Cook Strait ferry Aratere on final journey to Wellington
It was announced earlier this year that the Interislander's sole rail-enabled ferry would retire, to allow for Picton port redevelopment in preparation for two brand-new Cook Strait ferries, due to arrive in 2029.
The ship set sail for Wellington from a sunny, blue-skied Picton this morning on its final passenger service across Cook Strait.
The Kaitaki Interislander ferry sounded a final goodbye to the Aratere vessel shortly after its departure.
The Kaitaki Interislander ferry sounds a farewell to the Aratere vessel shortly after its last departure from Picton. (Source: 1News)
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Crowds of people were seen gathered at a nearby viewing platform to watch the ship leave.
One passenger told 1News he had travelled from New Plymouth to experience the final journey, as he didn't want to miss it.
Crowds of people gather in Picton to see the final sailing of the Aratere (Source: 1News)
The Aratere first arrived on New Zealand's shores in the late 90s but encountered a number of problems throughout its 26 years of service.
Most recently, the ferry ran aground outside Picton in June 2024.
An investigation found the steering autopilot had been engaged and staff were unable to switch it off.
In March 2006, four passengers and one crew member were injured during a sailing from Wellington to Picton when heavy weather caused rail and vehicular cargo to shift on board.
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Rail Minister Winston Peters announced at the end of March that two new Cook Strait ferries would enter service in 2029, featuring rail decks and the capacity for 40 wagons.
Vessel set sail from a sunny, blue-skied Picton this morning on its final passenger service across Cook Strait. (Source: 1News)
The Aratere's design required specialised wharf infrastructure to load and unload, including integrated rail tracks, which meant it could not use Interislander's other berths.
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1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Cook Strait ferry Aratere on final journey to Wellington
The Aratere has departed Picton on its final service across Cook Strait. It was announced earlier this year that the Interislander's sole rail-enabled ferry would retire, to allow for Picton port redevelopment in preparation for two brand-new Cook Strait ferries, due to arrive in 2029. The ship set sail for Wellington from a sunny, blue-skied Picton this morning on its final passenger service across Cook Strait. The Kaitaki Interislander ferry sounded a final goodbye to the Aratere vessel shortly after its departure. The Kaitaki Interislander ferry sounds a farewell to the Aratere vessel shortly after its last departure from Picton. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Crowds of people were seen gathered at a nearby viewing platform to watch the ship leave. One passenger told 1News he had travelled from New Plymouth to experience the final journey, as he didn't want to miss it. Crowds of people gather in Picton to see the final sailing of the Aratere (Source: 1News) The Aratere first arrived on New Zealand's shores in the late 90s but encountered a number of problems throughout its 26 years of service. Most recently, the ferry ran aground outside Picton in June 2024. An investigation found the steering autopilot had been engaged and staff were unable to switch it off. In March 2006, four passengers and one crew member were injured during a sailing from Wellington to Picton when heavy weather caused rail and vehicular cargo to shift on board. ADVERTISEMENT Rail Minister Winston Peters announced at the end of March that two new Cook Strait ferries would enter service in 2029, featuring rail decks and the capacity for 40 wagons. Vessel set sail from a sunny, blue-skied Picton this morning on its final passenger service across Cook Strait. (Source: 1News) The Aratere's design required specialised wharf infrastructure to load and unload, including integrated rail tracks, which meant it could not use Interislander's other berths.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Aratere makes its final sailing across Cook Strait
Cook Strait ferry Aratere sails into in Wellington on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The Aratere arrived in Wellington for the final time on Monday, ending almost three decades of Cook Strait sailings. It was announced in April the ferry would stop crossing the Cook Strait to make way for new port infrastructure needed for two new ships set to arrive in 2029. The ferry first arrived on New Zealand's shores in 1999 having been built in Spain at the Hijos de shipyard a year prior and replaced the Aratika, which had been in service from 1974. Aratere ferry has been in service in New Zealand since 1999. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Maritime Union Wellington Branch Secretary Fiona Mansell worked on the Aratere as a cabin attendant and said it would be "really sad" to see the ship sail into the capital for the last time. "It's kind of like losing something or somebody that's very close to you." Mansell told RNZ the ferry's crew created the best memories onboard it. "They're with each other you know a lot, they become family, not just friends, not just crew mates." The ship's retirement was difficult to deal with, she said. "It's a big loss to the crew, to our membership, to this country, to our city." Cool Tranz truck driver Morgan MacAllister-Robb had been sailing on the Interislander frequently for his 35-year career. Over the past six years he had been onboard the Aratere six days a week - which equated to 312 trips annually. MacAllister-Robb said by a stroke of luck he had a ticket on its last crossing. "I didn't even actually have to plan it, it just happens to be one of my scheduled sailings." He said that the Aratere was his favourite of the three ferries in the Interislander fleet, and that it would be weird to not see it in Wellington and Picton port. In its first months of service, it faced several mechanical problems - including a sailing on 24 February 1999 where it suffered a series of power failures that left it adrift in Wellington Harbour. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Days later KiwiRail - then called Tranz Rail - put out a large full page ad in the Weekend Herald which had a picture of the ferry with the text: "Sorry it hasn't been plain sailing". There were problems with the ship highlighted throughout that year and in the 2000s, which included the time it was taken out in heavy conditions and lurched forward, which lightly injured five people. It led to the introduction of new heavy weather protocols for Cook Strait ferry operators. In late April 2011 the Aratere headed to Singapore for six months for a $53 million 30 metre extension which increased the amount of passengers it could hold from 400 to 650. The work was done by cutting the ship in half and inserting what was called the "mid-body". As part of that work, new propellers were fitted to it which became a focus when two years later the ferry's starboard propeller was lost in Cook Strait. Transport Accident Investigation Commission's (TAIC) chief investigator Tim Burfoot said the propeller was fitted poorly, and that was likely because KiwiRail either did not seek, or follow, expert advice. The propeller from the Aratere was found in Cook Strait after it fell off in November 2013. Photo: RNZ On an evening sailing on 21 June 2024, the Aratere ran aground just outside of Picton with 47 passengers on board. No one was injured, but it triggered another Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigation, with its interim report finding a 36-second auto pilot mistake led to the grounding. The report showed that a new Kongsberg steering system had been installed on the Aratere just weeks prior in May, and 83 inter-island crossings were made in the three subsequent weeks. It also found the crew did not know how to take back control from the autopilot, and it took about two minutes before the ship was brought back under manual control. In April, Rail Minister Winston Peters announced it would be retired due to it being the only ferry where rail freight can roll on and off it. That means it can't use another wharf in Picton while port upgrades there and in Wellington are underway for two new ferries, set to arrive in 2029. At the time Peters said it would have cost $120 million to keep the Aratere in service. The retirement has caused a restructure at KiwiRail with some jobs on the chopping block. In a statement, KiwiRail said that confirmation of what jobs would end and what staff could be redeployed in the company would come at the end of August. It said that a decision had not made on the future of the Aratere post retirement yet and it would lay up at its Wellington berth in the meantime. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
12-08-2025
- 1News
Frustrated parents, struggling kids: Why does NZ keep failing Deaf children?
Our Deaf students lag behind their hearing peers – teachers and parents say the fix for the problem is obvious, so why do we continue to fail these kids? Gill Higgins investigates. "We're setting them up for failure" – Watch this story on TVNZ+ Amanda Everitt is a deeply impressive woman. She has a law degree, a master's in education, she's worked in France and the UK where she set up networks for young Deaf people, and she's worked as a TV reporter. Amanda Everitt at the California School for the Deaf. (Source: 1News) As a profoundly Deaf person, Everitt attributes her success to growing up with something most Deaf people don't have: a Deaf mother. A mother who understood her need for visual communication and who made NZSL her first language. ADVERTISEMENT Amanda Everitt and her daughter Alexia, who's also deaf, in Auckland. (Source: 1News) Everitt's daughter Alexa is also deaf and, like her mum, has been raised from the beginning with NZSL. Everitt believes every Deaf child deserves that chance. But it's far from the case. Why are we failing our Deaf kids? Watch an indepth investigation on TVNZ+ (Source: TVNZ) 'We're not troublemakers' From the moment I stepped into the world of New Zealand's Deaf community, I was struck by their powerful sense of identity. Here was a group of people who were proud, warm and determined. And they were something else too. Intensely frustrated. They feel ignored. Their opinions dismissed. Their calls for change unanswered. Their cry is for New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and Deaf culture to be prioritised in Deaf education. They say they're not. This is despite NZSL being one of our official languages, despite the establishment of a new national school, Ko Taku Reo, with campuses in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, to improve Deaf education, and despite the many promises in the school's strategic plan. ADVERTISEMENT At the Deaf Society Bingo night, Chrischurch. (Source: 1News) Since last November, reporter Thomas Mead and I have spoken to dozens of parents, teachers, students and leaders in the Deaf community. Some were close to tears as they expressed their anger at how Deaf children are being held back. Many of the parents say they've been labelled as troublemakers. But as one mum put it 'we're not troublemakers. We're advocating. We're crying out for someone to realise, 'hey, our kids need this''. At the Deaf Society, Bingo night, Chrischurch. (Source: 1News) What the community wants isn't complicated: teachers fluent in NZSL, Deaf role models, recognition of Deaf culture, and the right to lead their own future. What's missing is action. 'Why are we employing teachers who can't sign?' ADVERTISEMENT When I first met Amanda Everitt I was blown away by her achievements. And then I paused. It's awkward to admit, but in a way my admiration exposed my preconceptions of Deaf people's capabilities. Everitt understands this. As she told me, 'I have visited many Deaf schools in the US. I have met multiple Deaf professionals overseas who have graduated as mathematicians, scientists, lawyers, doctors. And I ask myself, what's wrong in New Zealand? Why are we not producing that level of graduate?'. Alexa has the advantage of signing from the beginning with her Deaf mum Amanda Everitt. For years, Deaf students in Aotearoa have lagged behind their hearing peers. Action was taken in 2020, merging the Deaf schools in Christchurch and Auckland into a single institution, Ko Taku Reo. It oversees the education of 3800 Deaf or hard of hearing students in mainstream schools who get help with interpreters or tutors, along with the 120 students in dedicated Deaf units in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. But most of the leadership isn't Deaf. At the Deaf Society Bingo night, Chrischurch. (Source: 1News) Ten of the 12 senior leaders are hearing. The Commissioner is hearing. Many in the deaf community worry that teachers are being hired for their mainstream school experience, over ones who have fluent NZSL. Deaf advocate and interpreter Evelyn Pateman compares this with a kura kaupapa, 'they would not employ teachers that were not fluent in te reo Māori. So why is Deaf education employing hearing teachers who can't sign?' ADVERTISEMENT Ko Taku Reo says there's a shortage of teachers with fluent NZSL, so it offers teacher the chance to learn NZSL once they're employed. Also, until recently, there's been a need to comply with Ministry of Education requirements that beginner teachers have two years of mainstream experience before teaching Deaf children. This is a huge barrier to Deaf graduates. 'In the real-world people don't employ what they don't know,' says Beca Harper, a Deaf graduate herself, who has struggled to find work as a teacher. Beca Harper and her son Oliver, who is also deaf. (Source: 1News) Without teachers fluent in NZSL, it's impossible to achieve full NZSL immersion for students and that leads to a concern that many Deaf children will suffer language deprivation. And it starts young. Around 95% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, who often aren't aware of their child's need for visual communication. Parents say First Signs – a Ministry-funded service that helps families learn NZSL – does an amazing job, but it only provides 15 facilitators for the whole country. The waiting list is huge. Some families will only receive a home visit for an hour a month. Deaf Society Bingo night in Christchurch. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Having learned to sign with her mother from the get-go Amanda Everitt knows the difference it can make. She applauds the signs of progress. Ko Taku Reo has a Deaf Futures group at the school. A Board of Trustees that will include parents and Deaf people has been reinstated. But in her opinion, these changes aren't enough. Our months-long investigation for TVNZ+ shows the reality: We met students who'd had to step up and interpret when the teacher's NZSL wasn't up to scratch. 'I was shocked that at Ko Taku Reo they would bring in teachers in the provision that didn't understand sign language, that couldn't communicate with us," says one. We met teachers who told us of a toxic culture but were afraid to speak on camera, saying they've seen what happens to those who do. 'We're losing wonderful people. People with skills and experience are being forced out," says a teacher, who chose to remain anonymous. And we spoke to graduates with teaching qualifications and fluent NZSL who've been refused jobs at Ko Taku Reo, despite being accepted with open arms when they enquired overseas. 'Australia were willing to take me on. They said fantastic, a teaching qualification and a NZSL qualification. It's confusing to me why here, a school with profoundly deaf children who use NZSL to communicate, wouldn't want a teacher who has fluent sign language." Ko Taku Reo and the Minister of Education Erica Stanford declined our many requests to be interviewed, but they did provide written responses. They say they're not aware of any students needing to interpret for teachers; that a culture of fear and targeting of staff has not been a feature of any of their reports or surveys; and that beginner teachers can now be hired directly to teach Deaf children – albeit only if mentoring is available, and only in Auckland or Christchurch. The school also reiterates it values NZSL highly. Deaf society Bingo night, Christchurch (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT It is valuable. It's incredibly powerful watching a child sign confidently with their friends. It's more than language. It's connection. It's identity. It's pride. It's also a right. Some in the Deaf community would argue Ko Taku Reo's not doing enough to protect that right. Still, change could be around the corner. A new Executive Principal for the school is about to be announced. It took Gallaudet University, a private university in Washington DC, US, and the only Deaf university in the world, 145 years before it recruited a Deaf president, and that was only after a week of student protests. Here, the Deaf community would warmly welcome a Deaf principal who could fully understand their needs. Or at the very least, one with Deaf experience who has fluent NZSL. They're not holding their breath. If you'd like to share your experience as a Deaf person or with the Deaf community, please contact indepth@ "We're setting them up for failure" – Watch this story on TVNZ+
