Newly released image for 'Pike River'. Photo: Supplied / Matt Grace
The Department of Conservation says its aiming for a permanent memorial at the Pike River Mine site, designed with some of the families of those killed in the 2010 disaster, to be complete by the end of summer.
It comes as the Pike River feature film, based on the November 2010 explosion, will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival next month ahead of its release in New Zealand later this year.
Department of Conservation (DOC) Greymouth district operations manager Chris Hickford said it had been working with families on a memorial pavilion design for Pike River.
The mine site was handed over to the Department of Conservation in 2022 and it became part of the Paparoa National Park, with DOC the point of contact for the families on all matters relating to the mine.
A tender for the pavilion's construction is currently out on the Government Electronic Tender Service for submissions and closes on Friday. Hickford said it's hoped construction would begin later this year, and be complete by the end of the summer.
Photo: Supplied / Matt Grace
Anna Osborne's husband Milton was one of the 29 men killed in the mine explosion, 15 years ago.
She said she did not initially want to work with DOC on the memorial as her focus was on getting the men's bodies removed from the mine, first.
In some ways, she said she'd achieved that in the fight for accountability and the work done to have the police investigation re-opened.
As a result, she had been a latecomer in joining other families working with DOC on the memorial plans.
On the afternoon of 19 November 2010, an explosion ripped through the remote Pike River mine on the West Coast of the South Island, killing 29 men. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
She said there were different views about what happened at the mine, and some of her thoughts about the disaster were added into the planning for the memorial.
"It's actually quite cool, it's going to look really nice, but it's just not what i want. I don't want to go up there and sit and look at the portal entrance, knowing that my husband's behind the seal and I can't bring him home."
Osborne said the memorial would help to educate the public about the tragedy and bring closure for some.
"I still feel like I'd give that all up just to bring our men home. It's not really closure, what they've done. To me, it's still bittersweet because my husband and the men are down there and we can't bring them home and justice hasn't even been served yet."
Melanie Lynskey as Anna Osborne. Photo: Supplied / Matt Grace
In September 2022, police announced they were reopening the borehole drilling operation as part of an investigation into the mine explosion and ten boreholes were drilled, imaged, and resealed. Human remains were found in the mine in 2023.
In November, police said they were working with the Crown Solicitor as they consider whether to lay charges over the disaster and it was hoped a decision would be reached in the first half of 2025.
It comes as the feature film Pike River, based on the November 2010 explosion, will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival next month, ahead of its release in New Zealand later this year.
Directed by Rob Sarkies, the film was shot in Māwhera, Greymouth, Wellington and Auckland and features New Zealand actors Melanie Lynskey as Anna Osborne and Robyn Malcolm as Sonya Rockhouse.
Robyn Malcolm as Sonya Rockhouse. Photo: Supplied / Matt Grace
Both women lost men in the disaster and have become prominent in the families' fight for justice.
They will attend the film's premiere in Sydney together, next month.
Rockhouse said the film had in some way, helped with their healing.
"Anna and I have found it to be an incredibly humbling experience to be involved in the film with a crew of people who felt strongly about the injustices we suffered, and wanted to tell our story."
"We feel extremely honoured to be invited to attend the world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival."
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