In late 1979 a six-foot timber cross was erected during a ceremony, around 3km from the crash site, as a memorial to those who lost their lives. Over time this was damaged by wind, and was replaced on 30 January 1987 with a stainless steel cross. The stainless steel memorial cross is located on a rock outcrop (167° 33' 43"E, 77° 26' 38"S; elevation 810 m (2660 feet). This site where the cross is situated is not part of the protected area, but is proposed as an Historic Monument.
Six-foot timber cross located 3km from crash site in Antarctica
An area on the lower slopes of Mount Erebus, above Lewis Bay on the north side of Ross Island, was originally declared a tomb in Recommendation XI-3 (1981) after notification by New Zealand that 257 people of several nationalities lost their lives when the DC-10 aircraft in which they were travelling crashed at this site on 28 November 1979.
Photo by Daniel O'Sullivan ©Antarctica New Zealand Pictorial Collection 29379 2010
In spite of the determined and courageous actions of the New Zealand and United States Antarctic expeditions the bodies of some of those who died could not be recovered.