It was this day 10 years ago that saw the beginning of great sadness on the West Coast of the South Island.
New Zealanders have all come to know it as the Pike River disaster when an underground explosion claimed the lives of 29 coal miners.
At 3:44pm on Thursday at the Pike River Mine, there was a minute's silence - but at that exact time 10 years ago it was far from silent when the mine first exploded, killing 29 fathers, sons, and husbands.
All 29 of those names were read out by family members on Thursday afternoon at the mine's portal - remembering a day that's now a dark stain in the West Coast's history books.
The pain is still so raw for those left behind.
"I've been waking up all week thinking about him - it's been quite a bit of a … build-up to the 10 years," said Olivia Monk, whose brother Michael died in the mine.
"It's 10 years - and there is only hope and I believe it's hoped that accountability is the biggest part now," added Jo Hall, who lost her son Daniel Herk. "Why did it happen?"
That's a question still hanging heavily on the West Coast a decade on.
"I feel really let down," Hall told Newshub.
These families have bonded over their collective grief.
"[I'm] pretty grateful to be around everybody else that's here, because we're all a big family now. We've had 10 years of getting to know each other and everyone that's here understands each other," Olivia Monk said.
Even though the grief is still raw and the anger still palpable, Thursday was about remembering those left behind.
Steve Rose lost his son Stu at Pike River. Rose said Stu loved working in the mine.
"He was smiling minutes before he died - one of the last people to see him alive said he was as happy as can be."
As the families gathered just metres from the mine's portal, at the same time, a ceremony was held at Parliament in Wellington.
