Muriwhenua Area Commander Wipari Henwood (left) and Northland Principal Rural Fire Officer Myles Taylor (right) with Kaikohe's long service and good conduct medal recipients Colin Hurst, Tony Taylor and Lance Johnstone. Picture / Debbie Beadle
Muriwhenua Area Commander Wipari Henwood (left) and Northland Principal Rural Fire Officer Myles Taylor (right) with Kaikohe's long service and good conduct medal recipients Colin Hurst, Tony Taylor and Lance Johnstone. Picture / Debbie Beadle
Three members of the Kaikohe Volunteer Fire Brigade have been awarded 14-year long service and good conduct medals, decorations that Muriwhenua Area Commander Wipari Henwood said were among the most difficult to earn.
The medals, presented by Fire and Emergency New Zealand representative Tony Scott to Colin Hurst, Tony Taylorand Lance Johnstone, were minted in the UK, he said, and were very special.
Principal Rural Fire Officer Myles Taylor said the medal was instituted by royal warrant in 1976, primarily for New Zealand Fire Service volunteers. Recipients needed to be serving as full or part-time members of Fire and Emergency, and to have displayed the required degree of good conduct.
"It is not just 14 years," Mr Henwood said. "It is 14 years of good conduct, and the threshold for good conduct is quiet high. It's not given to everybody, and to obtain a medal of good conduct is quiet an achievement.
"It gives me a lot of pleasure to present these medals tonight. These are three gentlemen who I have actually had the pleasure of working with, have worked really closely with, and I know them all really well.
"When I started this job back in 2010, and then 2011 when we moved into the New Zealand Fire Authority, these three gentlemen were instrumental in establishing the Rural Fire Authority here in Northland. The support and the help they gave me during that time was unbelievable, and I really relied on them. As a team these men went well beyond the call of duty. They were so reliable, they were so helpful, and helped make my job incredibly easy, with the knowledge that I relied on heavily during that time, their unbelievable skills and knowledge."
The medals did not accurately cover the time they had given as volunteers, he added, Mr Johnstone having served 29 years and Mr Taylor 24.
