Dave Douglas was twenty in April 1968, married and sole charge in a small butcher’s shop at the top of Cuba Street, Wellington. The Wahine storm arrived in the city in the early hours of the morning on Thrusday, 10 April 1968, the day before Good Friday, the busiest time of year for butchers in those days. This short story describes the weather conditions and Dave’s experience of the storm and its effects.

Image ©Pip Oldham

Sources with thanks

Oral History recording with Dave Douglas for the Butchers Stories Oral History Project archived in the Oral History Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington https://natlib.govt.nz/collections/a-z/oral-history-and-sound and made possible with funding from the NZ Oral History Awards. Please note: the project has not been catalogued.

The Wahine Disaster Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, reference 35818