? Celebrating Petone?s sporting legacy
Original Wahine mast stands again
?We were driving back to Wellington from the Waikato when we heard about it, I just couldn?t believe a New Zealand ferry had sunk, this was not some third world country, ferries don?t just sink,? says Eastbourne Community Board chairperson Ian Young. Yesterday the salvaged 18-metre-high forward mast from the inter-island ferry TEV Wahine was resurrected at the end of Eastbourne, a place where most stricken passengers washed ashore. The day the Wahine sunk in Wellington Harbour shocked the nation; most people remember what they were doing when they heard the news. ?We saw the storm, but just absolutely couldn?t believe that a ferry so used to travelling that straight could go down,? says Mr Young. It?s remembered as a day of infamy for Eastbourne residents, many of who ignored police warnings and battled down to the beach to help those washed ashore. The flag-raising event marked the undertaking of developments that will transform the Korohiwa Bay area, and will honour those who died when the ship sank. ?There was no organization in place, people rushed down to help and hauled them into schools and other places for shelter. ?It?s symbolic for the developments that are occurring there, it?s a part of history and the Korohiwa developments will make the area a memorial,? says Mr Young. Frank Kitts Park on the Wellington foreshore displays the aft mast from the Wahine. Eastbourne Historic society president Bill Ireland says the forward mast is the same size as the one in Frank Kitts Park. ?The forward mast has been stored in the council yards for many years, and it was Warwick Johnston who suggested the council do something with it,? says Mr Ireland. The forward mast is located opposite the bus barns and amidst the first new landscaping additions to the area. Mr Ireland first heard about the ships sinking on the radio. ?I was most surprised; we didn?t go to work that day because the storm was so wild. We heard on the radio it had jumped the reef, but went about thinking it would be alright. ?Later in the afternoon you heard that there have been fatalities, and people in Eastbourne were down there fishing them out at the time,? he says.
