Silence fell over Pilot Bay this morning as members of the community honoured the lives claimed by the Mauao and Welcome Bay landslides.

Today marked one week since the tragedies of January 22, 2026.

A grandmother and grandson died in the landslide at 4am on Welcome Bay Rd, Pāpāmoa.

Their names were Austen Keith Richardson, 10, and Yao Fang, 71.

Six people were buried underneath the 9.30am landslide at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.

The victims were named as Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, Mans Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15, and Max Furse-Kee, 15.

About 100 people gathered at the Pilot Bay vigil, organised by Tanya Golaboski.

Golaboski told the Bay of Plenty Times she wanted the community to come together and show the families of the victims, “we are all here for them”.

“I’ve been sitting back with such a heavy heart, not knowing what I can do.”

So she decided to organise the vigil to “bring us all together”.

“We can do this together. We’re going to get through this,” Golaboski said.

The vigil began at 9.15am with a karakia and the story of Mauao, retracing the maunga’s journey to where it rests now.

A table in the centre of the gathering held ferns, shells, driftwood, and eight candles.

Six candles were for the lives lost at Mauao, and two were for the grandmother and grandson in Welcome Bay.

A minute’s silence began at 9.30am, exactly a week on from the Mauao landslide.

Water lapped on the shore, and seagulls squawked.

Those gathered stood shoulder to shoulder and bowed their heads in reverence toward Mauao, where the only sign of life was grazing sheep.

Fencing outlined the Pilot Bay cordon, intersecting with Leinster Ave.

But what was designed to keep people away from the scene became a symbol of commemoration.

Tokens of love, thoughts, and prayers from the community covered the railing.

The cordon had become a threshold between two worlds.

People from all walks of life wrapped their arms around each other at the vigil, holding each other and their grief.

When the minute’s silence came to an end, diggers could be seen continuing work beyond the cordon.

How Great Thou Art began playing over speakers at the vigil, with the crowd uniting in song.

Golaboski invited attendees to share their memories of Mauao as the vigil concluded, before Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell shared a few words.

He told the Herald the crowd “shows what a strong community we have here in Mount Maunganui and Tauranga”.

“The whole country has been grieving over what’s happened over the past week.”

He said vigils and memorials gave the community an opportunity to show their love, their respect, and their condolences.

Mount Maunganui resident Kaye Mullins said she attended the vigil to honour those who had lost their lives and their families.

She had felt devastated “on so many levels” the past week, primarily for for those who lost their lives and their families, but also for Mauao.

“People from all over the world have recognised what’s happened here – that’s how loved this mountain is."

Mullins said the community had changed and was in pain.

“But we’re a strong nation. We will survive this and get through together.”

Mauao kaitiaki and Mauao Trust member Takiri Butler attended the vigil and said the whole community had the same whakaaro (thought) as tangata whenua.

“He [Mauao] is more than just a mountain [to the community].”

She said it was beautiful to hear stories from the wider community and to feel their mamai (pain) because “we all feel it”.

On the other side of Mount Maunganui, life had returned to Marine Parade.

People and laughter filled cafes.

Morning walkers ambled along the boardwalk but came to an abrupt stop at the Adams Ave cordon, unsure of where to go or how to move on from last week’s tragedies.

Mount Maunganui would never be the same.

But as a programme printed by Elliot’s Funeral Services for the vigil said, those who lost their lives will be “forever engraved in our hearts”.

Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.