Scotty Booth has a son in year 11. Stuff has seen an email – sent from Booth to the school’s head of outdoor education on Monday night – asking if the excursion would go ahead, given the forecasted bad weather.
Booth didn’t receive a response, so he pulled his teenage son from the trip.
“I became concerned about the safety of the trip when we received an email saying they would be caving instead of rock climbing, due to forecasted rain,” he said.
After not receiving any response from the school, Booth said there was “no way” he was letting his son go as there were weather warnings for the area.
“I’m a helicopter pilot and I know danger when I see it and there’s no good reason to go into a cave during heavy rain,” he said.
When Booth saw the weather on Tuesday morning he thought there was “no way” the trip would go ahead.
It wasn’t until his wife showed him news reports about the incident at Abbey Caves around 11am, he realised it had not been cancelled.
“The school should have known better – there was only one teacher and an instructor there. There shouldn’t have been a fatality on a school trip,” he said.
“It could’ve been my son.”
A spokesperson for the New Zealand outdoor instructors’ association said, to the best of her knowledge, neither of the adults on the trip were members of the group.
Booth said he was “furious” about the situation and would be making a formal complaint to police and WorkSafe.
Earlier on Wednesday, WorkSafe confirmed it had opened an investigation into the death of the teenager. The police are also investigating on behalf of the Coroner.
On Thursday morning, bunches of flowers could be seen lining the gates of Whangārei Boys’ High School, with messages like “Aroha”.
Security guards continue to stand at the gates, stopping anyone but staff and students from entering.
The school is on a busy highway and many people have been tooting support as they drive past, a Stuff reporter at the scene said.
Stuff has asked Whangārei Boys’ High School principal Karen Gilbert-Smith about the email but there was no response. Gilbert-Smith has also refused to answer questions about the decision-making involved in the trip “out of respect for the whānau”.
Stuff asked Gilbert-Smith again on Thursday morning to answer questions surrounding the decision-making ahead of the trip, but she had not responded at the time of publishing.
In a statement, she said the tragedy is being felt by all at the school.
“We need to allow a full and comprehensive investigation involving police and Worksafe into this tragic incident to be completed and which we will, of course, fully comply with,” the statement said.
Security guards were stationed at Whangārei Boys’ High School on Wednesday, due to the outrage expressed by parents and the community following the death.
The Whangārei District Council, who manages the caves, said there was a rāhui in place and the caves would be closed temporarily.
Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo said it was not the outcome anyone wanted, but returning the boy’s body to his family to farewell wouldn’t have been achieved so quickly without the effort of many people.
“I support the words of the hapū, who said this is a time for manaaki and care to all, particularly to the family, his peers and school community,” he said.
