Rescuer prepared to lose his life

AT PEACE: Dudley Andrews, who accepted that he may have been about to lose his life.

Dudley Andrews knew that 17 years in the Army had given him the skills and discipline he 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 that they had needed to wait for him to reach them.

"People relax when they know they are about to be rescued, and that's when they drown. That's exactly what happened this day," 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 for their rescuing of a 4-year-old boy at Houhora on December 4.

Superintendent Le Prou told Mr Andrews that a lot of people would not have been capable of doing, without hesitation, what he did at Waipapakauri Ramp.

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

Mr Andrews had seen one of the youngsters in difficulty outside the surfline when he and his family arrived at the beach. It was only after he had returned him to his family that he realised that another boy had been carried out even further.

"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."

He thanked his wife, children and whanau, including those who had passed on and had been watching over him. He also thanked the police for "this cherished moment", adding that the events of that day had changed his life.

QUICK THINKERS: Oneroa Rudolph (left) and Jack Doyle, with District Commander Superintendent Russell Le Prou, who recognised the, last week for their saving of a small boy at Houhora.

Teen pair praised Superintendent Le Prou also commended Oneroa Rudolph and Jack Doyle, who saved 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.