The Mt Tarawera eruption

The Mt Tarawera eruption

The Pink and White Terraces

Before Mt Tarawera erupted, the Pink and White Terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomahana, near Rotorua in New Zealand’s North Island, were considered one of the wonders of the world. Tourists came from far and wide to soak in the thermal hot pools and view the delicately tinted silica terraces.

See images of the Pink and White Terraces – Timeframes website

Mt Tarawera erupts

Early on 10 June 1886, people in Te Wairoa village, a short distance from the Pink and White Terraces, were wakened by a series of violent earthquakes. At about 2am the Ruawāhia Dome on Mt Tarawera erupted, sending molten scoria rushing down its sides and a cloud of ash 10 kilometres into the sky. In the following hours further craters were forced open, spewing forth mud, ash and steam.

The rumbling of the eruption was heard as far as Blenheim, at the top of the South Island, and earthquakes were felt throughout the North Island. The eruption ended at about 6am.

Taking shelter

In Te Wairoa people went outside to watch Tarawera erupt, but were soon forced back indoors. Many took shelter in McCrae's Hotel and the Hinemihi meeting house, and more than 60 people gathered in the home of tourist guide Sophia Hinerangi.

Eruption aftermath

Tarawera's eruption produced enormous volumes of hot mud. When rescue parties arrived, they found that the settlements of Te Tapahoro, Moura, Te Ariki, Totarariki and Waingongogongo had been destroyed or buried. Ash and mud blanketed the landscape around Tarawera and Rotomahana, and the Pink and White Terraces were completely destroyed.

Mt Tarawera was New Zealand’s deadliest eruption. The official death toll was 150, although the actual figure is now thought to be between 108-120.

See images of the Tarawera area after the eruption – Timeframes website

A new Lake Rotomahana

The site where the Pink and White Terraces once stood became a deep crater. Over time it filled with water and formed a new Lake Rotomahana, much larger than the first. The eruption also formed many new geothermal features, including Waimangu Geyser, the largest in the world.

More about the Tarawera eruption

Visit the Te Ara website for more information about the eruption.

The Tarawera eruption – Te Ara Online Encyclopedia of New Zealand

For more images of New Zealand’s unique landforms and geological features, check out the Geology showcase on Matapihi.

Geology showcase – Matapihi website

Charles Blomfield

The image shown here is a lithograph (a print reproduction) after a painting by Charles Blomfield (1848-1926).

Charles Blomfield first visited the Pink and White Terraces in 1875, and in 1884 made a six-week painting expedition to the area. He was not present when Tarawera erupted (making this an imaginative record) but visited the area in October 1886 to view the devastation.

After the eruption, Blomfield’s earlier paintings of the terraces became sought after, and the artist continued to make copies of them well into the 1900s to fill popular demand.

Biography of Charles Blomfield – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography website

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

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