Abbey Caves tragedy: Coroner finds Northland school trip should have been cancelled

Open Justice multimedia journalist, Whangārei·NZ Herald·4 Nov, 2026 04:00 PM10 mins to read‌Emergency services on the scene at Abbey Caves where Karnin Petera (inset) died on May 9, 2023. Photo / NZMEKarnin Petera, 15, died on a caving excursion with Whangārei Boys’ High in May 2023.Northland was under a severe heavy rain warning at the time.Staff say they were watching the rain radar and believed heavy rain was due later in the day.The school board of trustees was charged and paid more than $500,000 in reparation.An inquest was held in May before Coroner Alexander Ho at the Whangārei District Court. Now the finding has been released.“How much? Too much. How meke? Tū meke. How legendary? Tino legendary.”That is how whānau and friends remember 15-year-old Karnin Petera, a boy with dreams still unfolding when he drowned after floodwaters surged through Abbey Caves during a school outing. More than three years later, a coroner has laid