Whanganui LandSAR volunteers recognised for decades of service

Lindsay Hopping, Mike Poppe, Chris Knight, Cathy Purdie and Brian Purdie after receiving their awards. Photo / Abe Leach

After decades of braving the elements to help others, 11 volunteers have been recognised at a special event. Abe Leach was there.

A passion for the outdoors, comradery and giving back to those in need are common themes among the volunteers being recognised for their service to Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR).

Eleven people whose service ranged from 10 to 30 years were acknowledged at an awards event at The Barracks Sports Bar on Thursday night.

It might feel slightly unusual for some of the volunteers to be grandstanded this way, as most are used to just getting the job done, but it's something LandSAR Whanganui group chair Alex Loggie says is important to do.

"These people don't do it for recognition but it's great to be able to thank them for their service and acknowledge the support of their families.

"A lot of these people are busy workers or business owners who volunteer for days on short notice."

Mike Poppe, 61, was recognised for his 30 years' service to the organisation, and is partly the reason for the event being created.

The awards night was put together when Poppe decided to hang up his boots. After some research, it was discovered he'd reached an impressive milestone of 30 years with the organisation.

"I said to Alex when I decided to quit that I just want to go out as quietly as I came, but that hasn't happened," Poppe says with a laugh.

"What makes it enjoyable is the team and the people you're working with.

"It's all about teamwork, getting along and getting the job done."

Debbie Wilson and Tony Hall have volunteered for 20 years. Photo / Abe Leach

Lindsay Hopping, 70, is also being recognised for 30 years' service and says he started with LandSAR through a hobby for tramping and a desire to help those in need.

"If I was lost, I'd like to think someone would come searching for me," he says.

"Sometimes it may be misadventure, or people fall and hurt themselves, but sometimes they underestimate the conditions.

"Time is of the essence in a rescue and if it's a sad outcome, you always want to be able to bring someone home for closure for the family.

"It's always good to have successful rescues and most of them are successful."

Hopping says over the years LandSAR has become much more efficient and specialised.

"At one stage, when the call came out, everyone from tramping clubs and hunting groups would arrive.

Land Search and Rescue team members during a training exercise at Tongariro National Park. Photo / File

"They'd probably have between 70 and 100 people for a search and now we have teams of three or four people, and there might be only five or six teams in total.

"They're all highly trained and cover a wide range of skills."

An assignment that stands out for both Poppe and Hopping was a rescue involving two people at Ruahine Forest Park near Mangaweka, where snow and harsh wind were factors.

"They were at the top of the Ruahines and one of them was in a pretty bad way, she was huddled up and hypothermic," Poppe says.

"Once we knew they were above the snow line it was actually quite easy to get to them.
"We were life savers that day because I don't think she would have made it another night."

Chris Knight, 55, has spent close to 40 years volunteering with LandSAR and joined shortly after finishing high school.

On several occasions, Knight travelled to Scott Base in Antarctica where he was part of a search and rescue team made up of New Zealanders and Americans.

"It's totally different conditions compared to back home, it was negative 45 degrees most of the time.

"You definitely have to stay focused in those conditions and look after yourself and fellow team members."

Teamwork is one aspect Knight highlights as critical to a successful rescue.

"You have to rely on your team members, it's not an individual thing and you've all got to use each other's strengths to get the job done."

Haydon Meade, Tim Price, Stewart Crawford and Bryn Deuchars were acknowledged for 10 years' service. Photo / Abe Leach

One of the most important roles in any rescue is communication, which is where Brian and Cathy Purdie step in.

The husband and wife team have been relaying messages from rescuers in the field to organisers at LandSAR headquarters for the past 30 years.

"We became amateur radio operators because we thought that was a pretty good hobby to have, then we decided that we'd like to help the community by providing communications assistance," Brian says.

"Communication keeps the urgency of the search going and when clues are found they can be processed really quickly.

"Most search operations you find the person fit and well, and there's a feeling that we achieved what we came here for.

"The disappointing ones are when we're there too late, it's disappointing to not find the person alive but it's good to be able to bring closure to the person's family,

"But there's always an expectation that you'll succeed when we set out to do it."

Cathy Purdie says she was one of the only female operators when she started in 1979, but she's glad to have seen more females enter radio communications over the decades.

"I've enjoyed working with everyone we have through the years, they are extremely dedicated people who drop anything and go," Cathy says.

"Where we can help out, we will."

Other awards handed out at the event included 20-year service awards for Debbie Wilson and Tony Hall.

Stewart Crawford, Tim Price, Bryn Deuchars and Haydon Meade were acknowledged for 10 years' service.

Representatives from LandSAR sponsors Safemode, Balance Chartered Accountants and Bayleys also were acknowledged.