Royal honours to be shared

The Far North's two recipients in yesterday's Queen's Birthday Diamond Jubilee honours list have much in common. Both have given decades of service to their communities, and both were anxious to share the recognition they had received with those they had served alongside.

Susan Jane Bree (Opua) was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to midwifery, while Colin Charles Thomas (Okaihau) received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the New Zealand Fire Service.

Ms Bree, who has now begun delivering babies for women she delivered earlier in her three-decade career, said she had accepted her honour on behalf of all midwives.

"I don't know why me, because there are a lot of other people doing outstanding work in our community and a lot of other midwives who have contributed to this amazing profession in New Zealand, but there you go," she said.

It was very special to have women she had helped bring into the world now wanting her as their midwife.

"It's wonderful to see that whole circle," she said.

"Midwives are very privileged in that they get to have wonderful experiences with women and their families, and when it goes on to the next generation that's even more special.

"It's the most fabulous job imaginable. It's a very rewarding and satisfying career."

Hard timesWhen Mr Thomas opened the letter saying he'd been awarded a Queen's Service Medal for dedicating much of his life to the Okaihau Fire Brigade he wasn't sure whether to accept.

"But then I thought about all the hard times we went through... I'm really accepting it for all the old fellows who put so much time and money into the brigade to make it a success," he said.

Now 71, Mr Thomas retired from the volunteer brigade last year after 44 years' service, 34 of them as CFO.

He joined when he found himself at a loose end after returning from service in Borneo and Malaya in the 1960s, when the brigade had no money and no fire station, just an old V8 forestry appliance parked outside next to the Four Square.

Mr Thomas played an important part in getting the first station built, as well as fundraising for the new base on Lake Road, opened in 1992 after firefighters worked every weekend for two years to raise the $80,000 needed for the building and rescue gear.

"We had to raise all the funds. It made us a close-knit family," he said.

It really was a family for him. His children also volunteered, his sister Lynette Winwood was the first Northland woman to be awarded a gold star for 25 years' service, and brother-in-law Jack Winwood was his deputy for 34 years. Mr Thomas' reasons for sticking with the brigade for so long are simple: "It's the satisfaction of serving the community and working with such great people. They're a great bunch. It's been a privilege to work with them," he said.

He has also served as president of the Kaikohe and Districts RSA, Okaihau RSA and Okaihau Bowling Club, contested and judged fire brigade competitions for more than ten years and promoted fire safety at schools.

He still lives in Okaihau, a town he only left when he was in the Army, with his wife Lindy and two of their four children, and has worked there as a butcher, baker, hydatids officer and dairy owner.

"It's been a great life. I don't think I'd swap anything," he said.

Other Northlanders honoured yesterday were Gregory William Gent (Ruawai), Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the dairy industry and corporate governance; Richard Alan Guy, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby; and Wade Thomas Doak (Ngunguru), the Queen's Service Medal for services to marine conservation.