Mount Maunganui landslide: Tribute erected to hero tutor who lost life in tragic slip
A permanent memorial has been installed at Morrinsville Intermediate for hero tutor and Mount Maunganui disaster victim Lisa Maclennan.
Maclennan was one of six people who lost her life when a section of Mount Maunganui gave way and crashed down on to the campground underneath on January 22.
Maclennan was hailed as a hero in the aftermath of the tragedy.
She had woken fellow campers early in the morning to warn them the bank above was deteriorating and some later credited her with saving their lives.
Further details of the pre-slip actions of the much-loved learning assistant – and how they saved others from potential death – featured in the release of retired High Court judge and KC Paul Davison’s review into the landslide for Tauranga City Council, which owns the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park at the foot of Mauao.
Talking to the Herald, Morrinsville Intermediate principal Jenny Clark said Maclennan was hugely missed and a permanent reminder had been erected at the Waikato school to honour the 50-year-old.
“We continue to remember Lisa as a highly valued, respected and selfless staff member,” Clark said.
“We have just completed some beautiful landscaping in our school and have installed a bench seat that looks out over our school field; we have dedicated this to the memory of ‘Mrs Mac’.”
Clark said the landscaping at Morrinsville Intermediate had been planned before the events of January 22.
After the loss of Maclennan, it was decided to incorporate a permanent reminder of her into the works.
In the days after Maclennan’s death, the school issued a tribute detailing her commitment to teaching and the gap she would leave in the community.
She was known fondly as “Mrs Mac” and was a tutor at the school’s literacy centre for seven years until her death.
“Her passion was boundless, and she was known for always going the extra mile ... She made an indelible mark on everyone she worked with through her kindness, care and selflessness. She really is a hero in many, many ways.”
Along with Maclennan, the landslide killed Mans Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15, and Max Furse-Kee, 15.
Heroic actions – How much-loved tutor raised alarm and saved others
After the tragedy, Maclennan was credited for saving the lives of numerous others who were staying at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.
Her actions were further explained in Davison’s review, which was released on Tuesday.
She and her husband, Travis, had booked in for a three-night stay at the campground, arriving on January 20.
The Mount was hammered by severe weather in the hours before the deadly slip.
The review detailed how Lisa Maclennan awoke at 4.30am on January 22, thinking she had heard an earthquake.
When she went outside she noticed how a section of the slope behind her campervan had come down and hit the rear of the couple’s vehicle.
She moved the campervan and parked it on the campground driveway before trying to raise the alarm.
That included alerting Lance Macfarlane, who was staying with his young daughter in a tent nearby, to the danger.
He later told the Herald that Lisa Maclennan was a “hero”, adding: “I think she saved us”.
At 4.43am, Travis used his mobile phone to call numbers printed on a holiday park information sheet.
A security firm answered one of those calls but he was told no staff were on-site at the park.
The call was transferred to the Tauranga City Council contact centre.
He was put on hold twice while relaying information and explaining their fears.
He was eventually put through to the council’s Emergency Operations Centre duty phone and spoke to a woman who said she would get someone to call them back. The call lasted 13 minutes.
The call taker passed on Travis’ information to other operations centre staff.
The couple kept trying to reach campground staff, but at 5.15am they noticed there had been another slip near cabins.
They then woke occupants of two cabins, one of which was evacuated immediately. They also woke people in a nearby campervan to warn them.
At 5.21am, the Emergency Operations Centre called Travis back to check if everyone was accounted for, and he confirmed they were.
Over the coming hours, landslides resulted in officials closing walking tracks around the mountain but the campground was not evacuated.
Meanwhile, Travis and Lisa went back and forth to the campground office, unsuccessfully trying to contact campground staff.
A council staff worker arrived just before 7am and had a brief conversation with Lisa.
The report said the council worker described her demeanour as “frustrated and agitated” because she had not been able to get hold of anyone.
She expressed concern that people around the base of the mountain should be evacuated.
But the council staff member did not take her to mean urgent action was required and told her he would do his best to contact someone from the campground, which he did.
Grieving husband: ‘She made the safety of others at the campground her priority’
The Maclennans heard of another slip on the ocean beach side of the campground and went to look at it with the father and daughter who had earlier evacuated from a tent. There, they took photos of the slip.
On their way back, they found a campground worker joking with campers about whether they should get free accommodation on the “private island” their campsite had become.
About 8.45am, the Maclennans decided to check out early.
They arranged their refund with the office and were given a replacement power cord.
Both wanted to shower. Travis went first and Lisa went to the toilet block at 9.15am.
A minute or two before 9.30am, the slope above the amenities block failed without warning.
A large mass of saturated soil, colluvium, rock and debris slid rapidly down the slope. Within seconds it had engulfed the amenities building. It was described as making a loud cracking sound, like thunder or an “almighty roar”.
The large slip claimed the lives of six people.
Travis said in a statement after the release of the review: “The council report released today highlights Lisa’s extraordinary and selfless actions on the morning of the landslide.
“She made the safety of others at the campground her priority, and went to heroic lengths to help those around her.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 34 years of newsroom experience.
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