Warning signs emerged hours before a deadly landslide tore through Mount Maunganui’s Beachside Holiday Park, yet no evacuations were ordered before the hillside collapsed.
According to a report by Shilpy Arora Gaikwad of Stuff, the slip, which occurred at about 9.30 am on Thursday following heavy rain, was one of several on Mauao that morning. In the four hours leading up to the collapse, campers, locals and lifeguards raised alarms as the ground showed clear signs of instability.
At around 5 am, campers were woken after a woman staying at the holiday park noticed the bank above their site beginning to crumble. She went door to door and tent to tent, urging people to move away from the base of the mountain. The woman was later identified as Morrinsville teacher Lisa Maclennan, one of the victims of the landslide, as reported by Shilpy Arora Gaikwad of Stuff.
Camper Lance Macfarlane told the New Zealand Herald he had been asleep in a tent with his daughter when Maclennan woke them.
“I think she saved us,” he told the Herald. “We could have been asleep if she didn’t wake us up. I could have still been there sleeping when the big one came down,” Stuffa has quoted.
Macfarlane said Maclennan encouraged other campers to relocate as well.
“She was warning everyone that there were slips and she recommended that they move,” Stuff has quoted.
“She said it felt like an earthquake [when mud hit her campervan]. She told me if she didn’t wake me up and warn us and then something happened, that it would forever be in the back of her mind.
“I think she’s a hero. She has done her best but ended up being caught in it,” as quoted by Stuff.
Maclennan was later remembered as a much-loved literacy centre tutor at Morrinsville Intermediate School.
Shortly before 6 am, local man Alister McHardy was walking near Mauao when he saw two significant slips on the Beachside of the mountain. His call logs showed he rang 111 at 5.47 am, telling operators that early-morning walkers were nearby.
“I had a gut feeling it was going to get much worse,” he said, Stuff has quoted.
McHardy said the call taker told him the issue was a council matter and that Tauranga City Council would be notified. Concerned about the risk, he rushed to the nearby surf club to alert lifeguards before returning to the holiday park to wake campers himself.
“I didn’t want to waste time,” he said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand later confirmed it had received a report of a slip hours before the fatal collapse, but did not deploy firefighters. Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said a call was received at 5.48 am reporting a slip near the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.
Fenz notified Tauranga City Council, the landowner of the camping ground, at 5.51 am.
“The landslip that was referenced in the 111 call received at 5.48 am did not impact life or property, and therefore fire and emergency did not respond firefighters to attend, instead we notified Tauranga City Council as the landowner responsible,“ Stuff has quoted.
The council later confirmed it had been contacted by Fenz but did not detail what actions were taken next.
By early morning, further signs of danger were visible. McHardy took a photograph at 7.35am showing freshly collapsed earth on the hillside, with people walking close to the unstable edge. Camper Paul Leslie told Stuff he noticed muddy water pouring down behind the park’s ablution block hours before the landslide struck.
Leslie said he woke around 7am, saw closed tracks and council staff assessing slips, but was surprised no evacuations were underway near the surf club.
Local resident Colin McGonagle also observed muddy water surging from the hillside about two hours before the major slip.
“It was wet, really wet,” he said. “We were saying it was like a wall was moving. You could see the mud just wanting to come out,” Stuff has quoted.
“There was no panic. There was no evacuation notice. No panic.”
At 8.02 am, Tauranga City Council posted on social media that Mauao’s tracks were closed for the day.
“Due to some large slips, Mauao has been closed for the day. Fencing is getting put up, and we are hoping to get contractors in soon to start cleaning up,” the post said, as quoted by Stuff.
However, no evacuation order was issued. The Beachside Holiday Park and Mount Hot Pools remained open. Some reports suggested the tracks were not fully closed until 8.56 am.
At 8.45 am, Mount Maunganui Lifeguards shared images and videos on Facebook showing multiple slips and warning of instability.
“The base track has been washed out in several locations and is not accessible. Stay safe,” the post read, Stuff has quoted.
Despite the warnings, people continued their morning routines until a massive landslide swept through the holiday park, crushing a toilet block, tents and caravans. Survivors said they could hear screaming from beneath the debris.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after the collapse. Australian tourist Sonny Worrall said he narrowly avoided being hit while swimming at the Mount Hot Pools.
“As I’m swimming, I heard this huge landslide behind me, trees cracking, and there was a caravan that almost hit me. I was just fearing for my life,” he said. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever felt in my life,” as reported by Stuff.
Worrall described the scene as “like a movie”.
“Luckily, there were no children in the kids’ pool. But who knows, there could have been someone inside the caravan that was swept over,” Stuff has quoted.
Canadian tourist Dion Siluch said he was having a massage when the building began to shake violently.
“The whole room started shaking like crazy,” he said, Stuff has reported.
Looking outside, Siluch saw a campervan in the pool and began filming as muddy water surged through the area.
“It was a massive disaster,” he said, Stuff has quoted.
According to Stuff, Siluch said the landslide appeared slow at first but descended within seconds. Around 20 to 25 people were in the pools at the time, and he said the outcome could have been far worse if anyone had been in the children’s or spa pools.
The landslide came during what meteorologists described as the wettest 24-hour period of rainfall on record for the region. Six people remain missing, with families in New Zealand and overseas devastated by the tragedy.
Police have identified the missing as Sharon Maccanico, 15; Susan Knowles, 71, from Rotorua; Lisa Maclennan, 51, from Morrinsville; Måns Bernhardsson, 20, from Sweden; Jacqualine Wheeler, 71, from Rotorua; and Max Furse-Kee, 15, from Auckland, as reported by Stuff.