Christine Ryan and Erik Bradshaw after yesterday's presentation ceremony in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Tragedy brought Francis and Monica Deery together with Erik Bradshaw and Christine Ryan, and they have forged a strong and unique bond.
Keen climbers Mr Bradshaw and Ms Ryan were scaling the Cascade Saddle in Mt Aspiring National Park on January 12, 2005, when they heard there had
been an accident nearby.
The Deerys' son Donal and his companion Helen McClements had fallen 250m on to a small snow bridge.
Mr Bradshaw and Ms Ryan climbed down the steep face to where the Irish couple lay. They put Ms McClements into a sleeping bag, then climbed down to the critically injured Dr Deery.
While Ms Ryan went back to comfort Ms McClements, Mr Bradshaw stayed with Dr Deery. When Dr Deery stopped breathing he started CPR, and continued trying to revive him for the 50 minutes it took rescue crews to arrive.
Yesterday, Mr Bradshaw and Ms Ryan's efforts - which meant Ms McClements survived her ordeal - were honoured at a special ceremony at Government House in Wellington, where Governor-General Anand Satyanand presented the Queenstown couple with the Royal Humane Society's Silver Award for bravery.
Special guests were the Deerys, who travelled from Belfast to see the courage of the couple who tried to save their son's life recognised.
"We have become very close to them ... we will always treasure their friendship," Francis Deery said.
His parents said Dr Deery had fallen in love with New Zealand and was having "the holiday of a lifetime" before continuing his medical career.
Ms Ryan said receiving the awards was a bittersweet experience, as they had only been able to save one of the climbers they'd tried to rescue.
"Donal's injuries were such that he wouldn't have survived anyway. We didn't know that at the time and we put our heart and soul into doing the best we could to keep him alive.
"It is particularly sad for the parents having this difficult situation, where Donal tried to save Helen and then was the one who lost his life.
"The Deerys are a very open family. When they came over to Queenstown for the inquest, they were very open and warm."
