Cave Creek disaster

The Cave Creek disaster occurred on 28 April 1995 when a scenic viewing platform in Paparoa National Park, New Zealand, collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 14 people. The victims, 13 of whom were university students, fell 40 metres (130 ft) onto rocks below. The tragedy resulted in wide criticism of the government and its policies towards funding and management of the conservation estate. Denis Marshall, New Zealand's Minister of Conservation, eventually resigned, after the Commission of Inquiry's report came out. It also resulted in major changes to procedures used by the New Zealand Department of Conservation after it was revealed that serious systemic failures had led to the building of the unstable platform. Eventual changes in New Zealand Law, following a change of government, allowed for government departments to be held criminally liable for inadequate building practices, in the same way as non-government organisations.

Cave Creek is a small stream in Paparoa National Park. The viewing platform was erected by the Department of Conservation (DOC) in April 1994, and looked out over a 40-metre chasm with a view of where the creek emerges from a cave system below.

The builders of the platform did not have appropriate qualifications for the job. Ten major problems or oversights occurred during the platform's construction, including the wrong size of bolts being used. The platform was highly unsafe, especially with large numbers of people on it.

On the day of the incident, a group of students from Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth visited the park. En route through the bush, a small group consisting of the polytechnic tutor, a Department of Conservation (DOC) officer and three students split off while the larger group of 17 students and another DOC officer continued towards the platform.

The larger group reached the platform first, and walked to the edge together at about 11:25 a.m. As several students jumped up and down, joking about the platform's stability, the platform toppled forward into the chasm. The DOC officer and 13 of the students were killed. Four students survived the collapse with serious injuries.

The second group reached the location shortly after the collapse. Having realised what happened, the remaining DOC officer and one of the students ran back to the start of the track for help, but on arriving they found that the keys were not in the group's vehicles. At this point, the DOC officer returned to the scene of the accident while the student ran along the road with a note containing information about the location of the accident. By 12:15 p.m., he had managed to phone the police at Greymouth.

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