The Star: June 09, 2016

4 Thursday June 9 2016
follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch
The Star
News
Climber who perished leaves
Annie McGregor has
kept a boot which
belonged to her
mountaineering husband
John Harrison for almost
50 years after he lost his
life on Mt Rolleston in
one of New Zealand’s
worst climbing disasters.
Now a bronze replica
of that boot and a
plaque will be placed
at Arthur’s Pass to mark
the anniversary of the
tragedy. Tom Doudney
reports . . .
ARTHUR’S PASS is the scene
of both the happiest and saddest
moments of Annie McGregor’s
life.
It was here, in 1960, that she
married the love of her life,
accomplished Christchurch
mountaineer John Harrison, in
the little chapel by State Highway
73.
And it was at Arthur’s Pass
again, on June 23, 1966, that Mr
IN MEMORIAL: Annie McGregor holds a plaque honouring the
life of her former husband who perished on Mt Rolleston.
PHOTO: ALEX PARSONS
Harrison was killed in an avalanche
during an unsuccessful
attempt to rescue four climbers
trapped on Mt Rolleston.
The climbers who perished on
the mountain were Christchurch
man Bruce Ferguson, 19; Colin
Robertson, 20, of Invercargill;
and Englishmen Michael Harper
and Jeffrey Wilby, both 21.
The death toll of five was the
second highest for a single incident
in New Zealand’s mountaineering
history.
On June 25, Arthur’s Pass
residents, along with friends and
relatives of those who died, will
gather to commemorate the tragedy
with a service in the chapel,
a gathering in the community
BREAKING THE NEWS: The Star reported the tragedy in 1966.
centre and the dedication of a
memorial in the shape of one of
Mr Harrison’s boots created by
artist Sam Mahon.
Mrs McGregor was 27 when
Mr Harrison died and their
daughters Sue and Wendy were
just three and five.
Now 76, Mrs McGregor said
she still thought often of her
husband and the events that led
to his death.
The boot was one of several
of his possessions she still had
and the idea for a memorial was
already in her head when she
was told that 50th anniversary
commemorations were being
planned.
She intended the memorial to
be placed on a flat rock behind
the Arthur’s Pass Chapel, beside
a pathway leading to a “contemplative
corner” by a waterfall.
“Having an occasion to
remember it and to make sure
that the boot is on the rock is
pretty important to me because,
for all these years, I have felt
as though I have failed to do
something, failed to leave his
mark where it was most needed,”
she said.
Although just 34 when he
died, Mr Harrison had become
one of the leading New Zealand
climbers of his generation,
having made several notable first
ascents and other climbs in the
Southern Alps in the 1950s.