Voting is open for the Pride of New Zealand TSB People’s Choice Awards until midnight on Sunday. The Herald spoke to the 24 finalists about their inspiring lives. Today we profile the first group, tomorrow the second.
Peter Knight
Rescuing a man suffering an asthma attack from a marooned car during the 2004 Wairarapa floods earned Pahiatua policeman Peter Knight a Police Commissioner's Bronze Award for bravery.
A police officer for 17 years, Mr Knight's lifelong desire to help people is in the blood. His dad was a firefighter, and on top of his policing job, Mr Knight himself has been a volunteer firefighter for the past five years.
The most satisfying aspect of his job doesn't involve daring rescues but simply making local residents feel safe. He recently caught a burglar in a day, to the relief of an elderly victim.
For someone with such an appropriate surname, Mr Knight says he'd never put himself in the same category as other award nominees.
"I'm quite stunned, to be honest."
Shirley Sparks
When the council wanted to reopen a quarry next to Shirley Sparks' farm in Tauranga, she rallied her neighbours and got it stopped. And was left with a steep 32ha dump full of weeds, gorse and goats on her doorstep. So, she turned it into a public attraction.
Shirley Sparks. Photo / NZME.
Thanks to Ms Sparks' persuasive skills and enthusiasm over two decades, Te Puna Quarry Park now has an amphitheatre, a kitchen, art space, butterfly garden and abseiling area. Sculptures dot the park, and stealth artists keep adding more.
"We have things appearing like cut-out corrugated iron, things hanging from trees or funny decorations, and they stay because everyone thinks of it as their garden. It is."
When Angus Pauley saw a young girl being swept away in Blenheim's Taylor River last year, he told his mum to stop the car. A few competition swimming sessions in Auckland were small preparation for the raging floodwaters, but Mr Pauley didn't stop to think.
"I knew she needed help so I did what I could."
He dived in, later joined by multisport athlete Jeremy McKenzie. After a struggle against the current, the two finally managed to pull the girl out. Mr Pauley hasn't let the subsequent recognition go to his head.
"I've got a pretty good set of friends who take the mickey out of me and keep me grounded."
Now studying psychology at the University of Otago, Mr Pauley still has the urge to save lives, planning to become a volunteer firefighter and Outward Bound instructor.
Debbie Moody
Debbie Moody doesn't take no for an answer. As head of events at the Hanmer Springs Community Trust, she's launched a host of community events for groups from breast cancer patients to Ronald McDonald House.
She's a firm believer that if you want it, you fundraise. Or as she prefers, "fun-raise". Recently she held a race to fund a school ski trip.
"It's not always big stuff; it's teaching the kids values. By giving a little, you get a lot."
As a survivor of stroke, cancer and rheumatic fever, nothing has come easy. But the experience made her more determined to help others. "Life isn't a dress rehearsal; you only get one chance. I feel blessed I've had three chances!"
Maurice Doyle and Rhys Humphries
Maurice Doyle and Rhys Humphries were buzzed about their US trip, keen to witness the 100th speed trial run at Bonneville Salt Flats, where Kiwi Burt Munro made history on an Indian motorcycle. Then it was rained out.
Resigned, the pair from New Plymouth hired Harley-Davidsons and hit the desert road between Nevada and Utah. That circumstance saved a man's life.
Coming across an injured man trapped in his car, Doyle and Humphries pulled him to safety, before the car exploded.
Doyle was a little shaken by the close shave.
"We thought we'd been there 20 minutes. But when Rhys and I were looking back on our cellphones at the photos we'd taken, the time showed it was only about three."
Ryan and Keri Topperwien
When three-year-old son Chace was ill with leukaemia, Whakatane's Ryan and Keri Topperwien received a lot of help from their family, but noticed many weren't as lucky. After Chace's death, they decided simply mourning their loss wasn't enough.
The Dream Chaser Foundation, established in Chace's memory, has blossomed into an all-consuming passion. The couple organise events that raise money for Ronald McDonald House, persuade businesses to provide services or vouchers to help sick children, and solicit grants for bereaved families.
"It's probably more than a full-time job," admits Mr Topperwien, who lobbies organisations all over New Zealand.
"But it's just what you have to do. We've got no excuse to not do what we do."
Rebekah Malthus
Rebekah Malthus wants to make infant death less of a "tiptoeing over eggshells" subject. Often people fear hurting bereaved parents even more by saying the wrong thing, so nothing gets said. That can be very isolating.
Ms Malthus knows this all too well, since the death of son MacAuley in 2012. So she launched Project Butterfly, which began with a path of butterfly-shaped memorial tiles in Nelson's Fairfield Park.
"People no longer want to forget and "move on". They want to remember in a healthy and positive way. By being part of the pathway they get to meet other families walking the same journey, they get to tell their stories, laugh, cry and process."
Ms Malthus also organises loss-related workshops, auctions and plays to raise money for resources such as books on grief for the local library.
Suffering up to 90 grand mal seizures each year, with an artery in his brain "like a balloon about to pop", Robbie Ritchie was told he wouldn't live past 40.
Robbie Ritchie. Photo / NZME.
Surgery in Germany cost $200,000, an impossible amount until the public stepped in to help. On the mend back in Patumahoe, Ritchie was determined to pay it forward. His One Dollar Warriors, a charity asking people to donate just $1 towards life-saving operations, is now a year old and has netted $260,000 towards operations for 11 people.
Mr Ritchie says encouraging messages, as well as money, make all the difference. "To have that kind of support is huge for a parent - it just gives them a massive amount of hope."
Liam Connolly
If you get in trouble in Wellsford, you'll probably meet Liam Connolly. The 19-year-old is a firefighter and St John volunteer, and takes his role very seriously.
"It's not so much a buzz, it's more a feeling of relief I get when I know I've done something good."
He's on call 14 hours a day, up to five days a week - a feat he managed even while serving as head boy, rugby and netball coach at Rodney College in 2013. Once he resuscitated a man having a heart attack at the service station, before trotting off to class.
There's no sense he's missed out because of his duties. Fighting fires is in the family. His father and younger brother Josh are also firefighters.
"Having them in the Fire Service as well is amazing - hopping in the truck together is like family bonding time."
Dudley Andrews
Tangaroa may be god of the sea, but he's no match for Dudley Andrews.
Seeing a small boy caught in a "notorious rip" at Waipapakauri Ramp north of Kaitaia, the former surf lifesaver and soldier went for his bodyboard.
He was just struggling back through the breakers with the child when he saw fingers pointing in horror - another youngster was in danger. So back Mr Andrews went, through 5m waves. The rescued children survived their ordeal.
His children's school recently called him in to talk on water safety.
"I told them what I said to the first boy to calm him down. I said: "I'm in the army, and Tangaroa's not gonna get you. If he tries, I'll slap him in the face."
Maggie Houston
After Maggie Houston's first daughter died at 5, she feared for the welfare of her second daughter. "I was quite nervous about looking after her ... so I went to a first-aid course with St John."
Maggie Houston. Photo / NZME.
That was 40 years ago. Ms Houston is now manager of the St John station in Hari Hari, on the West Coast, and her committee involvements include church, basketball and the area school. She was a school bus driver for 35 years.
Her kindness forges lifelong bonds. After attending a car accident in which a 2-year-old girl suffered a permanently disabling head injury, she became the girl's teacher aide assistant four years later. They remain in daily contact.
The bereaved mother of an another accident victim contacted Ms Houston to thank her, and they were in touch for 14 years until the woman died.
Sircet
Sircet is the name of a crack team of conservationists who've been eradicating pests for 13 years on Stewart Island.
The distressing sight of "titi carcasses everywhere" prompted locals to set up Stewart Island/Rakiura Community Environment Trust. Since then, scores of wild cats, rats and possums have been trapped into submission.
The trust's six members, two staff and volunteers lay traps, monitor bird numbers, run a community plant nursery and even offer free kiwi aversion training for dogs. More than half of the dogs on the island of 400 have now received training to stop them going after kiwis, and bird life is flourishing.
"On Stewart Island we live surrounded by the bush, and the birds just make it all alive," says treasurer Letitia McRitchie. "Every day I can see tuis from my window, and hear the bellbirds singing."
