Our top ten New Zealanders: Rosemary Hosie

Rosemary Hosie

* Rosemary Hosie, hero

Rosemary Hosie loved swimming. One calm and sunny day in January her passion led the Kumeu mother to do the extraordinary at Browns Bay beach on Auckland's North Shore. Sadly, her own life was lost but her bravery saved a child's life.

She had been taking a swim on a day when there was hardly a ripple on the water, but the 59-year-old ended up going to the rescue of children who were in trouble in water described as "like glass". It was in character for her to help, and these were children. The mother-of-three had become concerned about the Robinson children, twins Joshua and Tabitha, 7, and older sister Christle, 16. There was an offshore wind and the tide was going out.

When Joshua drifted out to sea on his boogie board, his sisters had tried to catch up to him. Witnesses saw Christle struggling to help her younger siblings and saw her holding Tabitha's head above water as she called for help.

Rosemary Hosie was the one who went to help.

She swam over and people saw her holding Tabitha's head above water until more help arrived. But by the time that help got there, she was, herself, in trouble.

Another rescuer, Joern Bostelmann, found her face down in the water, and although she was resuscitated on the beach she was critically ill and died after a week in hospital. Christle and Joshua also died but Tabitha survived.

At the inquest, coroner Murray Jamieson said Rosemary Hosie's efforts were "superhuman". She deserved "the nation's highest praise".