Deaths | Name or description | Type | Date | Location | Notes |
---|
49 | Featherston Prisoner of war camp riot | riot | 25 Feb 1943 | Featherston | |
45 | SS Elingamite | shipwreck | 9 Nov 1902 | off West Island in the Three Kings Islands | |
43 | Ralph Mine disaster | mine explosion | 12 Sep 1914 | Huntly | methane and coal dust explosion [12] |
41 | Ballantyne's store disaster | fire | 18 Nov 1947 | Christchurch | |
40+ [13] [14] | Great storm of 1868, flash floods and 12 shipwrecks | storm | 3 Feb 1868 | Predominantly eastern areas of New Zealand | Death toll likely understated as impact on many Māori unknown |
37 | Seacliff Lunatic Asylum | fire | 8 Dec 1942 | Seacliff | |
34 | Kaitangata Mine disaster | mine explosion | 21 Feb 1879 | Kaitangata | explosion of fire-damp (methane) |
34 [13] [15] | SS Taiaroa | shipwreck | 11 Apr 1886 | Waiau Toa / Clarence River mouth | |
34 [16] | Dunedin | shipwreck (presumed) | 1890 | between Oamaru and London | |
30 | Marlborough | shipwreck (presumed) | 1890 | between Lyttelton and London | |
29 [17] | MV Kaitawa | shipwreck | 23 May 1966 | near Pandora Bank, Cape Reinga | |
29 | Pike River Mine disaster | mine explosion | 19 Nov 2010 | northwest of Greymouth | large methane explosion [18] |
26 | Barque Maria | shipwreck [15] | 1851 | Cape Terawhiti | |
25+ [19] [20] | Storm of 1897 | floods and shipwreck | 16 Apr 1897 | North Island | flooding at Clive, boating accidents, and the wreck of the Zuleika near Cape Palliser. 25 confirmed deaths and 6 unconfirmed |
25 [21] [22] | MV Joyita | ghost ship | Oct 1955 | En route from Apia, Samoa to Tokelau | |
24 [23] | Assaye | shipwreck (presumed) | 1890 | between London and Wellington; wreckage washed up at the Chatham Islands 7 months after the ship left London | |
23 | New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 | air accident | 3 Jul 1963 | Kaimai Ranges | |
22 [24] | launch Ranui | shipwreck | 30 Dec 1950 | off Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty | |
22 | 2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption | volcanic eruption | 9 Dec 2019 | Whakaari/White Island | |
21 [25] [26] | brigantine Sophia Pate | shipwreck | Aug 1841 | Kaipara Harbour | |
21 [27] | Kopuawhara flash flood of 1938 | flood | 19 Feb 1938 | Destroyed the Kopuawhara railway workers camp | |
21 | Hyde railway disaster | rail accident | 4 Jun 1943 | near Hyde | |
20+ [28] | Tsunami from 1868 Arica earthquake | tsunami | 13 Aug 1868 | Chatham Islands | |
20 [15] | schooner St. Vincent | shipwreck | 14 Feb 1869 | Palliser Bay | |
20 [29] | RNZAF Douglas C-47 disappearance | air accident | 24 Sep 1945 | en route from Vanuatu | |
19 [30] | Strongman Mine | mine explosion | 19 Jan 1967 | near Greymouth | |
18 [31] | Canoe on Lake Rotorua | boating accident | 16 Apr 1870 | near Mokoia Island on Lake Rotorua | |
18 [32] | Clyde | shipwreck | 6 Nov 1884 | Horseshoe Bay, near Akaroa, Banks Peninsula | |
18 [33] | Canoe on Motu River | boating accident | 4 Aug 1900 | Motu River – 25 miles from Opotiki [34] | There were 16 children and 2 adults in the six person canoe |
18 [35] | ketch Enterprise and steamer Tauranga | shipwreck | 23 Jul 1870 | between Cape Rodney and Sail Rock, Hauraki Gulf | Those lost — fourteen crew and four passengers — all came from the Tauranga. The crew of the Enterprise survived in the ship's longboat. [36] |
18 [37] | Lastingham | shipwreck | 1 Sep 1884 | Cape Jackson, Cook Strait | |
17 | Ongarue railway disaster | rail accident [13] | 6 Jul 1923 | Ongarue | |
17 [38] | 1929 Murchison earthquake | earthquake | 17 Jun 1929 | Murchison | |
16 [39] | 1943 Liberator crash at Whenuapai | air accident | 2 Aug 1943 | Whenuapai | Those killed were mainly Japanese civilians who were being repatriated in a prisoner exchange. |
16 [40] | Capitaine Bougainville | shipwreck | 3 Sep 1975 | Whananaki | |
15 [13] | Lockheed Lodestar airliner crash | air accident | 18 Mar 1949 | near Waikanae | |
15 [41] | MV Holmglen | shipwreck | 24 Nov 1959 | near Timaru | |
15 [42] | Brynderwyns bus accident | road accident | 7 Feb 1963 | Brynderwyn Hills | |
15 [43] | Derry Castle | shipwreck | 20 Mar 1887 | Enderby Island, Auckland Islands | |
14 [44] [45] | Hutt River flood | floods | 17 Jan 1858 | Hutt Valley | |
14 [46] | Two Hudson bombers lost off the New Zealand coast | air accident | 21 Aug 1944 | en route from Fiji | No. 4 Squadron RNZAF |
14 [47] | Aramoana massacre | spree killing | 13 Nov 1990 | Aramoana, near Dunedin | |
14 | Cave Creek disaster | structural failure | 28 Apr 1995 | Paparoa National Park | |
13 [15] | Tasmania | shipwreck | 1897 | Māhia Peninsula | |
13 [48] | SS Ventnor | shipwreck | 28 Oct 1902 | off Omapere, Hokianga | |
13 | NAC Electra air crash | air accident | 23 Oct 1948 | on Mount Ruapehu | |
12 [49] | L'Alcmène | shipwreck | 3 Jun 1851 | Baylys Beach, Kaipara | A French navy corvette |
12 [50] | ferry Pride of the Yarra and paddle steamer Favourite | collision | 6 Jul 1863 | Otago Harbour | |
12 [51] | Cafe Chantant fire, The Octagon, Dunedin | fire | 8 Sep 1879 | Dunedin | |
12 [52] | Barque Lizzie Bell | shipwreck | 24 Jul 1901 | Waimate, Taranaki | |
12 [53] | barque Dundonald | shipwreck | 7 Mar 1907 | Disappointment Island, Auckland Islands | |
12 [54] [55] | Brigantine Rio Loge | shipwreck (presumed) | Jan 1909 | Last seen in Cook Strait on 14 January, en route from Kaipara to Dunedin | May have caused the wreck of the Penguin a month later. [56] |
12 [57] | Cyclone of 1936 | storm | 1 Feb 1936 | North Island and upper South Island | A tropical cyclone that originated near the Solomon Islands |
11 [58] | Glen Afton No. 1 mine | Coal mine fire | 24 Sep 1939 | Huntly | 11 miners, including the mine manager, died from carbon monoxide asphyxia |
11 [59] | B17 bomber crash | air accident | 12 Jun 1942 | RNZAF Base Auckland at Whenuapai | |
11 [60] | 2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash | air accident | 7 Jan 2012 | near Carterton | |
11 [61] | Cyclone Gabrielle | cyclone | 12 Feb 2023–16 Feb 2023 | North Island and northern South Island | |
10 [62] | Shamrock sailing boat | shipwreck | 1834 | Queen Charlotte Sound | Capsized and sank. Exact location unknown. |
10 [63] | Brig Australia | shipwreck | 23 May 1873 | off Cape Campbell | |
10 | White Island sulphur mine | lahar following volcano crater wall collapse | 10 Sep 1914 | Whakaari/White Island | No bodies found. [64] [65] |
10 [66] | Husky and Argo lost to storm in yacht race | shipwrecks | 21 Jan 1951 | between Wellington and Christchurch | |
10 [67] | Aspiring Air Britten-Norman Islander, collided with terrain | air crash | 8 Aug 1989 | Upper Dart Valley | |