Remembering the Cave Creek victims on 30th anniversary

Fleur Pawsey often thinks of the life her brother might have lived, if he hadn't died at Cave Creek.

It has been three decades since 13 Tai Poutini Polytechnic students and a DOC worker died when a poorly-constructed viewing platform collapsed at Cave Creek, on the West Coast.

Families will hold a private memorial to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the tragedy on April 28, with polytech students from that year gathering on the coast for a reunion this weekend.

An inquiry into the disaster laid the blame on the poor construction and design of the Department of Conservation platform, and the lack of project management systems by the organisation.

Kit Pawsey was 17 years old when he moved to Greymouth to study adventure tourism in 1995.

"Rock climbing and skiing were probably his biggest passions in terms of the outdoors, and he just learnt about the course there and was keen to give that a go," his sister Fleur Pawsey said.

"We saw him in the holidays after he'd been there for a term and he was just loving living on the coast and loving the course and all the adventurous outdoorsy things they we're doing as part of that so he had a really, really happy first term there."

She will spend this weekend on the West Coast, with other family members and friends of those who died when the viewing platform collapsed, something she said never should have never happened.

"They did so many kind of risky things as part of [the outdoor recreation course], paddling and climbing and caving and tramping and it's crazy that it happened on something that should have been safe and no risk at all... it's far too great a price to pay."

The grief of losing her sibling in tragic circumstances still remained.

"It is just always there, it is constant, just wondering what might have been if it hadn't happened."

Pawsey said she often thought about how the tragedy resulted in systemic changes within the Department of Conservation.

"The legacy in my eyes is that we can all feel so much safer on DOC structures and platforms and bridges and I guess we all benefit from that."

Audio student at Tai Poutini Polytech that year Simon Barr had helped to organise a reunion on the West Coast this weekend for the students of 1995.

"Our music production class was underneath the classroom where the outdoor rec students had their tutorials, so we became aware quite early on that something had gone wrong on April 28th, 1995."

Many of the students lived in the hostel with many of the students who died.

"I definitely remember the shock and the grief, I remember the helicopters, we heard helicopters all day going to the Base Hospital which was right next to where our hostel was, I remember some of the parents coming round, so very emotional times."

He said the students leaned on each other through their grief and forged close friendships as a result, with the reunion a chance for some to see each other again for the first time since that year.

Tai Poutini Polytechnic spokesperson Annabell Dey also remembered that day in April 1995, she was a casual tutor at the polytech and her father was the Greymouth fire chief at the time.

She recalled hearing about the accident that morning, but said the details were light.

"I always think about that, what a beautiful day it was and how it turned suddenly very sad."

The polytech still runs outdoor and adventure education courses - with around 70 students enrolled in the certificate and diploma courses this year.

Dey said there had been many changes, since then.

"Our outdoor rec students always go out with a satellite phone, a personal locator beacon (PLB) and an inReach (satellite communication device) any time they go anywhere where there's a possibility there's no cell phone service or they're going to need to get hold of emergency services."

Tai Poutini staff and students will mark the anniversary with a gathering at the Cave Creek memorial garden located at the polytechnic in Greymouth on Monday.

Department of Conservation director-general Penny Nelson will walk into Cave Creek on Monday with other DOC staff and some family members of those who died.

For some, it would be the last time they made that journey.

She said given what happened to the families, she was humbled by the courage, grace and willingness they had shown to work with DOC to achieve change.

"For 30 years, those families have stayed connected with the department, they've been alongside us as many, many people have improved our systems and processes and it is pretty amazing when you think about those people's generosity, I think it's an incredible legacy."

DOC underwent massive changes as a result of the tragedy. Hundreds of structures on conservation land were inspected, many closed for repair and others removed following a review.

Nelson said there had been no visitor deaths on Department of Conservation's 13,000 plus structures, since Cave Creek, which reflected the work that had gone on since then.

"We've got really rigorous design, inspection and monitoring regimes, we've got a dedicated visitor safety team, in-house engineering expertise, lots of really good controls and standards in place and a dedicated asset management unit.

"But I also think there's never any place for complacency."

The tragedy continued to provide health and safety lessons, with interviews from family members included in a new video that will be shown to staff on the anniversary.

"All of us will be taking a moment to really think about how's our health and safety now, and if there's anything further that we think we need to be doing to keep visitors safe or our own people safe."

To mark the 30th anniversary - a new track will open on Monday - allowing people to walk from the Pororari River on the Paparoa Track, to the memorial stone at the entrance to Cave Creek.

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