Explained: Why some Maori feel the NZ volcano disaster was a form of divine retribution
White Island is a jewel of Aotearoa — the Maori name for New Zealand — and the local Ngati Awa tribe consider Whakaari to be a living ancestor. In the Maori cognition, it is wrong for anyone to stomp on her sacred soil.





This photo released by the New Zealand Defence Force shows an operation to recover bodies from White Island after a volcanic eruption in Whakatane, New Zealand, Friday, December 13, 2019. (New Zealand Defence Force via AP)


As the toll in the New Zealand volcano disaster climbed to 16 with the death of an injured Australian man admitted to a Sydney hospital on Sunday (December 15), unease and divisions grew over the future of White Island, a tourism milch cow that is also an important part of the sacred heritage of the country’s original Maori inhabitants.


Reporters have descended from all over the world in the towns of Whakatane and Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island — the two towns nearest to the island of Whakaari (White Island) in the Bay of Plenty.


Many have reported what the Maori have told them: that the local tribe of Ngati Awa consider Whakaari to be a living ancestor, and that it is wrong for anyone — local or tourist — to stomp on its sacred soil.


While New Zealand is a volcanic country, and scientists have recorded that Whakaari had been showing signs of volatility for several weeks leading up to the eruption that took place on December 9, several media reports have quoted the Maori as saying they had been living in fear of the ancestor’s rage at the relentless tourist tours to the island.


To these Maori, the eruption appears as a sign of Whakaari’s annoyance — “she”, as they refer to the volcano, had reached the end of her patience with people walking up and down her body, and decided to give them a taste of her anger.


Hinepare Tawa, 32, a resident of Whakatane, told ‘The Observer’ of the UK: “My belief is that Whakaari is a living being, an ancestor, and I don’t believe she is a person to be disturbed. If the island was closed I wouldn’t be too worried about it because I really have a problem with capitalising on nature.”


Even so, tourism is critical to the economy of towns like Whakatane, located in one of New Zealand’s poorer regions. The socio-economic deprivation of the region around the Bay of Plenty was depicted in New Zealand filmmaker Taika David Waititi’s 2010 blockbuster ‘Boy’.


The privately administered tours to the island of Whakaari, at NZ$250 (about Rs 11,700) and above, may be out of reach of most local people, but the tourism business supports a large number of livelihoods in the area.


Should the White Island tours be shut down as a consequence of the eruption — or if tourists were to stay away for fear of another tragedy — the local economy is likely to suffer.





Whakatane community unites after Whakaari eruption

White Island hugely popular as film set

Films such as Narnia, the Lord of the Rings and Mulan all used footage from Whakaari/White Island. ...

It's an eruption that has shaken an Eastern Bay of Plenty community to the core, leaving it with sadness, uncertainty and tension.

A numbing disbelief hangs like a pall across the tight-knit community. People are dead, two bodies remain unaccounted for. Others who visited the island are critical, others are serious.

Notes and drooping flowers are entwined in the wire fence on Muriwai Drive, for those who were affected by last Monday's eruption.

"Huia Whakaari has spoken..." a note reads, "although we are grieving lost souls, I believe she is too. The rivers of green translucent tears pouring from her into Tangaroa show us this."

The ABC has hastily withdrawn two promos for its upcoming travel show Griff's Great Kiwi Adventure in the wake of the volcanic eruption on White Island (also known as Whakaari). ...

READ MORE:
* Multiple casualties, multiple victims: Man who flew last survivor off Whakaari/White Island speaks
* Whakatāne tourism expected to suffer from Whakaari/White Island tragedy
* Whakaari/White Island eruption: How close do tourists get to the crater?
* Whakaari/White Island eruption: Owners say tragic event leaves them heartbroken
* 'You can't eliminate risk': NZ beefed up safety laws after tourist deaths
* Volcano explorer and film-maker Geoff Mackley questions why tour group was on Whakaari/White Island
* Police say no survivors are left on White Island after eruption in the Bay of Plenty

Whakaari is a powerful entity, a living presence whose vagarious moods inspire awe, but at the same time a deep reverence and respect.


LILLANI HOPKINS
Last Monday's eruption on Whakaari/ White Island in the Eastern Bay of Plenty

The island's odd coughs and splutters are normal for anyone who lives there, but this time it's different. There is an overwhelming sense of support and kindness yet helplessness among the town.

Among this unrest grows daily on what will happen next, people want answers, they want closure.

GEORGIA MAY GILBERTSON
Looking towards White Island's crater

"The tourism side is causing quite a bit of contention in the community. The focus has been firmly on recovering the bodies and treating those who are in hospital", Radio One Double X announcer Kathie Guy said.

"We've lived with this live volcano in our backyard forever. We know it's active. We're used to it. No one is thinking like that anymore - quite a shift in attitude.

"Most people are still in total disbelief. We've never had this kind of disaster before".

Event manager and resident Jo Finlay said locals "felt broken" by the eruption.

SUPPLIED
John Baker witnessed an electrical storm at Whakaari/White Island about 20 years ago

"Whakaari is such a big part of our town and our life, but now we've got this different feeling towards it. We're just so hurt and shell-shocked that something like this could happen," Finlay said.

"There's no fear towards the island, just hurt. I've been out there a couple of times, it's an eerie place. You feel like you're on the moon. Which is why it's such an experience for people."

Finlay believed there would be a divide on what would happen next in terms of visiting the island.

"I don't think anyone can think about the 'what next' until we deal with 'the now'.

GEORGIA MAY GILBERTSON
The crater at White Island

The eruption "hit very close to home" for former charter boat operator John Baker, who has witnessed the island's fury before.

"We've had stones dumped on us about five times and we've been under many ash clouds. This was normal for about 10 years when the island was really active. We'd wake up in the morning and the boats would be covered in two to three inches of ash.

"Once we were out diving and laying a memorial when the island erupted on us.

GEORGIA MAY GILBERTSON
Looking towards the crater at White Island

"I witnessed one of the biggest electrical storms you'd ever seen during an eruption about 20 years ago. We'd anchored up for the night and we heard this pumping sound and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. When we looked outside the boat the ash cloud was already a half-kilometre radius around White Island, but the cloud was still going up in the air."

"Then it all started falling, ash, gravel, scoria. We didn't even have time to haul the anchor, we broke it out and raced back to Whakatane.

ALEXANDER KAUFFMANN
Tourist Allessandro Kauffmann was on a boat leaving Whakaari/White Island when it erupted, and captured this on video.

"It was the most horrific lightening and thunderstorm I've ever seen in my whole life, it was all in the ash. It's the closest to hell I've ever been," he said.

Baker said stepping onto the island was always a risk.

"The bottom line is, it's an active volcano, it's unpredictable and it's all chance whether you get caught on there or not."

Baker said the distance from the jetty to the crater was about 500 metres with strict instructions to stick to the path at all times.

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF
Local pastor Grant Bateson from Liberty Life church.

Whakaari is also a "sacred site" as the 10 bodies of miners who died in a lahar in 1914 were never found, the only living survivor was the camp cat, Peter the Great.

Throughout the years Baker has also laid several memorials on the island through requests of families.

"One of my mates died a while back and the family requested that I took his ashes out there. We climbed up as high as we could and put them in a little crevice that overlooks the crater.

"I think this will divide the community to a certain extent (on whether tours should go ahead in the future), but time dulls things. People forgot what happened on the Island in 1914 and then there was the DOC worker who was killed on Raol Island as well. I don't know where this will end up."

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF
Flowers are placed near Muriwai Drive which remains cordoned off since Monday's eruption

Baker said he'd told previous operators to take people around the island on a boat, rather than set foot on it.

"It's the excitement and thrill that draws the people."

Senior pastor at Liberty Life Church Grant Bateson said the community was there to "serve and to help".

"People are so wanting to help. Typical Whakatane, typical New Zealand. It's still surreal, it's still very 'just happened'. It's hard to know what the town's like. It's a real unknown at this point, 18,000 people come in on these boats, so what's going to happen in the future is anyone's guess."

​Bateson said he didn't believe the latest eruption would divide the community on whether tours would continue.

"People have been going to that volcano for years, knowing it's active. They go there for that reason, whether it's the risk or the adventure.

"I think when you get tragedy, when you get adversity, they offer opportunities for communities to really band together, rather than division."

Whakaari/White Island: All Australian burns victims repatriated

Many of the severely injured people from Whakaari White Island remain in burns units around New Zealand and will face months of treatment. ...

Wellington

Does the eruption of the White Island volcano spell the end for ‘volcano tourism’?

Publishing Details
Travel Insurance
3 Feb 2020
Robin Gauldie
Featured in Issue 229 | February 2020

Overexposure to danger?

Could the eruption of the White Island volcano on 9 December last year spell the end for ‘volcano tourism’? In the aftermath of the tragedy, cruise lines and travel insurers may be considering their position on cover for such activities. Robin Gauldie asked industry experts for their take on the issue

The unforeseen eruption on a tiny, privately owned volcanic island just off the coast of New Zealand killed 17 people, including tour guides and cruise passengers. At the time of writing, 13 people were still in hospital with severe burns, and two remained missing.

Regular visits

Volcano tours are popular shore excursions for cruise passengers. Most of the 47 people on White Island at the time of the eruption were passengers from the Royal Caribbean vessel Ovation of the Seas, several of whom were among the fatalities. Soon after the incident, Royal Caribbean announced that it had suspended all tours of active volcanoes.

Small, slumbering volcanoes like White Island, as well as awesome giants from Hawaii to the Mediterranean, have become magnets for a wide range of visitors

Despite the highly publicised event, most ‘volcano tourism’ remains an acceptable risk, according to travel insurers. Deciding when visiting a volcano becomes a foreseeable hazard, though, is made trickier due to the lack of an internationally accepted system of eruption warnings. Nevertheless, small, slumbering volcanoes like White Island, as well as awesome giants from Hawaii to the Mediterranean, have become magnets for a wide range of visitors.

Package holidaymakers and cruise ship passengers swim happily in sea heated by undersea vents and wander among volcanic rocks at Nea Kameni, an islet off Santorini, one of Greece’s most popular holiday islands. Perhaps they’re unaware that Santorini’s spectacular, sea-filled caldera was created around 4,000 years ago by an apocalyptic event that destroyed Europe’s first civilisation, or that Nea Kameni last erupted as recently as 1950. Or perhaps that’s part of the thrill.

Also in Greece, day-trippers in search of an exotic setting for an Instagram selfie troop to tiny Nissiros, close to the popular resort island of Kos, to discover a dormant crater filled with bubbling, sulphurous mud pools. In Italy, Vesuvius and Stromboli – which has been in continuous eruption for almost 90 years – attract thousands of visitors.

Volcano Discovery, a specialist tour operator based in Germany, features ‘adventure guaranteed’ trips to volcano destinations such as Stromboli, Santorini, Krakatau in Indonesia and the remote Kurile Islands off Russia’s Pacific coast. Insurance provided by World Nomads is offered on the operator’s website.





Still insurable
Despite recent events, World Nomads spokesperson Phil Sylvester does not believe volcano tourism is likely to become an uninsurable hazard. “We discussed this in the immediate aftermath of the White Island tragedy,” he says. “We came to the conclusion that we have sufficient safeguards in place from a risk point of view, considering licensing of operators, warning and alert systems and, ultimately, the obligation on insureds to not take ‘unnecessary risk’.”

Sylvester draws comparisons with other activities that may appear hazardous, but are in reality low risk. “Consider bungee jumping, which was also popularised in New Zealand,” he says. “If you tied a bunch of elastic bands to your legs and jumped off the roof of your hotel, I can confidently predict no insurer would entertain a claim. But if an insured with appropriate cover turns up at a provider who has passed safety audits and consequently holds a license to operate, follows all their safety procedures, takes directions from their staff and doesn’t do anything stupid, it is highly unlikely that any harm will come to them, and if it does it would be ‘unforeseen’ and extraordinary.”

For those visitors to White Island, the criteria above seem to have been met. Sylvester said to ITIJ: “The operator was licensed, safety equipment was used, a trained guide accompanied all visitors [and] the eruption alert was below the level which would have precluded a visit.” He added: “Perhaps official inquiries will recommend that the criteria for future visits to volcanoes need to be tightened, which would seem prudent as any loss of life is truly terrible. If the threshold for volcano tours was lowered, our current test for extending cover would remain effective,” Sylvester confirmed.

The reputation of travel insurers could be damaged, he added, if the industry were to take a more draconian approach to such cover: “The public already eyes the product disclosure statement (PDS) and policy wording with suspicion. While adding clauses may help insurers manage risk, it is very likely to add to ambiguity and confusion for the end user. It is important for insurers to strike a balance between managing risk and providing a great customer experience.”

Kasara Barto, Public Relations Manager at US-based travel insurance comparison website Squaremouth, agreed that a measured approach is appropriate: “It would be unlikely that insurers would exclude coverage for dormant volcanoes outright,” she said. “However, once an event occurs, or becomes known or expected, providers will no longer offer coverage for that event on any policies purchased after that date. [So] while insurers probably won’t exclude dormant volcanoes specifically, they can stop providing coverage for losses related to a volcanic eruption once it becomes ‘foreseen’.”

The general exclusion in travel insurance policies around the world for foreseen events, noted Barto, can be applied to a volcanic eruption. “An example of this wording is: ‘any issue or event that was not anticipated or expected and occurs after the effective date of coverage’.”


Tourists killed and injured in New Zealand volcano eruption
A volcano eruption in New Zealand has killed at least five people, while 18 have been injured and several others are reported missing

Read More

9 Dec 2019
Lauren Haigh

Risk assessment

Managing and assessing risk is tricky when it comes to volcanoes, though. Predicting eruptions is not an exact science, even in comparison with monitoring events such as hurricanes, blizzards and avalanches.

Writing in online publication The Conversation in the aftermath of the White Island eruption, Shane Cronin, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, pointed out that such explosive hydrothermal (steam-driven) eruptions can happen without warning and are much harder to track using existing monitoring systems than a magma eruption, such as those seen in volcanoes such as Vesuvius, Stromboli or Hawaii’s Mt Pele (all of which are also popular volcano tourism destinations). Once a hydrothermal event is underway, those nearby have only minutes or even seconds to react, Professor Cronin stated.

Vulcanologists also point out that each volcano is unique, so monitoring all the world’s potential volcano tourism sites seems an impossible dream. Nor is there a standardised worldwide system of alert levels.

New Zealand’s GeoNet monitoring service operates a five-rung volcanic alert system system, from level zero – indicating no volcanic unrest – to level five, indicating a major eruption. GeoNet’s volcanic alert bulletin of 3 December (six days before the White Island eruption) placed White Island at level two: ‘moderate volcanic unrest’.

Should the industry create a risk assessment process down to specific volcanoes? No.

White Island is not the only volcanic incident to cause tourist deaths in recent years. In September 2014, 63 hikers were killed when Mount Ontake in Japan erupted.

Japan, a densely populated island nation with more than 100 active volcanoes, has the world’s most sophisticated – and plain-spoken – volcano monitoring system. On the Japan Meteorological Agency’s five-level scale, level one indicates potential for increased activity. At level two, a ‘near crater warning’ kicks in, instructing ‘do not approach the crater’. Presumably, therefore, insurers would regard any advisory above level one as indicating a ‘foreseen risk’.

The US Geological Survey’s (USGS) alert system, by contrast, is fuzzier. Level zero or ‘normal’ indicates a ‘non-eruptive state’; level two or ‘advisory’ indicates ‘elevated unrest’; level three or ‘watch’ indicates ‘increased potential of eruption’; and level four or ‘warning’ indicates ‘hazardous eruption imminent, under way or suspected’. Insurers erring on the side of caution might look at the USGS’s level two as uninsurable. Even those with a higher appetite for risk would probably balk at level three.

Disparate as they are, various national vulcanism monitoring and warning systems have one thing in common: their priority is preventing mass casualties by providing timely evacuation warnings to residents of cities in the shadow of active volcanoes, such as Popocatépetl, 40 miles from Mexico City, or Taal, a similar distance from Manila, capital of the Philippines. Both erupted powerfully in January 2020, with thousands of residents forced to flee.

But, compared with safeguarding the lives of tens of thousands of people living near major volcanoes, monitoring small and remote locations that are visited by comparatively tiny numbers of tourists is a relatively low priority for national warning systems.

“Volcanoes have always been dangerous and there are different levels of risk, but travel companies are exploring their destinations as the demand for new experiences grows,” says Greg Lawson, Head of Travel Insurance for UK-based Collinson Group. “Where demand grows, niche travel and insurance industries will adapt as they did for climbing Mt Everest, for example. Should the travel industry ensure it can deliver such activities safely and transparently? Yes, it should. Should the travel insurance industry keep an eye and review claims impacts? Yes. Should the industry create a risk assessment process down to specific volcanoes? No.”





Culture of recklessness?

Media coverage of the White Island eruption also homed in on New Zealand’s government-run accident compensation scheme, which pays for medical treatment for New Zealanders and visitors injured in accidents of any kind. The scheme effectively blocks the accident victim from launching a negligence suit against other parties, including tour operators. Some sources credit the scheme with fostering New Zealand’s transformation into a world leader in ‘adventure experience’ tourism – and arguably fostering a culture of recklessness among adventure tourists. Insurers rebut that claim, though.

Activities that verge on the reckless remain a niche pursuit, says Sylvester of World Nomads. “We continue to cover more than 130 adventure activities, but some of the most daring, like wing-suit flying, remain outside the ambit of our cover,” he told ITIJ. “There has been growth in ‘soft adventure’ activities. There has also been related growth in safety standards imposed on providers by legislation and self-regulation. The early days of cowboy operators with dubious safety standards are long gone.”

A case in point, Sylvester says, is Vang Vieng in Laos, which became notorious after a series of fatal accidents involving river tubing, rope swings and waterslides, before local authorities clamped down on ad-hoc operators.

Collinson Group’s Lawson concurs, but says not all destinations live up to the standards set by countries like New Zealand. “There are two key influences on people’s growing approach to adrenaline/adventure travel,” Lawson said. “The first is that travel companies are increasingly moving away from typical beach/winter/city holidays and their inventory now often reflects new and exciting opportunities – itself a challenge when marketing to generations that have increasing disposable income and ability to travel. They have a greater reach of destinations and a growing market wanting to stretch their ambitions.

“Certain countries have understandably capitalised on the tourist attractions that exist in their region and, not surprisingly, that creates demand, even when there is an element of greater risk. Whilst some countries can show that their provision for such attractions has been supportive, such as New Zealand, others have maybe not got the same infrastructure in place when things go wrong.

“The other key driver is that we are in a social media world where showing people what you are doing, and where you have been, is a major part of the holiday. This has clearly driven people to push the boundaries. As an industry, all we can do is continue to monitor cause of loss, adjust our rating where we have to pay claims, but also ensure that our longstanding clauses of needless exposure to risk are translated at the point of sale into simple language – if you think it’s dangerous, and you still do it, don’t be surprised if you get hurt and need help. If you haven’t thought about travel insurance, don’t be surprised if that help costs.” 

This article originally appeared in

Issue 229 | February 2020READ FULL ISSUE

Volcano penalties could be up to five years' jail
Steven Trask and Andrew Leeson
Dec 16, 2019
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that official inquiries into last week's fatal volcano eruption could take up to a year, and will carry potential criminal penalties of up to five years in jail.

Ardern also announced a NZ$5 million ($4.8 million) fund to help small businesses affected by the eruption, after New Zealanders held a minute of silence to honour the victims a week on from the tragedy.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern observes a moment of silence with her cabinet colleagues at the moment that a volcano erupted a week earlier. Getty

The official death toll from the surprise eruption on White Island, also known by its Maori name of Whakaari, stands at 16. Two people whose bodies are believed to be in the waters around the island are still officially listed as missing.

A further 26 people remain in hospitals in New Zealand and Australia, many in critical condition with severe burn injuries.

"There remains now questions to be asked and questions to be answered," Ardern told reporters in Wellington after she led the country in a minute of silence for the dead and injured, who included tourists from United States, Germany, China, Britain and Malaysia.

There has been growing criticism that people were allowed on the island, a popular destination for day-trippers, given the risks of an active volcano. That has led to speculation the tragedy could foretell major changes for New Zealand's thrillseeker tourism economy.

WorkSafe, New Zealand's primary regulator for workplace related incidents, has opened a health and safety investigation, Ardern said, while the coroner is conducting a separate inquiry.

Meanwhile, two families have spoken of their grief after losing loved ones in the deadly White Island volcano eruption in New Zealand.

Anthony and Kristine Langford, from Sydney, and Karla Mathews, from Coffs Harbour, are among the 16 people confirmed to have died in the tragedy.

Australians Anthony and Kristine Langford are among the casualties from the deadly eruption of Mount White. Supplied

The Mathews and Langford families issued statements on Monday through the Department of Foreign Affairs.

"Our family is absolutely heartbroken and our big sister will be incredibly missed," the Mathews' family statement read.

"We have an enormous sense of relief that she has finally been found and we patiently wait with the Elzer family for news of Karla's partner, Rick, so we are able to bring them home together."

The Langfords were remembered as "loving parents" to their teenagers and a "wonderful couple".

"Anthony and Kristine, loving parents to Jesse and Winona, were a wonderful couple and devoted to both their immediate and extended families," the Langford family statement read.

"They will be greatly missed by all who knew them. Winona is currently unaccounted for and Jesse is recovering in hospital, receiving excellent care."

Tearful travellers on Monday morning returned to Sydney in a sombre mood a week after the eruption that took the lives of some of their fellow passengers on The Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.

Some 47 people, including 24 Australian citizens and four permanent residents, were on the island when the volcano erupted a week ago on Monday.

One distressed passenger called Joanne became tearful as she talked to reporters at Circular Quay about the passengers who didn't come home.

"They're people, people that went on my holiday of a lifetime that I've waited 50 years for and they never got to come home ... dreadful."

Joanne told how she'd been upset seeing their suitcases being removed from the ship.

"[It] just broke my heart," she said.

Another passenger said the people on the ship were left in the dark as the tragedy unfolded.

"I've got a son that's 17 who lost two friends that he made. We didn't know how many people were missing," he said after disembarking.

Others praised the ship's crew for their handling of the situation.

A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman thanked the ship's passengers for their understanding.

"As Ovation of the Seas returns to Sydney today, our thoughts remain with those affected and we will continue to provide ongoing support and services to them and their families during this difficult time," she said in a statement.

Two bodies remain unaccounted for. They are believed to be in the waters around White Island also known as Whakaari.

Four people were confirmed dead by NZ Police on Monday: 20-year-old Jessica Richards from Brisbane, Coffs Harbour man Jason Griffiths, 33, Kristine Langford, 45, and Martin Hollander, 48, from Sydney.

These add to the seven named on Sunday: Adelaide schoolgirl Zoe Hosking, 15, her stepfather Gavin Dallow, 53, Karla Mathews, 32, and Sydney man Anthony Langford, 51.

Mr Hollander's sons Matthew, 13, and Berend, 16, who were US citizens, were also confirmed dead.

An Australian man, whose family asked that he not be named, died in a Sydney hospital on Sunday.

Another 12 people are being treated in Australian hospitals after being repatriated with severe burns.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne is flying to New Zealand on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

The cruise ship left Sydney for New Zealand on December 4.

Whakaari/White Island eruption: Volcano cruise labelled a 'prison ship'

The cruise has arrived back in Sydney a week after the Whakaari/White Island tragedy.

A father onboard the Ovation of the Seas has hit out at the way passengers were treated after the Whakaari/White Island tragedy, in which 16 people have now died.

The cruise ship docked in Sydney on Monday morning, one week after the disaster. Some 47 people, including 24 Australian citizens and four permanent residents, were on Whakaari/White Island on a tour when the volcano erupted seven days ago.

One passenger, who hasn't been named, told media that the cruise was like a "prison ship".

"The worst thing is the way Royal Caribbean handled this. It was terrible," he said.

READ MORE:
* Whakaari/White Island tour operators 'can't waiver their way out of safety obligations'
* Whakaari/White Island eruption: Insurers and ACC ready with financial assistance for tourists
* Whakaari/White Island: Tourism operators offering unregistered adventures risk $50,000 fines

"The captain didn't even tell us what was happening. We had to watch the news. It was a prison ship in the end, you weren't allowed to know anything."

He added that his son had made friends with two of the victims, and he also criticised the lack of mental health support, reported news.com.au.

However, some other passengers praised Royal Caribbean.

Passenger Jo Anne Anderson cried with joy as she got off: "So happy to be home," she repeated.

Her voice cracking with emotion, Anderson told the Sydney Morning Herald it broke her heart to "see people taking cases [belonging to the dead and injured] down the hallways and taking them away".

"There are dead people, people who went on a trip of a lifetime, and they haven't come home. It is dreadful."

Anderson said the mood on board had been "very sombre, there was a lot of praying and crying".

She said the Royal Caribbean had done a "brilliant job" and the captain had provided regular updates on what was happening.

Other passengers told of a sense of guilt and helplessness as the tragic news filtered through.

"We knew something was happening, but we didn't know what and then when the news started filtering through it was quite sad to be honest with you, you realise how fragile life is. I'm here with a family of four children and we could have been on that tour," one passenger who only wanted to be identified as Brad told 9news.com.au.

"There was a bit of guilt as well that it could have been anyone," he added.

Inga Tille said it felt like losing family.

"Even if it wasn't your family they're still your family. On the ship you get to know people and it was a very solemn situation.

"When the bell rang and the captain spoke you could hear a pin drop and it was a very emotional time because even if you didn't know the people you were affected and you feel for them. It's a tragedy."

Other passengers told 9News.com.au how the captain of the ship had been left "devastated" and that waiting around for updates had been the hardest part.

Another passenger, Troy, told Today as he disembarked that the mood had been sombre and the crew of the ship were visibly broken, but everyone was just happy to be back in Australia.

"On the day [of the tragedy] the captain was calling for people to report to guest services. We thought people were running late maybe and it was later on that we heard what had happened

"Probably the next morning I think it was before we got told and everyone was watching the news and jumping on their phones and finding out what they could.

"[It was] a bit sombre. The crew were really good. They were trying to stay upbeat and happy and do what they could but you could tell they were hurting. I think the captain was breaking down crying a fair bit.

"Just relieved to be back, really. Can't wait to get home."

Retrieval mission continues

One of the male victims caught in Monday's Whakaari/White Island volcano eruption died in Sydney's Concord Hospital, NSW Health said in a statement on Sunday, bringing the number of Australians killed in the disaster to 10.

The family requested that the latest victim's name and age not be released.

Another dozen Australians are still being treated in local hospitals after being repatriated with severe burns.

There are 14 patients being cared for in four burns units around New Zealand - Middlemore, Hutt Valley, Waikato, and Christchurch - with 10 listed as critical.

After completing the disaster victim identification work, police on Sunday also released the names of seven more people, including four Australians and two Americans with Australian permanent residency, who died in the tragedy.

American teenagers Matthew and Berend Hollander, 13 and 16, and Kiwi tour guide Tipene Maangi, 24, were also named.

A further two people are missing, with their bodies believed to be in the waters around Whakaari.

But after a weekend of fruitless searches in the contaminated water around the active volcano, and a shorter return to the land near the crater itself, that hope is diminishing.

Whereas previously police were "absolutely committed to recovering bodies", a subtle shift in language on Sunday to "providing a sense of closure" reflects the challenge of the retrieval process.

9NEWS with Stuff

'You realise how fragile life is': Cruise ship at centre of volcano tragedy returns to Sydney

By Olivana Smith Lathouris • Producer

7:11pm Dec 16, 2019

Passengers disembarking a luxury cruise ship at the centre of the New Zealand volcano tragedy have told of a desperate wait for information after fellow travellers were fatally caught on White Island on a tour when the eruption occurred.

The Ovation of the Seas arrived back at Circular Quay in Sydney this morning a week after the New Zealand Volcano tragedy, in which 16 people have now died.

Some 47 people, including 24 Australian citizens and four permanent residents, were on White Island on a tour when the volcano erupted seven days ago.

The cruise ship resumed its journey several days later and arrived at Sydney's Circular Quay at 6am.

Passengers told of a sense of guilt and helplessness as the tragic news filtered through.

"We knew something was happening, but we didn't know what and then when the news started filtering through it was quite sad to be honest with you, you realise how fragile life is. I'm here with a family of four children and we could have been on that tour," one passenger who only wanted to be identified as Brad told 9news.com.au.

"There was a bit of guilt as well that it could have been anyone, he added, who was on another tour and returning by boat when the news came through the radio.

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Inga Tille said it felt like losing family.

"Even if it wasn't your family they're still your family. On the ship you get to know people and it was a very solemn situation.

"When the bell rang and the captain spoke you could hear a pin drop and it was a very emotional time because even if you didn't know the people you were affected and you feel for them. It's a tragedy."

Other passengers told 9News.com.au how the captain of the ship had been left "devastated" and that waiting around for updates had been the hardest part.

Ovation of the Seas docked in Sydney Harbour this morning. (Getty)

Several of the ship's passengers were among the tourists killed at White Island when a volcano erupted last Monday. (Getty)

People embrace returning family members in Circular Quay. (Kate Geraghty/Sydney Morning Herald)

Another passenger, only identified as Troy, told Today as he disembarked that the mood had been sombre and the crew of the ship were visibly broken, but everyone was just happy to be back in Australia.

"On the day [of the tragedy] the captain was calling for people to report to guest services. We thought people were running late maybe and it was later on that we heard what had happened.

"Probably the next morning I think it was before we got told and everyone was watching the news and jumping on their phones and finding out what they could.

"[It was] a bit sombre. The crew were really good. They were trying to stay upbeat and happy and do what they could but you could tell they were hurting. I think the captain was breaking down crying a fair bit.

"Just relieved to be back, really. Can't wait to get home."

However, other passengers said they had been left frustrated after being kept on the ship with no information.

New Zealand authorities are continuing to attempt to retrieve bodies. (AP)

Ovation of the Seas docks in Sydney

Retrieval mission continues

One of the male victims caught in Monday's White Island volcano eruption died in Sydney's Concord Hospital, NSW Health said in a statement on Sunday, bringing the number of Australians killed in the disaster to ten.

Two patients remain in a critical condition at Concord Hospital and another is stable.

Adelaide schoolgirl Zoe Hosking died in the tragedy (Supplied)

The family requested that the latest victim's name and age not be released.

Another dozen Australians are still being treated in local hospitals after being repatriated with severe burns.

There are 14 patients being cared for in four burns units around New Zealand - Middlemore, Hutt Valley, Waikato, and Christchurch - with 10 listed as critical.

After completing the disaster victim identification work, police on Sunday also released the names of seven more people, including four Australians and two Americans with Australian permanent residency, who died in the tragedy.

They are Adelaide schoolgirl Zoe Hosking, 15, her stepfather Gavin Dallow, 53, Karla Mathews, 32, and Sydney man Anthony Langford, 51.

Brothers Matt and Berend Hollander. (Supplied)

American teenagers Matthew and Berend Hollander, 13 and 16, and Kiwi tour guide Tipene Maangi, 24, were also named.

A further two people are missing, with their bodies believed to be in the waters around Whakaari.

The retrieval of six bodies on Friday in an audacious rescue mission brought hope that all bodies may be found.

A military helicopter departs Whakatane airport during a recovery operation to retrieve the remaining bodies on White Island (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

But after a weekend of fruitless searches in the contaminated water around the active volcano, and a shorter return to the land near the crater itself, that hope is diminishing.

Whereas previously police were "absolutely committed to recovering bodies", a subtle shift in language on Sunday to "providing a sense of closure" reflects the challenge of the retrieval process.