At seven minutes past 3 on April 13 1965, one of New Zealand’s worst factory disasters took place at the General Plastics (N.Z.) Ltd factory in Masterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand. An explosion had occurred in the ornamenting section of the factory followed by an intense fire. Of the 10 staff in the area at the time, 4 were killed instantly and others received burns and injuries. The four staff killed were: Mrs Lesatai Himona; Mrs Maisie Cavanagh; Mrs Olive Parker; & Mr Kenneth Bull. The subsequent fire eventually destroyed the factory.

A Commission of Enquiry was launched to investigate the causes of the disaster. Archives New Zealand holds the records of the enquiry, including submissions, evidence and the final report. The cover of the report and one of the images from the day of the explosion are presented here. The Commission summarised the cause of the explosion as being

“It is our opinion that very finely divided plastic dust accumulated under the floor of the ornamenting room, that this dust was simultaneously dispersed and ignited by an explosive electrical fault, and that the resulting dust explosion lifted the floor over a wide area and thereby injected relatively large amounts of dust and flame into the ornamenting room and ladies locker room above, thus causing a further dust explosion there. In the ornamenting room, combustible plastic dust and shavings lying in the rubbish bins were dispersed by the explosion, added to its severity, and served as a means of immediate ignition of the whole interior.”

Reference: ADQU 19489 W703 COM5 1/1 (R16446240)

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