Fifty years ago on April 10 1968, 53 lives were lost when the Wellington ferry Wahine sank in the Wellington Harbour entrance during a severe storm.

Papamoa resident Terry Kelliher was a 21-year-old crash fireman based at Wellington Airport at the time.

With others who played a part in the rescue of the survivors, he attended the commemoration ceremonies in Wellington.

He remembers starting the day waking to gale force winds, which were strong enough to convince him to take a taxi to work from where he lived in Porirua to the airport.

Today that journey is a $54 Uber fare, and that day in 1968 it was a drive like no other.

Terry and the driver saw the damage caused by the wind to houses in the suburbs and commercial buildings in the downtown area.

The taxi's sign was ripped off its roof as they emerged from the Victoria tunnel.

All flights were cancelled and the fire crew was set to work tying down the aircraft that were being blown about on the tarmac.

While working they saw damage occurring to the passenger terminal, with airborne missiles like corrugated iron carried by the gale force winds into the airport terminal building.

They were called away to uplift the crash fire Zodiac rescue boats and life rafts and take them to the Seatoun boat ramp in Worser Bay, and to render all possible assistance to the passengers abandoning ship from the inter-island ferry Wahine.

They launched the first Zodiac with two 22 seater liferafts on board. The height of the waves increased as they headed towards the barely visible ferry, now listing heavily to starboard.

The three men on board the Zodiac were soaked from the rain and the waves breaking over the boat.

'It was cold. So bloody cold,” says Terry. 'We shivered, caused by the elements and the sight before us.

'We were now less than 50 yards from the Wahine with people, so many people, screaming for help. Some waving, some face down in foaming seas that surrounded us.

'We approached a number of people floating adjacent to the ship just as the funnel of the ship spewed steam as it dipped into those frigid waters.”

They deployed the first life raft keeping a tow rope attached to the Zodiac. As it inflated, the first attempts to get survivors to enter the raft were unsuccessful, the sides were too high.

'I exited the Zodiac and swam the few yards grabbing the inflatable adjacent to the entry,” says Terry. 'From there I was able to assist the first four or five survivors into the raft.”

Those on board the raft were able to help the rest of the group in the water to board the life raft.

Terry swam back to the Zodiac, but when they tried to tow the raft back to the launching point they found the big seas made it impossible.

Every time the Zodiac surfed down the face of a swell, it dragged the life raft behind them through the wave. The inflatable raft was talking on water, it was very low in the water and likely to sink. They cut the rope.

They learned later that all on board survived after the life raft washed up on the Eastbourne side of the harbour.

'We carried on towards Cook Strait where some of the first passengers who had abandoned ship were grouped/scattered, barely visible in the churning seas and spray,” says Terry.

They inflated the second life raft with Terry again assisting the first few survivors into the raft.

'We did not attempt a tow as the southerly gales were forcing the raft into the harbour and safety.

'As we turned back towards the floundering Wahine, but more to the east closer to the rocky Eastbourne coast, we plucked a number of people from the harbour, ignoring those who had obviously perished, and headed back towards the Seatoun Wharf to enable those poor souls to access shelter and medical treatment they so desperately needed.”

"Given the equipment available and the opportunity to assist we did what needed to be done, just like most other kiwis would do if given the chance.

'I really appreciated the opportunity to attend the commemorations not only for those who perished, but also for my colleagues, who have now passed away.”

The tragedy in Wellington harbour 50 years ago helped change international maritime safety conventions and standards, says Maritime NZ Acting Director, Stephanie Winson.

'Ships in New Zealand, including our Cook Strait ferries, coastal traders and the many overseas ships that visit our country are all safer, in part, because of what happened to the Wahine.

'New Zealand is part of a global maritime system where countries learn from and support each other to make shipping safer.”

Since 1968, there have been many changes including in how ships are designed and operated, crew training, and how New Zealand is organised to respond to a maritime disaster.

Before a ship can sail, its voyage planning must now include specific alternatives for what the ship will do if it cannot continue as expected, for emergencies and what steps to take if something unexpected happens.

An International Safety Management Code guides national maritime laws, including New Zealand's requirements for rolling audits of operating systems, surveys of ships, and the need for continuous safety management at all times on board.

New technologies provide crews with much more information about the ship, its cargo, other vessels, the weather and other data, much faster.

Planned 'bridge resource management” systems have been introduced to manage the multiple streams of information coming onto a ship's bridge, crew roles, changing priorities, shift changes, and to guide decision making in what can be a quickly changing environment.

Maritime NZ now provides the Rescue Coordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ) and the Maritime Radio Service.

RCCNZ coordinates response to all distress beacon alerts and major search and rescue operations in New Zealand's search and rescue region.

The Maritime Radio Service operates the national maritime radio operations centre. Both operate round-the-clock and are located next to each other in Lower Hutt.

In 1968, New Zealand did not have national operations centres to coordinate a maritime response and maritime radio communications.

'We cannot create a ‘zero risk' maritime industry,” says Stephanie. 'By their nature, the sea and weather are changeable and powerful and will always pose at least some risk to shipping.

'However, what we can do, and are doing, as part of our global maritime system is reduce risk by building better ships, developing better ways of operating ships and managing crews, improving training, and having well-coordinated response when there is an emergency.”