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WILLIAM JOHN (BILL) GILCHRIST
New Zealand Bravery Medal
They live just kilometres apart, and fished for whitebait in the same region for many years. But until Bill Gilchrist's dinghy dropped into the trough of the 3m waves sweeping Keith Millar out to sea, the pair had never met.
"I sensed something was there over my shoulder, and high on the wave crest above me was Bill's dinghy," Mr Millar says today.
"Then it dropped down and suddenly he was right beside me. He just said, 'You right?' and I just said, 'Yip'. Then I held on for dear life."
It was a rescue that a dozen other watching fishermen refused to attempt, and one that resulted in Mr Gilchrist being awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal.
It was October 2002 and conditions were extremely rough at the mouth of the Arawhata River near Jacksons Bay - about as far south on the West Coast as it is possible to drive - and the swirling current swept Mr Millar, who was whitebaiting, off his feet without warning and dragged him out to sea.
On the shore, his wife, Jenny, immediately realised something was terribly wrong. Further along the beach her son was frantically trying to get other fishermen to help.
"He asked some men with a big boat to go out, but they wouldn't. He even tried to borrow the boat but the man wouldn't lend it," Mrs Millar said.
Gavin Clark also saw the drama unfold and began jumping up and down to attract the attention of his uncle Bill Gilchrist, who was whitebaiting on another part of the river in a dinghy.
From his position Mr Gilchrist, then aged 69, could not see Mr Millar and could not hear his nephew yelling, but something made him look around. He started to head out towards the river mouth and soon spotted Mr Millar's head bobbing in the breakers.
It took a minute to get his approach right - his little runabout would be no match for the huge waves. But the danger didn't enter his mind.
"I didn't really think about that at all. I just went for it," he said.
He judged it perfectly but later, with Mr Millar hanging on, the dinghy became harder to manage. One wave almost swamped the boat.
Finally, the pair made it to safety. An exhausted Mr Millar shook hands with his rescuer - who promptly headed back to his whitebaiting spot.
The men live only kilometres apart in Oamaru and since the rescue have become friends.
ETHAN JAMES KENNEDY
New Zealand Bravery Medal
Teenage boys are not often great conversationalists, and Ethan Kennedy is no exception.
Asked if he considers himself a hero, the 14-year-old from the outskirts of Whangarei gives the verbal equivalent of a shrug: "Kind of, not really."
It's a minute or two before he finds his tongue.
"I feel like I have been acknowledged. It makes me feel like I have done something good."
Ethan is one of 19 recipients of the New Zealand Bravery Medal, announced today.
He was 12 years old the day his father was shot, in February 2003.
He was at home with his father, Gary Kennedy, about 4.30pm when Mr Kennedy's partner arrived at the house with her former partner.
An argument erupted, a gun was pulled, and Mr Kennedy was shot in the hand and stomach.
Ethan didn't see the shooting, but he heard it and ran outside.
"I saw the gunman. My dad was on the steps in front of the house."
By the time the attack was over, Ethan had been threatened with a shotgun, exchanged a few choice words with the assailant, and probably saved his father's life.
He also dashed to the neighbour's to summon help, then returned home to comfort his wounded father.
He later gave police a faultless statement.
Two years on, Ethan admits that terror made him do what he did.
"I think I was just really scared. I didn't want my dad to die."
It was not until later that the terror turned to shock. When it did, it lasted weeks.
"When I saw my dad in the hospital, I was pretty scared, and shocked. I was hoping he would come out alive."
The incident with the gunman may have made Ethan grow up faster than the average teen, but it is only now that he feels as if he is getting older.
He turned 14 on December 31, and has just become an uncle.
The Kamo High School student will be a fourth former this year, and is starting to think about his future.
He plans to be a mechanic.
Ethan says his father often talks about the events, although he is not entirely sure who that is meant to help.
"He tells me about it all the time. He says stuff that helps him talk about it and deal with it."
For Mr Kennedy, the worst thing about the events of February 2003 is the effect on his son.
"He never had a chance in any of this."
But fortunately, his boy has his head screwed on, and often reminds his father of the fact.
"He has grown up a lot. I have always taught him right's right and wrong's wrong. He even badgers me on that kind of thing. He is a good kid and he has coped pretty well."
The experience has made Ethan more finely tuned to others, Mr Kennedy reckons.
"It has made him more aware of people. He is not afraid of people, he just sizes them up more."
