A survivor of the White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand.
A conversation with Lisa Dallow.
On December 9th, 2019, at 2.11pm, there was an eruption on Whakaari, White Island, located off the North Island of New Zealand in the Bay of Plenty.
47 people were on the island that day; 22 died as a result of the eruption.
Lisa Dallow, her husband Gavin and daughter Zoe were on a tour of the island at the time of the eruption and had travelled from the cruise ship ‘Ovation of the Seas’ which had stopped in Tauranga.
Lisa, now a MGCCSA member, told her story at the November monthly meeting.
A Petroleum Engineer at Santos, Lisa has qualifications in geology and was particularly interested in the excursion. It was a perfect sunny day as they set off, in one of three groups each led by two guides. Lisa’s group completed the walk to the crater and were heading back to lunch when the eruption occurred.
Lisa, Gav and Zoe were rescued by three helicopters that flew immediately to the island as soon as they saw the eruption from Whakatane, the nearest town. Unfortunately, neither Gav nor Zoe survived.
Lisa was transferred from Whakatāne to Waikato hospital in Hamilton, NZ, then a few days later to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, where she spent 40 days in ICU. She talks about how the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT, headed by the now Governor of South Australia, Her Excellency, Frances Adamson, enabled the transit of families to New Zealand and the repatriation of survivors and victims back to Australia, and her immense gratitude for this effort.
In all, Lisa spent 6 months in hospital; 3 months at the Alfred, and 3 months in rehab at Caulfield Hospital, and has burns to approximately 2/3 of her body, lost the top two joints of all her fingers and one thumb, and two toes, amongst other injuries. She has lots of interesting stories to tell about this time, however you will need to ask her personally for those! She does stress however, the gratitude she feels toward all those who were organ donors, whose skin was donated for her and the others’ survival. She encourages all members to consider organ donation, and to tell their families of this decision.
Lisa moved back to Adelaide during Covid when rehab facilities became unavailable in Melbourne, and eventually returned to work at Santos in early 2021, supported by her friends.
On asking about her red 1970 MGB, she explains that it previously belonged to a close family friend who unfortunately needed to sell it due to ill health. His name was Ken, hence her car’s name is Barbi as a nod to him. She also thanked MGB Registrar Nick Phillips who has assisted her in retrofitting the car with struts for the bonnet and boot and fitting a new steering wheel to enable her to drive and use the car more easily.
Lisa is an extraordinarily bright, bubbly person and smiles and laughter rarely leave her face. She doesn’t want sympathy, and apart from her Rotary Club we’re the only ones she has shared her story with.
Two things to finish off this story.
When I asked her what kept her going and staying so positive, she said ‘I think, What would Gav and Zoe want me to do?’
Lisa lost nine of the ten digits on her two hands. It’s typical of her that she uses the one thumb she has to give a thumbs up to so much in her life.
