Rescue chopper to play important part in Anzac Day Dawn Service

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The flyover by the Trust Tairawhiti Rescue helicopter at tomorrow’s Anzac Day Dawn Service will have extra significance, with a former Defence Force member in the crew.

The on-board team will include crewman Kelley Waite, who served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force for 16 years before joining the rescue helicopter industry.

RSA Anzac Day convener Paul Bayly said the flyover has become a tradition.

“Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, when very few could go to the service, the helicopter flew over the cemetery and up the river past the Cenotaph to make sure the day was acknowledged,” Mr Bayly said.

“It has become a very important part of our service and we really appreciate it.”

Pilot James Easterbrook recalls the eeriness of that pandemic-era flyover, when many locals stood outside their homes in lieu of attending a public event.

“There is not a lot of visibility at that time of the morning but we were mindful of all those people standing out on the street — apparently some were even playing bagpipes — so it was great to be able to acknowledge them all,” he said.

For tomorrow’s dawn service — marking 100 years since Gisborne Cenotaph was unveiled in 1923 — the rescue helicopter team will fly up the Waimata River in time for a 6am arrival over the Cenotaph, at the confluence of the Waimata, Taruheru and Turanganui rivers.

Tomorrow’s Anzac Day flyover will be paid for from the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust budget, rather than from operational funds, and trust chair Patrick Willock said it was an important part of community engagement.

“With the amount of fundraising required to keep the helicopter in the air we do have to think about every dollar we spend,” he said.

“Our feeling in this case was that the Anzac Day service is important to our community and, as such, it’s important to us.”