East Coast 4WD enthusiasts raise thousands for Eastland helicopter

Launching the East Coast 4WD Club fundraising trek from Awapuni Speedway are (from left) EHRT chairman Ian Parker, pilot Loic Ifrah, club member Grant Brew, air crew officer Leah Kortez, club member Russell Bailey and president Rod Dear, and critical care flight paramedic Lorrin Kelly.

East Coast four-wheel-drive enthusiasts ran a land-based fundraising drive to support the aerial rescues of the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust.

Last Wednesday, 32 vehicles carrying 57 drivers and passengers took off from Gisborne’s Awapuni Speedway on a trek more than two years in the making.

The East Coast 4WD Club raised more than $19,000 for the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust and made important community connections throughout the East Coast.

Club member Russell Bailey said committee member Grant Brew came up with the idea because the rescue trust supported the East Coast community.

“But we had to wait for two years after Cyclone Gabrielle to allow landowners time to rehabilitate any areas damaged by the storm,” Bailey said.

Plotting the route for their four-day trek came together quickly and took trekkers from Gisborne, up through Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay and Tikitiki, before hitting the finishing line at Waipiro Bay.

“As it turned out, it wasn’t hard to get access to land suitable for the vehicles,” Bailey said.

“The moment we said it was a fundraiser for the Eastland Rescue Helicopter the farm gates just opened.”

Organisers used local businesses and groups for everything from accommodation to catering, as part of a “keep-it-Coastie approach”.

“Though EHRT was to be the main beneficiary, Grant was determined the trek should reach out even wider into the East Coast community,” Bailey said.

“So as well as getting our requirements looked after, we’ve made some really awesome connections.”

Brew has had whānau airlifted by the Eastland team and said he had been planning a fundraiser for the trust for a long time.

“What really kicked me into gear was seeing a story about a young fellow in Northland who was rescued after getting bashed around in a motorcycle crash,” he said.

“After he recovered he was fundraising for the rescue helicopter up there – and had vowed never to ride again out of respect for those who had saved his life – so I thought if he could do it, we had better get cracking.”

For Bailey, the jumping-off point at Awapuni Speedway had special significance.

Now based in Christchurch, he left Gisborne 30 years ago but has fond memories of racing at the site, driving the production saloon he bought from speedway stalwart and club secretary/treasurer Chris Miller.

“Having family here, as well as my speedway and 4WD club ‘family’, keeps bringing me back.”

Trust chairman Ian Parker said the organisation was humbled by the club’s incredible effort.

“Community support is vital to a service that covers both the Tairāwhiti region and well beyond our borders,” Parker said.

“We are grateful to the East Coast 4WD Club for thinking of us, and for conducting their trek in a way that benefits the community at large.”