Recollections of 10 April 1968, the day of the Wahine storm and disaster in Wellington, New Zealand from a retired butcher who was 20 at the time.

Sources with thanks:
Oral History recording for the Butchers Stories Oral History Project archived in the Oral History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington https://natlib.govt.nz/collections/a-z/oral-history-and-sound and made possible with funding from the NZ Oral History Awards. The project blog is https://butchersstoriesblog.wordpress.com/

The Wahine Disaster Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, reference 35818 https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/collections/catalogue/catalogue-item?record_id=211190

Wahine Day 1968

This is a story about Vassy Antoniadis who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand,  on the MV Goya in 1951. Vassy was born in Bucharest, Romania to Greek parents. She and her family were among a large group of ethnic Greeks returned to Greece after World War 2 after living in Romania for many years. Greece had been decimated by war and civil war and the prospects for employment were not good. The family reluctantly decided to accept resettlement. Their destination changed from Australia to New Zealand at the last minute. Along with 1000 others they disembarked in Wellington on 2 May 1951 and boarded a train for the Pahiatua Reception and Training Centre. A reporter captured the moment but Vassy did not see the picture until sixty-five years later. This is a short story about coming to NZ and seeing the picture again. 
The picture is held in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand: "Immigrants on the Goya". Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: 114/290/06-G. /records/23207851

OHW - Oral History Stories

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