New Zealander of the Year Awards: All Gabrielle volunteers named finalists for Community of the Year

If you were one of the thousands shovelling silt, making hot tea, or providing support in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, a joint Community of the Year Award could soon be yours to claim.

This year’s Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year award nominations announced on Wednesday reveal all “Cyclone Gabrielle volunteers” nationally have been named as finalists for Community of the Year.

The Mitre 10 Community of the Year Award Ngā Pou Whirinaki o te Tau recognises a rōpū, or group of people, that “together have made an outstanding difference to their community this year.”

An official nomination statement paid tribute to the “unwavering dedication” of volunteers across the motu who “embodied the spirit of unity and solidarity” during the unprecedented weather event that caused widespread destruction and left 11 dead.

A volunteer helps Jen Yule take destroyed furniture from her and her husband Dave's flooded Twyford property in the week after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor

At a recent volunteer appreciation day in Hawke’s Bay, Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst paid tribute to those in the region who went out of their way to help during the cyclone.

“Through both the response and the recovery, our region united with a determined spirit; our people worked together to support each other, especially those in extreme need,” she said.

Volunteers mentioned by Hazlehurst included emergency services and the volunteers from such units as surf lifesaving, volunteer search and rescue, and helicopter pilots, as well as “local groups and individuals from schools, marae, churches, community centres and more, who used whatever they had to save the lives of so many, and then shelter and feed our distressed people”.

Chloe Johnson, volunteer co-ordinator behind the Cyclone Hawkes Bay Help page, said volunteers came in all different forms during the region’s monumental ongoing cleanup.

“I described the page before as the glue that held the community together, and it was a place for people to find out how they could help if they couldn’t do the most obvious things as well. Not everyone could get out there and dig silt or get involved in the physical clean-up.”

She said volunteers didn’t set out to gain the limelight, but it was likely there would be a deep appreciation of the nomination from those in the community who continued to look out for each other.

“Volunteers don’t do things to be recognised, but it is always really nice to be appreciated for the work that’s done, particularly because it’s been going on for a year.

“It wasn’t a short, sharp stint of volunteering; it’s been a marathon. It’s nice to have something heartwarming and meaningful come out of a disaster.”

Johnson wanted to send a heartfelt thanks to anyone who showed selflessness during the recovery.

“If we think about the immediate response, it was the most selfless thing I’ve ever seen. Nobody thought about themselves, everyone thought about other people.

“It really restored faith in humanity, and I thank those people who put others before themselves. That’s what’s helped get our region back on track.”

The ultimate category winners across all seven categories will be revealed live at the New Zealander of the Year Awards Gala, set to take place on March 27 at the Auckland Viaduct Event Centre.

“If there has ever been a time to celebrate those who’ve made outstanding contributions to the well-being of our country, it’s now. It is a real privilege to honour the creativity, selflessness, and visionary people that help make us proud to call Aotearoa home,” Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich said.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.