The ferry foundered off Seatoun Beach during a storm in April 1968. Fifty-three people died. Most drowned off Eastbourne, swept there by wind, waves and currents.
On Thursday 21st January 2010, some 41 years and seven months after it was cut from the wreck, the steel foremast from in front of the Wahine's bridge was raised at Korohiwa Bay, Eastbourne as a memorial to the ship and those who died. The mast is located on the foreshore just to the south of the old Eastbourne Omnibus Garage. Painted white, it can be clearly seen from the main shipping channel out in the harbour, against the backdrop of the hills.
The ship's 18-metre-high forward mast was be installed at Korohiwa Bay in a ceremony.
"People from Lower Hutt and Eastbourne played a huge part in the rescue. Many survivors were taken to Hutt Hospital. They did a great job."
An official ceremony at the mast mark the 42nd anniversary of the sinking. Wellington harbour master Mike Pryce said the mast was a major addition to the city's maritime heritage. "It was a tragic event, and one we are keen to avoid ever repeating." The Wahine's two masts were salvaged at the same time, he said. The aft mast was placed on Wellington's waterfront as a memorial in 1990. The forward mast languished in Wellington City Council yards for decades. It was gifted to Hutt City Council about nine years ago.
In the middle distance, immediately to the right of the mast in the second photo, is the red roof of the old house at Burdan's Gate. This marks the start of the long, winding dirt road that follows the shoreline round to Pencarrow Light and beyond. Hundreds of survivors walked or were carried along this road after landing on 10th April 1968, many having been pulled from the raging surf by rescuer Jim Mason.
Forty seven people died in these same waters or on the Pencarrow beaches that day. Out in the harbour entrance is the Cook Strait rail ferry Aratere, arriving from Picton. The foremast was dedicated at a ceremony attended by survivors, rescuers, their families, local people and the Mayor of Hutt City, on Saturday 10 April 2010.
The foremast was one of the first large items removed from the wreck when salvage work commenced in August 1968. Divers severed the base of the foremast with cutting torches, allowing it to fall to the seafloor. It was then lifted by the floating crane Hikitea and taken ashore, whereupon it was dumped on waste land at Te Aro near the Overseas Passenger Terminal. The bent rails on the radar platform halfway up the mast testify to the damage done during the mast's recovery. For the next four decades it languished in various council yards, corroding away and pasted with graffiti. The work of restoring the mast and erecting it at Korohiwa Bay was undertaken by the Hutt City Council. The radar with its scanner has long gone, as has the navigation light on the mast's lower, smaller platform.
more information about the Wahine can be found at the following Link
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