The Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro (centre) presented Anna Brooke (left), Jeffrey Davies, Henry Deans, and Michael Smith with awards for their bravery from the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
The Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro (centre) presented Anna Brooke (left), Jeffrey Davies, Henry Deans, and Michael Smith with awards for their bravery from the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
Today, the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand honoured six Kiwis for their heroic actions in frightening situations, each being awarded the coveted silver medal.
The Royal Humane Society of New Zealand Silver Medal is awarded to those who put their own lives at risk to assist others whose lives are in peril.
Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro presented six recipients with their awards during a ceremony at Government House earlier today.
Lone woman takes on Rangitikei campground gunman, escapes from hostage situation
Naomi Gedye was having breakfast at the Vinegar Hill Campground, near Hunterville, on December 19 2017, when she noticed a man driving erratically nearby, following a woman and a boy.
Gedye approached the passenger side of the car once it had stopped, with the man hurling insults at the woman. Getye attempted to reason with him, but he was angry and agitated and pointed a firearm at her.
Instead of running, Gedye started speaking with the man, eventually persuading him to remove the magazine from the firearm.
When he placed it on his passenger seat, she took the opportunity to grab it and throw it away, even after the man exited the car and threatened to shoot her if she did not return it.
The Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro (left) presented Naomi Gedye with a Silver Award from the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand for her bravery when de-escalating a situation with a man wielding a firearm. Photo / Supplied
The man located the magazine and returned to his car before driving towards Gedye, stopping just short of hitting her.
The man’s behaviour escalated further, taking six people hostage in a campervan, including Gedye.
Four of the hostages were released after negotiations, but the driver and Gedye remained in the car, which the man positioned himself behind before police arrived.
As they arrived, the gunman was momentarily distracted. Gedye and the hostage driver took this to open their doors and jump from the moving camper.
The gunman was arrested and taken into custody soon after when police shot him.
“Naomi Gedye displayed considerable courage, initiative and compassion in coming to the aid of a mother and her son,” the Royal Humane Society wrote in a statement.
“She was particularly courageous in confronting an armed man, engaging in conversation with him and trying to dispose of the firearm’s magazine.
“Her initiative and bravery during the hostage situation resulted in the safe release of four hostages, the escape of the driver and herself, and the arrest of the gunman.”
Man pulls critically-injured passengers from burning car
Waikato road policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno said at the time the car had left the road on a minor left-hand bend, hit the kerb and travelled about 30m before leaving a divot in the ground, getting airborne and hitting a pole.
The impact was so intense, a rear bumper was left wrapped around a tree, while the front bumper thrown about 15m from the pole, along with other debris.
Ex-firefighter Paul Gerritsen arrived on the scene a few moments later, his instincts immediately kicking into action.
The Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro (left) presented Paul Gerritson with a Silver Medal award from the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand for his bravery when saving the lives of two people in a burning car. Photo / Supplied
He dragged the driver, who was lying unconscious near the driver’s door, away from the vehicle.
When Gerritsen returned to the vehicle, the fire was taking hold of the interior. He used brute strength to extract a woman who was trapped inside, and who had suffered critical injuries.
Three passengers were taken to hospital in critical condition.
“In coming to their aid, Paul Gerritson put his own life in great danger,” the Royal Humane Society wrote in a statement.
“Without his actions, it is likely that the female passenger would have died, and the driver may have lost his life.”
Alpine Cliff Rescue (ACR) was called in to save two climbers who had become stuck on Mt Rolleston, one of Arthurs Pass National Park’s tallest peaks, on the afternoon of October 23, 2021.
The climbers had already been in freezing conditions overnight after a previous rescue attempt had been unsuccessful.
Anna Brooke and Michael Smith from ACR joined GCH Aviation helicopter pilots Henry Deans, Angus Taylor and Jeffrey Davies for the rescue.
Freezing levels on the mountain were rising, and several loose wet avalanches were observed above from the helicopter which had been stripped back to bare essentials for flying in the alpine environment.
The Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro (centre) presented Anna Brooke (left), Jeffrey Davies, Henry Deans, and Michael Smith with awards from the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand for braving freezing conditions to rescue two mountain climbers in Arthur's Pass. Photo / Supplied
Wind gusts, a low reference environment for the pilot winchman, the unknown stability and angle of the hillside, and the closeness of a large bluff made it difficult to winch the rescue team members to the ground from the helicopter.
Weather conditions were not improving, so there was a possibility that the helicopter would not be able to return.
Braving white-out conditions, Anna Brooke and Michael Smith had to use all their technical skills to locate the climbers, who were in an improvised small snow shelter on the summit, without any overnight equipment.
They then guided the climbers to the lower Crow Glacier to wait for the helicopter to return.
The weather became worse, with stronger winds and lower temperatures. The Crow Glacier was experiencing a decreased cloud base, and the weather was predicted to worsen that evening.
After several circuits of the area, Angus Taylor spotted the party dug into a snow trench, 50m above a large bluff, however, a landing or hover pick-up was not possible, because of the angle of the mountainside.
The climbers were winched out of the snow trench and into the helicopter, but as the cloud continued to lower, it became impossible to find Brooke and Smith.
They descended to a lower protruding snow-covered outcrop directly above a 100m-plus bluff.
Two more attempts were made to reach them, but the cloud base remained too low until a break in the weather allowed them to be spotted on a snowy outcrop.
In a stroke of genius, the pair spread coffee over the fresh snow to give the pilot’s reference definition on the slope, for main rotor clearance.
The rescue team were then pulled onboard the helicopter before the cloud blew back down the valley.
“This mountain rescue was a team effort in a precarious situation for everyone involved,” the Royal Humane Society wrote in a statement.
“The team were pushed to the limits but acted within appropriate safety parameters in order to save the lives of two inadequately equipped trampers.”
