 people

Map gives an estimate of the number of deaths at different localities

The Government appointed a survey party led by Stephenson Percy Smith (Assistant Surveyor-General)

The survey party's findings were recorded in "The eruption of Tarawera : a report to the Surveyor-General" (1886)

The 84 paged report also included 47 leaves of plates

Mt. Tarawera

Mt. Tarawera began forming c.23,500 years ago within the Ōkataina Volcanic Centre which lies within Taupō Volcanic Zone

Mt Tarawera was built up over a series of volcanic eruptions around 1314 AD

Te Arawa people had settled in the area and buried their dead on the slopes of Mt Tarawera

Mt. Tarawera

A map (1859) of Lake Rotomahana & the Terraces which were 1.5 kms apart on the Lake's western & northeastern shores

Tourists included Sir George Grey in 1849, Alfred Duke of Edinburgh in 1869, & novelist Anthony Trollope in 1874

Painting by J.C. (John Barr Clark) Hoyte who was born in England & lived in NZ from 1860-1879

The Pink Terrace

Known as Te Ōtūkapuarangi (“The fountain of the clouded sky”) to the Tūhourangi people

Tiers of silica basins went from marble white at base, to ice pink, to roseate, to primrose at top. (Artist unknown)

Cup-shaped pools fringed with stalactites & filled with blue (cerulean & cobalt tints) water (Photo: Charles Spencer)

The Terrace descended 26 metres & was wider at top (c.73m) than at the bottom (c.23m). (Photo: Charles Spencer)

The Terrace covered 2 hectares. (Photographer: Alfred Burton)

The White Terrace

Known as Te Tarata ("The tattooed rock”) looked like a foaming cascade of water turned to stone (Painter: J.C. Hoyte)

Descended 30 metres from geyser-fed spring & was 244 metres long & covered 2.8 hectares. (Painter: Charles Blomfield)

At the top was a 2 metre thick rim enclosed pool of boiling water. (Photographer: Alfred Burton)

The overflow from the pool at the top cascaded down, creating baths of water with decreasing warmth in temperature

As the water cooled, deposits of silica built up on the scalloped walls, forming intricate patterns

The Giant Buttress was a feature of the White Terrace. (Photographer unknown)

Photographer: Hemas & Hanna (Auckland Firm): Charles Hemus & John Robert Hanna

Māori boy sitting on the edge of one of the hot water basins. (Photographer: Alfred Burton)

Charles Blomfield had been holidaying with his daughter Mary at Lake Rotomahana & produced several oil paintings

A 17-km rent from Mt Tarawera to Lake Rotomahana formed the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley

A series of craters were formed in the Rift Valley with the 50m Southern Crater nearest Rotomahana

Southern Crater's floor was filled by 2 metre deep Emerald Pool with cold water mainly from rainfall

The Echo Crater in the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley became the hot spring, Frying Pan Lake (Waimangu Cauldron)

Waimangu Geyser (means “black water” after its black appearance from rocks, mud & ash) formed & was active from 1900-04

The Pink & White Terraces had disappeared

Research from 2011-2014 by GNS, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. (US), & Univ of Waikato found no trace on land

Fragments of the Terraces were located in 2018 at the bottom of Lake Rotomahana by NIWA scientists

GNS et al concluded Terraces could be in the Lake which NIWA confirmed after a request by Tūhourangi Tribal Authority

Lake Rotomahana had expanded in size as it filled part of the newly formed Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley

The Lake filled the new valley to four times its original length & its water level was 30 metres higher than before

Hinemihi Meeting House ("The house with the golden eyes”: gold sovereigns used instead of paua shells in carvings' eyes)

Mission Station and Chapel

Mission Station Chapel

Tourists would stay at Te Wairoa to visit the Pink & White Terraces & Guide Sophia Hinerangi would take groups on tour

Accommodation for tourists was at Joseph McRae's Rotomahana Hotel & Charles Humphrey's Terrace Temperance Hotel

Te Wairoa schoolhouse with Schoolmaster Charles Haszard

The Haszard family home where Charles & Amelia & their son (Charles) & 4 daughters (Clara, Ina, Edna & Mona) lived

A number of people took refuge in the Hinemihi Meeting House which did not collapse

At McRae's Rotomahana Hotel, people had to leave one room when the roof collapsed & then leave the hotel

One hotel guest died when the veranda collapsed, but the others made it to safety & took refuge In Guide Sophia's whare

The Terrace Temperance Hotel (also known as Humphreys’ Boarding House) was damaged

Another view of the Terrace Temperance Hotel which had caved in but Hotelkeeper Charles Humphreys & his wife survived

The house of Captain Herbert Way, who'd served in Waikato Militia as Ensign & later Captain during NZ Wars, was ruined

Schoolmaster Charles Haszard's daughters Clara (aged 22) & Ina (16) escaped when schoolhouse roof began to collapse

Two surveyors staying with the Haszards rushed outside when the roof began to collapse & sheltered in the fowl house

Haszard's wife Amelia, whose 43rd birthday was earlier that evening, was pinned under a beam & rescued the next day

Charles Haszard had observed the eruption from his verandah & died a few hours later when his house collapsed

Haszard's son Charles (aged 10), daughters Edna (6) & Mona (4) & nephew Charles died under collapsed roof & volcanic mud

Group photo of some of the survivors included Guide Sophia & Hotelkeepers Joseph McRae & Mr & Mrs Humphreys

After the eruption, Guide Sophia moved to Wharewarewa where she continued her guiding work until her death on 4 Dec 1911

Guide Sophia's account of the eruption was told to E. I. Massey who published "The Tarawera eruption, 1886" in 1903

Tauranga

The earthquakes were felt at Tauranga & ash covered the buildings

Auckland

In Auckland, the sound of the eruption was thought to be distress signals of war vessel going ashore at the Manukau bar

Blenheim

The earthquakes were felt as far south as Blenheim

Lake Tarawera with Mount Tarawera (background)

The crater at Mt Tarawera

Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake)

The hot spring, Frying Pan Lake

Lake Waikaremoana

Terrain map of the Waikaremoana and Whirinaki area which includes the Lake and surrounding forests (2003)

Inferno Crater Lake at Waimangu with an underwater geyser rises & falls up to 9 metres approximately every 38 days

Te Wairoa "The Buried Village" which has become a tourist attraction

RNZ (12 Jan 2023): Museum stop: Buried Village and Museum of Te Wairoa (9:37 min)

Report on the Tarawera Volcanic District by Prof F.W. Hutton (1887)

Published in "The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout": Vol 67 ( (Govt Printer, 1887)

Manatū Taonga (2011): Roadside Stories: The eruption of Mt Tarawera

Youtube video: 4:47min)

NZOnScreen (2011): Tarawera

The documentary features an animated re-creation of the eruption, archival images, & interviews with descendants

Museum of NZ Te Papa Tongarewa (2019): He Paki Taonga i a Māui: Te Paea me te Waka Wairua | Te Paea and the Ghost Waka

Youtube video (7.44 min)

RNZ (2011): Commemoration ceremonies include GNS exploration of Lake Rotomahana which located the Terraces (11:40 min)

RNZ (2014): Interviews with Willy Bennett & Roger Delamere Dansey who recall the night of 10 June 1886

RNZ (2016): Sound Archives: The Mt Tarawera eruption (10:03 min)

Eyewitness accounts of the Tarawera eruption