It’s 61 years since 15 people from across Ngāti Whātua ki te Kaipara died when their bus crashed off the Brynderwyn hill while returning from Waitangi Day commemorations.
Ngāti Whātua kuia, Dame Nadia Glavish says she was supposed to be on the bus with her mother, but in the end they didn’t go because there was only one seat available.
She says the people were excited about going up to see Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh attend the festivities.
“We had a kaumātua, Uncle Clarky (Karaka) Wiapo, said when he shook the hand of the Queen, he was gonna put a glove on it and nobody else would ever touch his hand again. And of course we lost him in the accident,” Dame Nadia says.
All the tūpāpaku were taken to Reweti Marae near Waimauku for the tangihanga, as most of them came from the lower Kaipara.
