The Cave Creek disaster was an event in New Zealand in which a scenic viewing platform collapsed, killing fourteen people. It occurred on 28 April 1995, and resulted in a government minister resigning over claims of negligence.

Cave Creek itself is a small stream in Paparoa National Park, on New Zealand's West Coast. The viewing platform was erected by the Department of Conservation in April 1994, and looked out over a forty metre chasm. The platform was constructed to allow visitors a view of Cave Creek emerging from an underground cave system below. However, the designers and builders of the platform did not have appropriate qualifications for the job, and at least 10 major problems or oversights occurred during the platform's construction. As such, the platform was highly unsafe, especially with large numbers of people on it.

On the day of the incident, a group of students from Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth visited the park. Seventeen of them, plus a Department of Conservation officer, walked to the edge of the platform together. Some of the students started shaking the platform, prompting it to tip forwards into the chasm. The officer and thirteen of the students were killed — four students survived, although with serious injuries. The remoteness of the site made it difficult for medical services to assist the survivors. The first person to reach the scene was a Greymouth police constable, who arrived on foot two hours after the accident — ambulances from Greymouth and Westport and helicopters from Christchurch arrived only later.

A subsequent Royal Commission of Inquiry into the accident highlighted a number of serious concerns with the Department of Conservation's construction of the platform. Besides the flaws in the actual platform, the Commission pointed out systemic problems in the Department as a whole, saying that the Department was seriously under-funded and under-resourced. The Commission found that the Department had not been given sufficient resources to meet its requirements without "cutting corners", and that the Department was frequently forced to accept poor quality standards due to its lack of funding. The Minister of Conservation, Denis Marshall, was strongly criticised in the media for his management of the Department, with many blaming him for its shortfalls. Marshall came under heavy pressure to resign, and eventually did so in May 1996 (over a year after the accident occurred). A new Minister, Nick Smith, was appointed, and a full review of the Department was conducted by the State Services Commission.

The review led to many safety notices appearing on DOC structures around New Zealand. Indeed, some felt the response was a excessive; for instance, bridges and platforms were labelled with signs such as "1 person maximum", acting as an eerie reminder of the disaster which prompted the safety review.

A memorial plaque was unveiled in April 1996. In 1998, the path was re-opened, but the viewing platform was not rebuilt (in the place of the platform is a fence and warning sign). Consumed by guilt, it was not until 2005 that a survivor admitted that he and some other students were shaking the platform hard when it collapsed.

External links

• Christchurch City Libraries background page on Cave Creek
• Commission of Inquiry into Cave Creek
• A review of the Department of Conservation conducted after Cave Creek (PDF file)
• Cave Creek haunts survivor. In 2005, survivor admits shaking platform.