Rescuer prepared to lose life

Dudley Andrews (left) was told by Russell Le Prou that many people would not have done what he did to rescue to two small boys.

Army background helped man save two small boys in rough sea

Dudley Andrews knew 17 years in the army had given him the skills and discipline needed to rescue two small boys from the Tasman Sea at Waipapakauri Ramp on March 1.

But even before he entered the water, he accepted that he might not survive.

And he praised 5-year-old Rex Haora Pairama and his 6-year-old cousin, Wiremu Bennett-Hati, for having the courage and will to live, and realising they had to wait for him to reach them.

"People relax when they know they are about to be rescued, and that's when they drown," he said.

Mr Andrews was speaking last week after accepting a District Commander's commendation from Superintendent Russell Le Prou at the Kaitaia police station.

Two Ngataki teenagers, Oneroa Rudolph and Jack Doyle, also received commendations after rescuing a 4-year-old boy at Houhora on December 4.

Mr Le Prou told Mr Andrews many people would not have been capable of doing what he did.

"But for your heroic actions, two boys would have drowned," he said.

Mr Andrews had seen one of the youngsters in difficulty beyond the surfline.

It was only after he had returned him to his family that he realised another boy had been carried further out.

Oneroa Rudolph (left) and Jack Doyle with Russell Le Prou, who last week recognised their actions in saving a small boy at Houhora.

"I did what I did," he said.

"I made peace with the possibility that I would not survive. I told my daughter that I loved her."

Mr Le Prou also commended Oneroa Rudolph and Jack Doyle for saving a 4-year-old boy at Houhora last year.

"Young people are often thought of in a negative light these days," he said.

"But these two did the right thing, and made a difference."

Oneroa and Jack, then both aged 14, had been swimming in the harbour when the boy fell into the water.

Using their knowledge of the harbour's currents, they dived in where they knew he would be, pulling him to the surface and returning him to the shore.

Their commendations stated that their quick thinking and decisive action, which had put their own lives at risk, had saved the child's life.