Talk:Whakaari/White Island

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[edit] Number of 1914 casualties

There seems to be contradictory information about the number of miners killed in the 1914 eruption. Googling for Whakaari 1914 turns up claims for either 10 ([1], [2]), 11 ([3], [4]) or 12 ([5], [6]) deaths. Does anyone know of an authoritative reference that could settle the matter? —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 18:45, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I am doing a school project on this volcano, and the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nucleur Sciences believes it was 12- it seems quite offical. Also there is contradictory information about whether it was a lahar, or a landslide. One thing that is consitent is that the landslide/lahar was due to part of the crater rim collasping. The Institute And about the name- White Island/Whakaari. White Island is far more commonly used, not many people know the Maori name, it is known as White Island. Interesting links, I see you have one link that is from gns too, which is odd as the one I have notes that it was 12 people. It says /newwhitei.html too, though I do not know if that makes a difference.[7] -- Holly nz 08:07, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

The NZ Geographic article I just referenced in our article says 10 were killed in the 1914 landslide event, and that two other miners were killed beforehand in separate incidents after the mining started again in 1913. (One died of burns when a large retort exploded due to corrosion; the other disappeared and only his boots were ever found.) Perhaps the range from 10 to 12 in other sources reflects confusion over when these two died. -- Avenue 11:14, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

The most detailed account I have found so far is here. It lists all ten of the victims by name, and gives dates for the main events around the eruption. It doesn't have a big organisation's name behind it, but it seems believable to me. I will change the main article accordingly. -- Avenue 08:45, 18 March 2006 (UTC)