Eruption of Mt Tarawera on 10 June 1886
A DigitalNZ Story by Zokoroa
Before and after images of Mt Tarawera, the Pink and White Terraces, and villages
Mount Tarawera, Tarawera, Volcano, Eruption, Earthquake, Disasters, Pink and White Terraces, Pink Terrace, White Terrace, Te Wairoa, Buried Village, Guide Sophia
Mount Tarawera erupted In the early hours of the morning of 10 June 1886 following a series of 30 earthquakes in the Rotorua region. Molten rock, ash and smoke were thrust up from its three peaks to ten kilometres high. Eleven days prior to the eruption the spectre of a war canoe being paddled was seen by local Māori and tourists being escorted by Guide Sophia Hinerangi after the waters of Lake Tarawera rose suddenly and then subsided. The phantom waka was regarded by local tohunga Tūhoto Ariki as an omen of pending disaster.
The eruption caused a 17-km-long rift which split Mount Tarawera, starting from the Wahanga peak at the mountain's northern end and extending in a southwesterly direction through Lake Rotomahana, and became known as the Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley. The silica hot springs at Lake Rotomahana, known as the Pink and White Terraces, were mostly destroyed with fragments found underwater. Several settlements were destroyed or buried in ashfall. Estimates of the number of people who lost their lives varied from approximately 120 to 153 people. One of the settlements, Te Wairoa, is now known as ‘The Buried Village’ and has become a tourist attraction. Many survivors of the Mt Tarawera eruption were offered land to resettle at Whakarewarewa and Ngapuna in Rotorua. Guide Sophia also moved to Whakarewarewa where she continued her guiding work with tourists.
The volcano Mt Tarawera & Lake Tarawera are located 24 kms southeast of Rotorua
University of Otago
On 31 May 1886, a ghostly war canoe was seen on Lake Tarawera after the water suddenly rose then fell
Alexander Turnbull Library
The waka & paddlers were seen from a boat with Māori & European visitors accompanied by Guide Sophia Hinerangi
Auckland Libraries
Guide Sophia consulted tohunga Tūhoto Ariki who regarded the waka wairua (spirit canoe) as a bad omen
Europeana
On 10 June 1886, a series of 30 earthquakes occurred after midnight & Mt Tarawera's 3 domes erupted at 2.45am
Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui
A 17-km-long rift had split Mount Tarawera from the Wahanga peak at northern end to Lake Rotomahana in south-west
Auckland Libraries
At Lake Rotomahana, the silica hot springs (Pink & White Terraces) were mostly destroyed with fragments found underwater
Alexander Turnbull Library
Several settlements were destroyed or buried in ashfall, including Te Wairoa (nowadays 'The Buried Village' to tourists)
Alexander Turnbull Library
Locals formed search parties & estimates of the number who lost their lives varied from c.120 - 153
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
The Government sent a group of surveyors to assess the area
Auckland Libraries
Map of Tarawera eruption which covered land with millions of tonnes of ash & debris, transformed lakes & flattened bush
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
1. Images of the eruption on 10 June 1886
Mount Tarawera in Eruption June 10 1886 as seen from Wairoa
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Mount Tarawera in Eruption, June 10 1886. From near white Terrace
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Mount Tarawera in Eruption June 10 1886 as seen from Wairoa
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Mount Tarawera Eruption : Fubarole Peaks, Rotomahana
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Mount Tarawera Eruption : Untitled
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Mount Tarawera Eruption : Untitled
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Locals formed search parties:
Locals formed search parties to look for survivors
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Tohunga Tūhoto Ariki was dug from his whare 4 days later & taken to Rotorua Government Sanatorium where he later died
Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Survivors at Te Wairoa included 62 people who had sheltered with Guide Sophia in her whare
Alexander Turnbull Library
Schoolmaster's wife Amelia Haszard was dug out alive & two of her daughters had escaped earlier
Auckland Libraries
Group photo of some of the survivors at Te Wairoa which included Guide Sophia
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Estimates of the number of people who lost their lives varied from approx. 120 to 153 people
Alexander Turnbull Library
Map gives an estimate of the number of deaths at different localities
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Government sent surveyors to assess the damage:
The Government appointed a survey party led by Stephenson Percy Smith (Assistant Surveyor-General)
Alexander Turnbull Library
A summarised account of the operations of the rescue & survey teams compiled by the Otago Witness (02 July 1886)
National Library of New Zealand
Settlements at Te Wairoa, Te Ariki, Te Tapahoro, Moura, Totorariki, & Waingongongo were destroyed
Auckland Libraries
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2. IMAGES Before & After the eruption
2.1 Mt. Tarawera
Before THE ERUPTION:
Mt. Tarawera
Alexander Turnbull Library
AFTERWARDS:
Mt. Tarawera
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Mount Tarawera after the eruption
Auckland Libraries
Mount Tarawera Eruption : Tarawera shortly after Eruption
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Top of Mount Tarawera - SW end
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The rift in the top of Mt Tarawera
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Crater of Mount Tarawera after the eruption of 1886 - Photograph taken by George Dobson Valentine
Alexander Turnbull Library
New crater lake at Mount Tarawera after the 1886 eruption - Photograph taken by Charles S Spencer
Alexander Turnbull Library
Showing Mount Tarawera after the eruption in 1886
Auckland Libraries
2.2 Rotomahana & the Pink & White Terraces
BEFORE THE ERUPTION:
The Pink and White Terraces were considered as the "8th Wonder of the World". One of the first Europeans to visit Lake Rotomahana was Ernst Dieffenbach in June 1841 when on a survey for the New Zealand Company. The description of his visit to the Lake and the Terraces in his book “Travels in New Zealand” created international interest in the Pink and White Terraces.
Mt. Rotomahana & the Pink & White Terraces (considered as the "8th Wonder of the World")
Alexander Turnbull Library
Pink and White Terraces, Lake Rotomahana and Mount Tarawera
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
The White Terrace
Alexander Turnbull Library
Sophia Hinerangi on the Terraces at Rotomahana - Photograph taken by George Dobson Valentine
Alexander Turnbull Library
Backhouse, John Philemon, 1845-1908 :White Terrace. [188-?].
Alexander Turnbull Library
Hot Bath, White Terrace. From the album: Frances Fenwick's Album of New Zealand views
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Spencer, Charles S 1854-1933: Group of tourists on the White Terraces at Rotomahana
Alexander Turnbull Library
Afterwards:
First Party at Rotomahana after Erutption. No.358 C.Spencer Photo
Auckland Libraries
Showing Rotomahana ten days after the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886
Auckland Libraries
Mount Tarawera eruption: Rotomahana immediately after eruption
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The rent in Rotomahana from the Black Crater - Photograph taken by George Dobson Valentine
Alexander Turnbull Library
Valentine, George Dobson, 1852-1890 :South crater, the termination of Rotomahana rent
Alexander Turnbull Library
Showing boling mud after the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886
Auckland Libraries
Fragments of the Terraces were located in 2018 at the bottom of Lake Rotomahana by NIWA scientists
TV3
Lake Rotomahana had expanded in size as it filled part of the newly formed Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley
Auckland Libraries
2.3 Settlements
The area around Mount Tarawera was home to Tūhourangi and Ngāti Rangitihi iwi who form part of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. During the mid-1840s, a missionary post was established at Lake Tarawera by the Anglican Reverend Seymour Mills Spencer. and explorers and traders began to arrive. The Pink And White Terraces became a popular destination for tourists who would stay at Te Wairoa at Joseph McRae's Rotomahana Hotel and Charles Humphrey's Terrace Temperance Hotel. They'd take sight-seeing boat rides across Lake Rotomahana to the Terraces with locals, including Guide Sophia. See an account by Vaughan Yarwood (2003). "The night Tarawera awoke". New Zealand Geographic (65).
Settlements at Te Wairoa, Te Ariki, Te Tapahoro, Moura, Totorariki, & Waingongongo had been destroyed
National Library of New Zealand
a. Te Wairoa
BEFORE THE ERUPTION:
Te Wairoa settlement
Auckland Libraries
Maling, Christopher 1843-1917 :Zion chapel, Tarawera, New Zealand. Nth Island. 1857?
Alexander Turnbull Library
Harvey, Robert, 1848-ca 1920: Sophie (Tai Awhio). New Zealand. Maoria guide. [1880s]
Alexander Turnbull Library
Guide Sophia Hinerangi cooking at Te Tekapo Flat, Rotomahana, Rotorua district
Alexander Turnbull Library
McRae's Hotel with the proprietor, Mr McRae, standing talking to a Maori chief
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Afterwards:
Te Wairoa settlement
Alexander Turnbull Library
WAIROA A SCENE OF DESOLATION. (Taranaki Herald, 12 June 1886)
National Library of New Zealand
Subsidence on the former road to Te Wairoa, 1886
Auckland Libraries
Ruins of mission chapel at Te Wairoa...1886
Auckland Libraries
Mission Church, Wairoa after the eruption
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Old Mill, Wairoa, After Eruption June 10 1886
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Te Wairoa, McRaes Hotel, Sophias whare and Terrace hotel
Rotorua Museum of Art & History Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa
Humphrey's Boarding House After Eruption June 10 1886
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
THE ESCAPE OF MRS HASZARD. (Nelson Evening Mail, 11 June 1886)
National Library of New Zealand
Ruins of Charles Haszard's Te Wairoa school house after the Tarawera eruption
Alexander Turnbull Library
B. Te Ariki
Before the eruption:
Te Ariki Pa
Alexander Turnbull Library
Group outside Tamahana's kainga, Te Ariki
Alexander Turnbull Library
Young Maori girl at Te Ariki Pa
Alexander Turnbull Library
AFTERWARDS:
Water course worn in mud near Te Ariki, after eruption June 10 1886
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Mounts Tarawera and Ruawahia from Te Ariki
Alexander Turnbull Library
'Our Camp', near Te Ariki, after eruption June 10 '86
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
C. Moura Settlement
Afterwards:
Moura settlement
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Site of Moura settlement, Lake Tarawera, after eruption June 10 1886
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
D. Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake)
Before:
Lake Tikitapu, Wairoa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Tikitapu Bush
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Tikitapu Bush
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
AFTERWARDS:
Photograph: Tikitapu Lake after Eruption, 10 June 1886
Canterbury Museum
Tikitapu Bush after Eruption June 10 1886
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
Fissure in Road near Tikitapu Bush after Eruption June 10 1886
Hocken Collections - Uare Taoka o Hākena, University of Otago
3. Further afield beyond Tarawera district
Earthquakes felt in Rotorua, Tauranga, Taupo, Napier, Wanganui & New Plymouth
National Library of New Zealand
Auckland
National Library of New Zealand
Blenheim
National Library of New Zealand
Ash from the eruption covered much of the Bay of Plenty as shown in this map compiled by Prof A. P. W. Thomas in 1886
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
It was estimated that more than 2 billion cubic yards of ash were scattered over an area of more than 6000 square miles
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
4. Nowadays
Showing Lake Tarawera with Mount Tarawera (background)
Auckland Libraries
5. FIND OUT MORE:
Auckland Museum, 'The eruption of Mt Tarawera', URL: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/collections/topics/the-eruption-of-mt-tarawera
Curnow, Jenifer. 'Hinerangi, Sophia', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993, updated July, 2015. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2h37/hinerangi-sophia
McSaveney, Eileen; Stewart, Carol & Leonard, Graham: 'Historic volcanic activity - Tarawera', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/historic-volcanic-activity/page-2
Remuera Heritage: 'Purewa – Amelia and Charles Haszard', URL: https://remueraheritage.org.nz/story/purewa-amelia-and-charles-haszard/
Rotorua Museum: 'Mount Tarawera', URL: https://www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz/discover/tarawera-te-maunga-tapu/
Thomas, A. P. W. (1888), 'Report on the eruption of Tarawera and Rotomahana', N.Z. (Wellington, Govt. Printer). In "The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Vol 68". URL: https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Stout68-t21-front-d3.html
Wikipedia: '1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera', URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1886_eruption_of_Mount_Tarawera
Wikipedia: 'Pink and White Terraces', URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_and_White_Terraces
Yarwood, Vaughan (2003). 'The night Tarawera awoke'. New Zealand Geographic (65).
A list of additional print & digital publications can be searched on the National Library of New Zealand's catalogue: https://natlib.govt.nz/
Books/Reports/Catalogues also include:
Rotomahana and the boiling springs of New Zealand: a photographic series of sixteen views (1875)
National Library of New Zealand
Report on the Tarawera Volcanic District by Prof F.W. Hutton (1887)
Victoria University of Wellington
Catalogue (1986) of the Tarawera eruption centennial exhibition, 1886-1986
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Book by Keam, R. F. (1988): Tarawera: the volcanic eruption of 10 June, 1886
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Videos:
Manatū Taonga (2011): Roadside Stories: The eruption of Mt Tarawera
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
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
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Audio interviews:
RNZ (2011): Commemoration ceremonies include GNS exploration of Lake Rotomahana which located the Terraces (11:40 min)
Radio New Zealand
RNZ (2014): Interviews with Willy Bennett & Roger Delamere Dansey who recall the night of 10 June 1886
Radio New Zealand
RNZ (2016): Sound Archives: The Mt Tarawera eruption (10:03 min)
Radio New Zealand