Peter Jerram
Peter Jerram is a well-known retired Marlborough veterinarian and author. His first two books Cock and Bull Stories and I Am a Working Dog, both co-written, stemmed from his work with animals; however his latest The Team that Hit the Rocks is a more personal read of his experience on board the doomed Wahine passenger ferry when it hit the rocks at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
2024 festival sessions
The Team that Hit the Rocks
Peter Jerram in conversation with Nikki Macdonald
Retired Marlborough veterinarian and author Peter Jerram discusses his compelling memoir The Team that Hit the Rocks. In April 1968, the inter-island passenger ferry Wahine hit Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour in New Zealand’s worst recorded storm. Six and a half hours later the ship heeled over and sank, with the eventual loss of 53 lives. Just a few weeks into his first year at university, Peter was on board with his Lincoln College cricket team mates. He has written a riveting first hand account and investigated the tragedy to ask serious questions of the Court of Inquiry that followed.