Archibald James Campbell McKim

Archibald James Campbell McKim was born in Scone, Perthshire, Scotland on 1 January 1884. His parents were William Cameron McKim (1854-1902) and Annie McKim (née Blue) (1853-1936) who married in Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland on 12 September 1878. Archibald was one of eight children. He became manager of the sulphur mine on Te Puia o Whakaari [White Island]. On 10 September 1914, Whakaari's south-western crater rim collapsed, causing a lahar (volcanic mudflow) to rush through the crater floor, smashing the workers' huts, the manager's house and other mine buildings and shunting them into the sea. One of five camp cats, 'Peter the Great', was the only survivor. The bodies of the twelve men and other camp cats were never found. No memorial or compensation was provided for their grieving families and the men were never officially recorded as having died. Biography by Debbie McCauley (15 December 2019).

Obituary:

M'KIM - At White Island, Auckland, New Zealand, in volcanic eruption, ARCHIBALD JAMES CAMPBELL, second son of the late WILLIAM M'KIM, Esq., Scone, and Mrs M'Kim, Strathview, Perty, aged 30 years. (By cable.) Source: The Scotsman (28 September 1914 via The British Newspaper Archive).