Sarah Johnston from Nga Taonga Sound and Vision presents some eyewitness accounts of the Tarawera eruption which took place 130 years ago last week.
Lake Tarawera was the home of the famous Pink and White Terraces and in 1886 tourism was already a booming industry in the area.
Māori living in villages nearby such as Te Wairoa were earning a living guiding tourists across the lake to see the terraces and hotels and stores had sprung up to house and feed them.
Te Wairoa is today known as the Buried Village.
On the night of the 9th of June violent earthquakes began shaking the whole Bay of Plenty area.
The cloud was visible as far away as Taupo - and it was felt further away than that.
There are some reports of people in Christchurch and Blenheim seeing flashes in the sky and certainly the earthquakes were felt and the rumbling was heard all over the North Island.
Pink and White Terraces final location 'discovered'
Researchers say they have found the final burial site of the famous Pink and White Terraces, 132 years after the Mt Tarawera eruption engulfed them. A full archaeological investigation kicked off in… Audio, Gallery
