Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 16, 2024 21:15:05 GMT 12
From The Press on 27th of June 1975:
GEORGE MEDAL FOR BRAVE RESCUE
(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 26.
A helicopter pilot who made a daring rescue of an injured climber near Queenstown on January 2, has been awarded the George Medal. He is Robert Donald Spary, of Cromwell.
The citation says that the pilot was asked by the police to help rescue a climber who had fallen down the Olivine falls and was lying badly injured on a rock ledge. No suitable area was available for winged aircraft or a helicopter to land, and to have moved the injured climber to a landing site would have taken two days on foot.
Mr Spary, with a doctor, flew to the area to see how best to move the man. It was decided to lift two climbers from Pyke Hut and place them on a big flat rock at the base of the falls near where the man lay, with a view to moving him to the rock for a pickup. However, the climbers were unable to reach the injured man and were returned to Pyke Hut.
The citation continued: “With the weather closing in and little prospect of completing the rescue by other means, Mr Spary then decided he would attempt to land on the rock ledge where the injured man lay.
“He did this by placing one skid of the helicopter on the ledge, balancing the machine under a wall of water from the fall, and with the rotor blades almost touching a sheer rock face.
"While the helicopter was in a precarious and extremely dangerous position, the injured man managed to crawl into it and was taken to hospital.”
Another member of the party with a badly sprained ankle was also lifted out of the area at the same time.
“The whole rescue operation took two hours and a half and was carried out in extremely hazardous and demanding conditions. It owed its success almost entirely to the great courage, dedication and outstanding flying skill of Mr Spary.”
The Governor-General (Sir Denis Blundell) also announced that the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air has been awarded to an Auckland helicopter pilot for his services in the fighting of a big bush fire at Piha in February. He is Samuel Duncan Bunting Anderson, of Mount Wellington.
A Waipukurau man, Selwyn James Barron, has been awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct for rescuing two injured youths from a motor vehicle which had run off the road and burst into flames.
GEORGE MEDAL FOR BRAVE RESCUE
(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 26.
A helicopter pilot who made a daring rescue of an injured climber near Queenstown on January 2, has been awarded the George Medal. He is Robert Donald Spary, of Cromwell.
The citation says that the pilot was asked by the police to help rescue a climber who had fallen down the Olivine falls and was lying badly injured on a rock ledge. No suitable area was available for winged aircraft or a helicopter to land, and to have moved the injured climber to a landing site would have taken two days on foot.
Mr Spary, with a doctor, flew to the area to see how best to move the man. It was decided to lift two climbers from Pyke Hut and place them on a big flat rock at the base of the falls near where the man lay, with a view to moving him to the rock for a pickup. However, the climbers were unable to reach the injured man and were returned to Pyke Hut.
The citation continued: “With the weather closing in and little prospect of completing the rescue by other means, Mr Spary then decided he would attempt to land on the rock ledge where the injured man lay.
“He did this by placing one skid of the helicopter on the ledge, balancing the machine under a wall of water from the fall, and with the rotor blades almost touching a sheer rock face.
"While the helicopter was in a precarious and extremely dangerous position, the injured man managed to crawl into it and was taken to hospital.”
Another member of the party with a badly sprained ankle was also lifted out of the area at the same time.
“The whole rescue operation took two hours and a half and was carried out in extremely hazardous and demanding conditions. It owed its success almost entirely to the great courage, dedication and outstanding flying skill of Mr Spary.”
The Governor-General (Sir Denis Blundell) also announced that the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air has been awarded to an Auckland helicopter pilot for his services in the fighting of a big bush fire at Piha in February. He is Samuel Duncan Bunting Anderson, of Mount Wellington.
A Waipukurau man, Selwyn James Barron, has been awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct for rescuing two injured youths from a motor vehicle which had run off the road and burst into flames.
