Richard Curtis moves to Tauranga, leaves legacy at Gisborne rescue base

With Trust Tairawhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter critical care flight paramedic/base manager Richard Curtis (right) having confirmed his transfer to Tauranga, pilot Shaun Stewart has stepped up to fill the demanding role of managing the Gisborne base and further building on its operational capacity.

When Richard Curtis moved to Gisborne five years ago it was to be closer to family ... now he is shifting to the Bay of Plenty for the same reason.

A critical care flight paramedic with the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter team, Curtis and wife Ali moved to Gisborne from Australia with their then-baby son in 2019.

For the past two years he has been base manager at the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust (EHRT) hangar, during which time he has overseen multiple developments and expansions.

But as their whānau has grown – there’s now a daughter in the mix – the couple are relocating to Tauranga to be closer to their support systems.

Curtis completed his final block with the team last night.

“My focus is always on family first, and while that does require some professional sacrifices, being able to work in the base manager role has been a fantastic opportunity,” he said.

When he first came to Gisborne, the service was made up of just him, base manager/air crew officer Doug Buchanan, pilots on call from Hawke’s Bay and cover staff from St John.

All were working on call and their mode of transport was an old Squirrel helicopter.

Within a couple of months of his arrival, they acquired a BK-117 aircraft that was flown until late last year, with James Easterbrook coming on board as fulltime pilot.

“Now we have a full team of 12, with rostered crews on site 24/7, who have taken it from a relatively quiet base flying around 200 hours a year to one that has nearly tripled that service load,” Curtis said.

“And there have been some big changes at the hangar itself, so, as far as work programmes go, it’s been a really satisfying few years.”

Like the rest of the team, Curtis is employed by Search and Rescue Services Ltd (SRSL) - the company formed by five rescue helicopter trusts (including Gisborne’s Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust) to manage operations from south of Auckland down to Wellington.

He will remain with SRSL as critical care flight paramedic for the Tauranga-based Aerocool Rescue Helicopter.

“We leave with some fantastic memories of Gisborne both personally – our kids have grown up here – and professionally in the massive progress made in the helicopter rescue space for the region," Curtis said.

“But it is the connections with the community I will remember most. You get to feel a real part of it and I don’t know if that is something you’d experience at any other base.”

In the context of a challenging post-Cyclone Gabrielle environment, Curtis was a powerful advocate for the crew, their whānau, the trust and the community as a whole, EHRT chairman Ian Parker said.

“While he has managed multiple physical changes at the hangar, it is his strength in teamwork and leadership we see as having had the greatest impact, and we are all grateful for that hugely significant contribution.”

The role of base manager at the Gisborne hangar has been filled by pilot Shaun Stewart, who, when he joined the team a year ago, was still in the throes of renovating his home in Auckland.

With that completed, Stewart can fully commit to the role and is excited about managing a base he says his predecessor leaves in great health, and to take it even further.

“I have been lucky to have had a year working with and learning from Richard, who is an incredible professional both as a manager and as a top-performing critical care flight paramedic.

“I’m really looking forward to further fostering relationships and working with the team as they build towards even more capacity for what is a fantastic resource for the Tairāwhiti region.”