Raised the alarm after Routeburn tragedy
Teacher and hero
WHEN a deadly blizzard hit the Routeburn Track just before Christmas 1963, Judy Egerton was on her feet for 21 hours, leading children to relative safety before trekking out to find help.
Two pupils, Brian Lamb and Heather McElligott (both 13), perished in the freak storm that hit the group of 15 as they finished crossing the Harris Saddle on December 19.
Miss Egerton, then 23 and a teacher in Roxburgh, led the party to Lake Mackenzie Hut. With a 12yearold pupil, identified at the time as Denis Huraki, she walked out to the main road to raise the alarm.
The other teacher on the illfated trip, Henry Dunn, an experienced tramper, suffered exposure and exhaustion and was carried out.
When the blizzard hit, two pupils became exhausted and could not go on, the Otago Daily
reported at the time. Mr Dunn wrapped them in sleeping bags and took the others, including a pupil with exhaustion whom he carried, to Mackenzie Hut. He returned for the children and ‘‘did what he could for them but they died while he was with them’’, the ODT reported.
Rescuers and parents praised Miss Egerton for her actions; one grateful father called her a ‘‘very plucky girl’’.
It was a defining event and deeply affected Miss Egerton throughout her life.
It was not much talked about in the years afterwards, her nephew, John Seaton, said.
‘‘I was 4 at the time, and although those of my generation knew about it, it was rarely mentioned.’’
Last month, on December 12, Miss Egerton was killed when she was hit by a car at the intersection of Dundas and Great King Sts. She was 77.
While fiercely independent, a sense of responsibility to others was a strong thread in a life spent helping people and caring for animals and her surrounds.
Miss Egerton taught at Forbury School in Dunedin for many years, before being appointed inaugural curator of the University of Otago’s anatomy museum.
Over time, she became one of the few nonstudent Leith St residents.
Lin Moir, a member of
Campus Watch, said the ‘‘very kind soul’’ had been a strong presence in the student quarter.
Several months ago, Miss Egerton came to the rescue of an older person who needed urgent help.
‘‘From then until she died, Judy visited that resident twice daily to ensure that person was safe and well.
‘‘I know that resident was extremely grateful and will miss Judy enormously.
‘‘Judy was also a lover of animals, and ensured her dog was well trained and respectful,’’ Mrs Moir said.
While her close companion was border collie Taz, Miss Egerton also cared for stray cats, feeding about 20 at any one time.
Her friend, Charlotte Flaherty, said feeding the stray cats was akin to a social service.
‘‘Judy cherished her community and her community cherished her in return.
‘‘She had a passion for nature and animals and their welfare was a primary concern for her.
‘‘She trained Toss [her first border collie] and Taz to do amazing things and even told of a pet blackbird she had also trained,’’ Mrs Flaherty said.
An interest in the city’s development and heritage meant she could be critical of decisions taken by local authorities and also those made by the university.
She was a founder member of the North Dunedin Urban Concern Group that took the Dunedin City Council to the Environment Court over plans to develop the Santa Sabina Church at the head of Northeast Valley.
‘‘She was an amazing woman — so practical and full of solutions,’’ Mrs Flaherty said.
‘‘She contemplated life deeply and, for all of us in the North End, her friendship gave us pleasure and added meaning to the world.’’
Her Leith St section was an oasis of nature in the midst of student life and the perfect place to nurture her passion for breeding monarch butterflies.
Her friend of more than 60 years, Jan Pearce, said Miss Egerton was an unconventional and highly intelligent woman, with varied interests and friendships.
The 1963 tragedy weighed heavily and had a profound effect on her life.
In those days there was no counselling after a traumatic event.
‘‘She just felt the responsibility. She didn’t actually blame herself, but she did feel the responsibility almost to a degree that she shouldn’t have.
‘‘Noone blamed her — she didn’t need to take that on board, but she did. She was that sort of person,’’ Mrs Pearce said.
Her calm, unflappable demeanour proved invaluable in the crisis, but she rarely talked about it afterwards.
Christmas was always a difficult time as her thoughts returned to the families of the children who perished.
A final chapter of sorts occurred in 2013, on the 50th anniversary, when she spent the day with Mr Huraki, the pupil she chose for the crucial walk to the main road.
Mr Huraki, who lives in Australia, instigated the reunion, and the pair spent a quiet day reflecting on the tragedy.
The unwavering friendship between Miss Egerton and Mrs Pearce started when the pair were teenage school pupils in Roxburgh.
The Egerton family moved often because their father was a postmaster.
Judith Mary Egerton was born in Tapanui in 1940, the sixth of George and Annie Egerton’s eight children.
The family spent some happy years in Collingwood, at the base of Farewell Spit.
It was a wonderful place for children.
After leaving school, Miss Egerton studied to be a teacher in Dunedin, living at the Dominican Hall.
She took a teaching placement in Bluff before accepting a job at Roxburgh District High School.
After a few years, she moved to Dunedin to teach at Forbury School. After many years teaching she was appointed anatomy museum curator.
Miss Egerton, who did not marry, is survived by four of her sisters, one brother and 27 nieces and nephews. — Eileen Goodwin