A grass fire that broke out on Māngere Mountain in Auckland on Saturday night has now been 99 percent contained.
Crews were called to the scene, near Domain Road, just before 9:30pm.
Seven crews fought the blaze, with firefighters also standing guard at the entrance to the road and turning away people who were trying to get a closer look at the flames.
Two crews remained on site overnight.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said more would go back later on Sunday morning.
A number of users on social media had posted images of the blaze, which sent smoke billowing into the sky.
Fire crews had closed the road up to the maunga. Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell
There was the smell of thick smoke in the air, but the extent of any damage was unclear.
In a statement, Fire and Emergency asked people to stay away from the area to allow crews to work.
“People on the western side of the mountain may experience smoke.
“If they are affected, they should stay inside and close all windows and doors.”
Raids to detain and deport migrants living in the US without permission are set to begin on the first full day of the new Trump administration, US media report.
Incoming “border tsar” Tom Homan has promised a big raid on illegal immigrants
The operations – threatened by Donald Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan – could begin in Chicago, a city with a large migrant population, as early as Tuesday, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal say.
Trump has said he will oversee the largest deportation programme in US history.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency deports illegal migrants all the time. However, the operation it is expected to launch after Trump’s inauguration on Monday is expected to target so-called “sanctuary” cities that limit co-operation with federal immigration officials.
Along with Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles are among the scores of US cities that have adopted “sanctuary” policies.
“January 21st, you’re going to look for a lot of ICE agents in your city looking for criminals and gang members,” Homan told a Republican gathering in Chicago last month. “Count on it. It will happen.”
New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami are also due to be targeted with raids, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plans.
Under Democratic President Joe Biden, ICE generally prioritised the arrest of illegal migrants who were serious criminals, had crossed the border recently or posed a national security threat.
While Trump’s team has signalled that it will begin with migrants who had committed crimes, all illegal migrants – including those who have lived and worked in the US for many years and have no criminal history – are more likely to be arrested and deported.
Immigration raids at construction sites where undocumented migrants are often employed are also expected to resume, after being discontinued by the Biden administration, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
Ahead of the expected hardening of US policy, more migrant farm workers have been seeking advice on dealing with immigration officials and assigning temporary guardians for their children.
“The administration is not yet sworn in, but people are already afraid,” Sarait Martinez, executive director of the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño, which supports Mexican farm workers in California, told Reuters news agency.
However, the upcoming raids are likely to pose significant difficulties for officials – with limited custody space to hold those detained.
At the same time, the Laken Riley Act – named after a college student who was murdered last year in Georgia by a Venezuelan man previously arrested for shoplifting – is expected to be passed by US lawmakers next week.
The proposed legislation will require the federal government to detain migrants living in the US illegally who are suspected of criminal activity – even if they are not charged with any crime.
The decision to move the US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony indoors because of “dangerous” cold temperatures has drawn comparisons to the late Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga, who famously rode in the rain during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga rides through the streets of London in an open carriage during the Queen’s coronation parade in 1953. Pic: AP
Trump said his inauguration as United States president on Monday (Tuesday NZT) will be moved indoors due to expected freezing weather.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country,” Trump wrote on his app Truth Social.
“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda.”
The change of plan means that Trump will not have the opportunity to stand on the Capitol steps overlooking the National Mall—a place that has traditionally welcomed presidents with a large crowd.
The last time a president took the oath of office indoors was Ronald Reagan in 1985, who also moved the ceremony into the Capitol’s ornate Rotunda due to dangerously cold weather.
The move prompted comparisons to similarly cold weather that the Late Queen Sālote encountered in the United Kingdom more than 70 years ago.
Queen Sālote stole the show while riding through London streets in an open carriage during Elizabeth’s coronation parade in 1953.
Despite pouring rain, Queen Sālote refused to close the top to show respect for the new monarch, drawing cheers from the revellers lining the streets.
Michael Field, a New Zealand veteran Pacific journalist, remembered Queen Sālote’s encounter after the news about Trump’s inauguration.
He posted on Facebook saying Trump’s inauguration is “moving inside because it too cold for the old fellow”.
“In 1953 at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation it rained heavily but Queen Salote of Tonga was undeterred & rode in an open carriage. She said people wanted to see her”.
Queen Sālote’s show of endearment inspired Tongan punakes (composers) to create songs celebrating her.
One notable composition is “Hā’ele ki Pilitānia” (Royal Tour of Britain), which was written by the late punake Peni Tutu’ila, to honour her efforts.
The song’s lyrics reference cities and popular places in Britain as figures of speech, which Tutu’ila had Tonganised, adding significant strength to the song’s message and cultural resonance.
This blending of languages highlights the connection between different cultures, enriching the narrative and making it relatable to a broader audience.
The song resonates with audiences even today, and it has been embraced by contemporary punakes and singers who have creatively rearranged it into various musical styles.
Ha’ele ki Pilitānia lyrics in Tongan and English
Verse One
Angiangi mai ‘a e Funga Siu Malaki
Ke fakaaʻu ‘a e ‘ofa ni ki he Lupe he Palasi
Si’i Lupe ‘o Tonga mānoa ‘i he kolope
‘O ‘autō ki Uinisā vāvālafo ‘anga e tupe
Verse Two
Angi taulua ‘a e Tonga Hihifo
‘O falala he Tāmesi ko e faiʻanga e fakauō
Fio ai e kakala ko e tumuʻaki ‘o Moheofo
Ne ngangatu ‘i he loto ‘o tuʻula ‘i he taʻemangalo
Tau:
He laʻā hopo ‘o Felenite
Huhulu ‘i Polata’ane
He palofisai kuo movete
Fakama’u ‘o e talite
Verse Three
‘Ofa ‘i he teke
Si’i langi ‘o Tonga
He ‘oku tu’u ko e koma
Ka kuo hoko ‘o ‘iloa
Verse Four
Ne sikahema
ma’ili ‘o ne angiangi
‘O ue‘ia e kakala
he mausa ‘o Pakingihami
Verse Five
Kapa ai siʻi lupe
he naite ‘o e ‘Otu Felenite
He ‘oku taku he fetau
langimaʻa ‘o Palataisi
Hā’ele ki Pilitānia English version
Verse One
Let the Funga Siumalaki wind blows by
So that it could convey my love to the Dove at the Palace
The Dove of Tonga, which flew over the globe
Arriving at Windsor for the celebration
Verse Two
The southwest wind blows doubly
Leaning on the Thames where the anniversary takes place
The top of the Moheofo clan is there
An arrival that is so unforgettable
Chorus:
The Sun of the Friendly Islands rises
And shines in Britain
What has been prophesied difficult is now made easy
And it has been embodied in a treaty
Verse Three
Love the support we have
To promote Tonga to the utmost
It appears on the world map as a comma
But it has now become well-known
Verse Four
The wind veered
Passed by and blows
It touches the fragrant flower
That emits a pleasant smell at Buckingham
Verse Five
The Dove is flapping its wings there
The Knight of the Friendly Islands
She is acknowledged for challenging the force of nature
A man has died after being involved in a crash this afternoon in eastern Tongatapu (Tt), reports said.
As Kaniva News reported, some residents in the Hahake district were without power after the vehicle crash.
District Officer Siosifa Jr Lamipeti said the power was out after the incident at Makaunga.
He later updated the news at about 6pm this evening and claimed a man, who was a passenger in the vehicle, has died after he was injured in the crash.
He alleged alcohol and speeding may have been factors in the incident.
The details of the alleged deceased are still unknown.
Tonga Power has advised the residents that the power supply to their areas will be temporarily shut down today, Saturday, 18 January 2025, from approximately 6pm to 7.30pm.
“This outage is necessary to allow our linesmen to safely replace a broken power pole in Makaunga, which was caused by an accident”, it said.
It also said the power would be restored as soon as the repairs were completed without further notice.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely appreciate your understanding and patience”.
The fatality comes after a mother and her child reportedly sustained injuries in a car crash that occurred at the district’s village of Niutao early this month.
Reports said the victims had been rushed to the hospital.
Mr Lamipeti reported that crash on Facebook and alleged that high speed was likely the cause of the crash.
He said that incident marked the first road accident reported in the district since the beginning of the new year.
Officer Lamipeti emphasized the significance of this occurrence, highlighting the ongoing concerns surrounding road safety and the need for increased vigilance among drivers in the community.
Four people have been taken to hospital, one in a serious condition, after being struck by a car in the Upper Hutt suburb of Trentham this afternoon.
The scene of a pedestrian accident on Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt. Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue (Source: rnz.co.nz)
Two patients have been taken to Hutt Hospital, one in a serious condition and one with mild injuries.
Another two patients have been sent to Wellington Hospital with mild injuries.
A fifth person was treated at the scene.
Fire and Emergency said two cars were involved and a power pole has been hit in addition to several pedestrians.
The scene of a pedestrian accident on Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt. Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue (Source: rnz.co.nz)
Emergency services responded to the crash at 1.45pm.
The site is a few blocks from the Trentham Racecourse where Wellington Cup is being held. Fergusson Drive has now reopened after being closed for several hours.
An Australian pilot serving an 18-year jail term for his connection to drug trafficking has this week lost his appeal in the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court.
The Cessna twin engine aircraft crashed on an old airstrip outside PNG’s capital. (Source: rnz.co.nz)
David John Cutmore was the pilot of an aircraft trying to fly from Central Province to Australia, carrying 611kg of cocaine.
The plane crashed on take-off from a makeshift airfield outside Port Moresby in July 2020.
Cutmore was jailed for 18 years in October 2022 after pleading guilty to a charge relating to money laundering.
Last year, another four people — three Papua New Guineans and an Italian — connected to the so-called “black flight” were sentenced in the National Court.
The three-man bench comprising Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, Justice Ere Kariko and Justice Vergil Narokobi ordered that the appeal against Cutmore’s sentence be dismissed.
Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika said the sentence of 18 years’ jail with light labour was confirmed.
He said the majority of the bench agreed that the trial judge, Judge Teresa Berrigan, did not err in her consideration of Cutmore’s medical condition.
“The sentence of 18 years was not excessive in the circumstances,” he said.
“The use of the country as a transit point for drug trafficking and the use of PNG nationals as drug mules must be strongly opposed with stiff penalties.”
Cutmore was also convicted of illegally entering the country and breaching the Civil Aviation Act for flying without a licence and crashing.
He was fined 37,000 kina ($16,009 NZD) for the charges and detained at the Bomana Prison for being unable to pay.
Some residents in the Hahake district of Tongatapu (Tt) are without power after a vehicle crash.
A car collides with a power pole at Makaunga, Hahake. Photo/Screenshot
District Officer Siosifa Jr Lamipeti said the power was out after the incident at Makaunga.
It said the outage was caused by a vehicle hitting a power pole.
No injuries were reported.
The details of the car accident are still unknown.
It comes after a mother and her child reportedly sustained injuries in a car crash that occurred at the district’s village of Niutao early this month.
Reports said the victims had been rushed to the hospital.
Mr Lamipeti reported that crash on Facebook and alleged that high speed was likely the cause of the crash.
He said that incident marked the first road accident reported in the district since the beginning of the new year.
Officer Lamipeti emphasized the significance of this occurrence, highlighting the ongoing concerns surrounding road safety and the need for increased vigilance among drivers in the community.
(BBC) Most Hamas officials I have met or spoken to in recent weeks acknowledge that the main goals set by the movement after the 7 October attack on Israel have not been achieved.
These included stopping the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, establishing a Palestinian state, freeing all Palestinian prisoners and lifting the siege on Gaza.
However, they insist that Israel’s failure to eliminate Hamas or remove it from the political scene constitutes a victory.
“Israel promised to eliminate Hamas, but now they are sitting in the same building with Hamas leaders and negotiating with them,” a senior Hamas official told me in a phone call before the ceasefire was announced.
I put to him that Gaza was in ruins, Israel had killed tens of thousands and eliminated most of Hamas’s leaders – how did they consider this a victory?
The official replied: “In terms of numbers, Gaza has paid an unimaginable price. But in terms of gains and losses, Israel failed to break the will of the Palestinians, the resistance, or to push the people out of the country.”
He described the attack by the group, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK and other countries, as the “biggest military and security blow” in Israel’s history. “Nothing can change that.”
In Gaza, people’s reactions are conflicted. Tears and jubilation intermingle, reflecting both relief that the death toll may soon stop rising and fear of the uncertain future which awaits 1.2 million people who have lost their homes, schools, universities and hospitals.
The debate in Gaza about 7 October, when around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage, has continued throughout the war and intensified after the ceasefire was announced.
Some defend Hamas, claiming its survival alone is enough to call it a victory, while others criticise the movement, arguing that the unprecedented price paid by Palestinians constitutes a defeat.
Mohammed Imad al-Din, a barber in Gaza City forced to flee to Khan Younis with his wife and children along with more than a million others, told the BBC: “If killing 46,000 people, displacement and destruction is a victory, then I hope the leaders of Hamas can explain the meaning of defeat.
“I’m relieved, but definitely not happy because the future is uncertain.”
Meanwhile, Saifjan Al-Shami, a doctor at the Islamic University of Gaza, said on Facebook she was “surprised by any Palestinian, especially a Gazan, who does not acknowledge the victory of his country and mocks those who say we won.
“Yes, Gaza won, and Hamas won. Hey, do you know the criteria for victory before you speak? You must review yourself, your patriotism and your loyalty to Gaza. Gaza won despite the spite of the haters.”
For now it is too early to judge whether the war will end after the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.
The majority of Gazans feel that the sound of gunfire may soon fall silent, but the sounds of suffering, regret and pain will continue for generations to come.
If you’ve ever told someone to ‘go to hell’, you probably didn’t have a real location in mind.
While most people no longer believe that hell is a physical place, that has not always been the case.
Scattered across the world, there are five terrifying locations that are claimed to be entrances to the underworld.
And experts now say that there could be some surprising scientific truths to back them up.
From the nightmarish location that inspired Jesus’ account of hell to the cave that mysteriously kills anyone who enters, these locations are as close to hell on Earth as you can get.
In Iceland, you can find the ever-burning brimstone of Hekla Fell, a volcano believed by Christians to be the real location of hell.
While in Belize, archaeologists are now piecing together the mysteries of the crystalised skeletons hidden within an eerie portal to the Mayan underworld.
Gehenna
In his ‘Sermon on the Mount’ Jesus famously warned that anyone who allows their hand or eye to sin will be cast into ‘hell’.
However, biblical expertsbelieve that isn’t really what Jesus said.
In the earliest version of the text, the word that Jesus uses is not ‘hell’ but ‘Gehenna’.
Rather than referring to a place of eternal torment, Gehenna is a real location just outside the walls of old Jerusalem.
A contraction of the name Valley of Hinnom, or ‘Ge-Hinnom’, Gehenna isone of the deep gorges which can be found to the southwest of the old city.
According to the Bible, this was the place where ancient Israelites practised child sacrifice, making offerings of their own young to the god Baal.
Jesus’ sermon on the mount is often translated as saying that sinners go to ‘hell’. However, the word he really used was ‘Gehenna’ which refers to a real valley to the south of Old Jerusalem (pictured)
Five locations scientists believe could be gateways to the hell
Gehenna, Israel
Hierapolis, Turkey
Hekla, Iceland
Actun Tunichil Muknal, Belize
St Patrick’s Purgatory, Iceland
For this reason, many believed that the location had been cursed by God and made unfit for worship.
Bart Ehrman, a New Testament scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote in Time: ‘In the ancient world (whether Greek, Roman, or Jewish), the worst punishment a person could experience after death was to be denied a decent burial.
‘Jesus developed this view into a repugnant scenario: corpses of those excluded from the kingdom would be unceremoniously tossed into the most desecrated dumping ground on the planet.’
As the bible was translated into other languages, the word Gehenna was gradually swapped for the English word ‘hell’.
This means that, according to Christianity, Gehenna is literally hell on Earth.
The Valley of Hinnom might also be the origin of the fires of hell which have filled the popular imagination.
According to some accounts, the Valley of Hinnom was used by the people of Jerusalem as a landfill site where rubbish fires perpetually burned.
Some biblical scholars believe this could have inspired the idea that sinners would be cast into a place of eternal fire.
Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom (pictured), was believed by Jews in Jesus’ day to have been a place of human sacrifice. By saying that sinners would be thrown into Gehenna, Jesus may have meant that they would not receive a proper burial. Over time, Gehenna became linked to the Christian idea of Hell and the underworld
However, while a Roman-era rubbish dump has been found in the North of the city, there is no archaeological evidence that Gehenna was ever really used to burn waste.
Hierapolis
It might not come as a surprise that passing through the gates to the underworld can be hazardous to your health.
But at Hierapolis, in modern-day Turkey, attempting to pass in through this ancient portal really could cost you your life.
The ancient Roman city of Hierapolis was built during the reign of emperor Tiberius between 14 and 37 BC.
In the ruins of this once bustling city, archaeologists have found extensive baths, a gymnasium, an agora or meeting place, and even a Byzantine church.
Discovered in 2011, the entrance to hell is a small door leading into a cave-like grotto built into one wall of an open arena.
In modern-day Turkey, scientists have found an ancient Roman portal to the underworld with the power to kill anyone who enters (pictured)
According to the ancient philosopher Strabo, the castrated priests of the underworld would carry sacrificial animals down through the door, known as the Plutonium.
To the shock of the spectators lining the surrounding amphitheatre, the animals would die on the spot as if struck down by an invisible assailant while the priests would remain unharmed.
In his account written 2,000 years ago, Strabo says: ‘[The] space is filled with a cloudy and dark vapour, so dense that the bottom can scarcely be discerned … Animals which enter … die instantly.
‘Even bulls, when brought within it, fall down and are taken out dead. We have ourselves thrown in sparrows, which immediately fell down lifeless.’
Shockingly, modern scientists have found that Strabo was completely correct about the Plutonium’s deadly properties.
In addition to warming the springs which drew tourists to the town, this geological activity produced thick clouds of CO2 which would rise up out of the cave.
At night, the CO2 pools thickly in an enveloping cloud of mist which the ancient Romans attributed to the breath of Kerberos, the three-headed guard dog of hell.
The ‘Plutonium’ in Hierapolis was believed to be an entrance to the underworld. In reality, scientists found that the temple had been built above a geological faultline which produced enough CO2 to kill animals brought near it
In a study published in 2018, researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen found that CO2 outside the temple entrance reached concentrations of 40-50 per cent.
The authors write: ‘Astonishingly, these vapors are still emitted in concentrations that nowadays kill insects, birds, and mammals.
‘They reach concentrations during the night that would easily kill even a human being within a minute.’
While the priests were tall enough to keep their heads above the gases, the sacrificial animals were trapped inside the toxic cloud and killed.
Even today, these gases are so toxic that visiting this entrance to hell unprepared really could be a one-way ticket to the afterlife.
Hekla
Even from afar, it is easy to see why Medieval Christians believed that Hekla might be the entrance to hell.
The snow-capped peak of this 1,491-metrevolcano towers above Southern Iceland.
Hekla in Iceland was once believed to be the gates of hell through which souls would pass on their way to the underworld
The Icelandic word ‘Hekla’ refers to a short, hooded cloak which could reflect the dramatic layer of clouds that gather about its peak.
The mountain’s demonic reputation first emerged around the year 1104 when Hekla burst out of dormancy with an enormous eruption.
Based on geological studies, it is believed that the eruption was a category VEI 5 – the same rating as the eruption of Mount St Helen in 1980.
The explosion was so violent that 21,000 square miles (55,000 km squared) – more than half of Iceland – was bombarded by rock and ash.
According to accounts written at the time, people could see the blast of lava, searing ash, and toxic gases from the sea as lava bombs weighing up to 12 tonnes rained down on the country.
The eruption was so violent that news of Hekla’s diabolic force soon spread around the ancient world.
In 1180, a Cistercian monk called Herbert de Clairvaux boasted that Helka was even more deady than Mount Etna in Italy.
He wrote: ‘The renowned fiery cauldron of Sicily, which men call Hell’s chimney … that cauldron is affirmed to be like a small furnace compared to this enormous inferno.’
This volcano earned its diabolical reputation thanks to a series of massive eruptions that began in 1104. Hekla produced so much lava and ash that medieval writers believed they had found hell
As one of Iceland’s most active volcanoes, Hekla has continued to earn its sinister status. The volcano most recently erupted in 2000 (pictured) in an explosion which created a 4.3 mile (7km) fissure
By 1120, a poem by the monk Benedeit called the mountain the eternal prison of Judas, referring to the lowest circles of hell.
In the early 14th century, one medieval author described seeing large birds flying into the volcano’s fires which were believed to be the souls of the damned entering inferno.
Most famously, the 16th-century German scholar Caspar Peucer wrote that the gates to hell could be found in ‘the bottomless abyss of Hekla Fell’.
Although the legends about Hekla’s connection to the underworld died off by the 19th century, the volcano has continued to earn its fiendish reputation.
The mountain has even erupted as recently as the year 2000 when it opened up a 4.3 mile (7km) fissure which sprayed ash and steam 9 miles (15km) into the air.
Actun Tunichil Muknal
In Belize, the cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal, meaning ‘Cave of the Stone Sepulcher’, is one of the best preserved entrances to the underworld anywhere on the planet. Its 3 miles (5km) long tunnels have been undisturbed for over 1,000 years and contain the grizzly remains of human sacrifices
While legends about hell vary wildly from culture to culture, one common thread that ties these stories together is that hell is often believed to be deep beneath the Earth.
In Belize, you can find one of the best contenders for an entrance to the subterranean underworld within the caves of Actun Tunichil Muknal, meaning ‘Cave of the Stone Sepulcher’.
Actun Tunichil Muknal (the ATM Cave) lay undiscovered and undisturbed for more than 1,000 years after the collapse of the Mayan Empire.
The cave extends more than three miles (five kilometres) beneath the Earth and archaeologists have found artefacts dating back to around 800 AD.
Most shockingly of all, the cave is filled with the grisly remains of the victims of human sacrifice.
When the cave was first discovered in 1989, archaeologists were shocked to find the remains of individuals as young as four years old who had been bludgeoned to death.
The most famous of these remains is so old that the bones have crystalised into glittering calcite, earning it the name ‘The Crystal Maiden’.
Researchers now think that the cave was revered as an entrance to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld and the domain of the death gods.
One of the victims has been there so long that their bones have crystalised, earning them the nickname ‘The Crystal Maiden’. Experts believe that the Mayans thought the cave was an entrance to Xibalba, the underworld, and made sacrifices there to appease the lords of hell
Based on the arrangement of the bodies, researchers believe that this was the site of ritual murders designed to reenact the ‘Popol Vuh’ creation myth.
During the 10th century, the Mayan empire was being blighted by droughts and natural disasters which culminated in the civilisation’s rapid collapse.
Their sacrifices were intended to appease the Lords of Xibalba who were thought to be responsible for the droughts.
Professor Holley Moyes, an expert on the caves from the University of California told the BBC: ‘Amongst the Maya, we hardly see any – almost no – human sacrifice until the late classic period.
‘And I think they start doing it because they are in the middle of a drought, and they are trying to up the ante.’
St Patrick’s Purgatory
On a little-known Irish island, you can find a supposed entrance to hell which has had an outsised impact on the Christian understanding of life after death.
St Patrick’s Purgatory, located on Station Island in northwestern Ireland, was considered by early medieval people to be the edge of the known world.
Station Island in Ireland is home to St Patrick’s Purgatory. In the medieval period, it was believed that the caves on the island could give visitors glimpses of hell
While St Patrick today might be better associated with shamrocks and green hats, he once had a much more terrifying reputation.
According to a 12th-century text written by a monk named H. of Saltrey, St Patrick prayed to God for a way to convert the Irish pagans.
His efforts were rewarded by a vision of a ‘pit of purgatory’.
This chasm filled the mind of anyone who entered with visions of hell fire and monsters, essentially providing a first-hand experience of the consequences of rebuking Christianity.
According to medieval texts, this pit is located on Station Island where a monastery founded by one of St Patrick’s disciples still stands today.
Early visitors reported finding a small cave where they would be bombarded with unearthly visions.
The 12-century historian Gerald of Walesof Wales wrote: ‘This part of the island contains nine pits, and should any one perchance venture to spend the night in one of them, … he is immediately seized by the malignant spirits.’
The cave was filled in and replaced with a more conventional chapel in the year 1790, but St Patrick’s vision of a temporary hell would go on to have a far wider influence.
The caves were filled in in 1790 and replaced with a large chapel. However, the reports of hellish visions went on to form the basis of the Christian understanding of hell and purgatory which persist today
After reports of the mystical powers of St Patrick’s caves were reported, the monastery became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Europe.
The idea that sinners might briefly experience suffering before reaching salvation formed one of the essential cornerstones of the idea of purgatory, a sort of waiting room for heaven.
By popularising these ideas, St Patrick’s Purgatory became a critical point for the evolution of Christian ideas about what happens after you die.
Just 100 years after the first accounts were written, purgatory was made official church doctrine in 1274.
Even today, pilgrims from around the world undergo notoriously gruelling visits to the island to get a taste of hell first-hand.
So, while you might no longer be able to take a day trip to the inferno in the cave beneath the island, you can still visit the place where our modern ideas of hell began.
Britain was a fractious nation in the 7th Century AD, still looking for stability several centuries after the collapse of the Roman empire.
At this point, various kings ruled over different regions of land and many languages and religions dominated certain locales.
The exact date of the church is not known, but it is though to be around 633AD, or shortly after, when Ethelburga, a native of Kent, likely returned to her homeland following the death of her husband, Edwin.
Edwin was the son of Ethelfrith, a Northumbrian king who was known for his warring prowess and repeated skirmished with the Gododdin, a fierce celtic-speaking people from the north-east area of the then-called ‘Britannia’.
King Redwalld of East Anglia dominated the centre of the country, and established the kingdom of Mercia while the Picts dominated modern-day Scotland.
Augustine (right, on bended knee), and a further 40 Benedictines, landed in Thanet and were met by Ethelbert and Bertha (left). The mission massed its litmus test in 602AD when the English king decided to join his wife’s beliefs and opted to be baptised.He then also donated a certain site in Canterbury which would be home to the first, and most important, cathedral in the country. Augustine duly became Canterbury Cathedral’s first archbishop
Another king ruled the south-east, with Ethelbert of Kent and his French Christian wife Bertha in command of the region.
These royals had been visited by a bishop from Rome in 597AD called Augustine after Pope Gregory sent him on a mission to take Christianity to the British isles.
The Pope’s sudden interest in the British isles is believed to stem from a chance encounter with two ‘Angli’ slaves in an Italian slave market.
Their blonde hair and fair skin captivated the Pope and he immediately said of the inhabitants of England, known as Angels at the time: ‘Non Angli sed angeli’.
Directly translated into English it means ‘not Angels but angels of God’.
His instant infatuation was the kickstarter for the Roman clergy to begin their efforts to bring Evangelicalism to the desolate and divided nation.
Augustine, and a further 40 Benedictines, landed in Thanet and were met by Ethelbert and Bertha.
The mission massed its litmus test in 602AD when the English king decided to join his wife’s beliefs and opted to be baptised.
He then also donated a certain site in Canterbury which would be home to the first, and most important, cathedral in the country.
Augustine duly became Canterbury Cathedral’s first archbishop.
Meanwhile, the feared Ethelfrith from the north died and was succeeded by his son, Edwin, who soon mounted a charge on the rest of Britannia.
His vast army descended from the north and swept through Mercia and into Kent.
The mission ended in the conquest of the south-east and Edwin seized Ethelburga, daughter of Ethelbert and Bertha, as his trophy.
She became his second wife and her devote Christian beliefs went with her to the north.
A Roman monk was also claimed as part of Edwin’s spoils and he performed a baptism on the young King Edwin.
This monk was then assigned the task of founding what is now one of the most iconic christian sites in the UK, York Minster.
After Edwin abandoned his Pagan beliefs, his reflective approach was not matched by all his contemporaries.
His high priest was so inflamed by the king’s decision he hurled a spear into his own temple and ordered conflagration.
In 633AD King Cadwallen of Gwynedd and King Penda of Mercia invaded Northumbria and killed Edwin in battle.
He was defeated during the Battle of Hatfield Chase and left Ethelburga widowed.
