4058 No. 196

NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

she urgently summoned an ambulance and Police. She then crawled approximately 100 metres back to the wounded man and comforted him. Concerned at the delay in medical aid Mrs Dickson then crawled to her home and made further emergency calls. The injured man was rescued by Police but later died of his wounds. Mrs Dickson continued a tense vigil communicating the gunman’s nocturnal activities to Police by telephone throughout the night. Mrs Dickson’s selfless and humane actions in staying with the wounded man in the face of grave danger and conveying situation reports to Police while alone at night with the constant fear of the gunman’s appearance, are deserving of the highest praise.

THE QUEEN’S GALLANTRY MEDAL (POSTHUMOUS)

Victor James CRIMP, Q.S.M. (Deceased)

Mr Crimp was a resident of the Aramoana village at the time a young man ran amok with a firearm on 13 November 1990. Attracted by a fire which the gunman had deliberately set alight, Mr Crimp with a friend went to alert Mr Magnus Jamieson of the danger. The gunman fired on both men as they attempted to gain entry to Mr Jamieson’s house. The friend left, but Mr Crimp managed to gain entry to the house to warn Mr Jamieson. Mr Crimp was followed inside by the gunman who fatally shot both men in the living room. Mr Crimp’s determined action in warning Mr Jamieson of the impending danger, at the cost of his own life, was an exemplary act of bravery.

THE QUEEN’S GALLANTRY MEDAL

Don Nicholas Fraser HARVEY

Constable, New Zealand Police

Paul Alan KNOX

Detective, New Zealand Police

Constable Harvey, was a member of the Dunedin Armed Offenders Squad deployed at Aramoana on 13 14 November 1990.

With another Constable he maintained a cordon at the front of the gunman’s house. Sergeant Guthrie was positioned at the rear of the house in which it was believed the gunman was contained. On learning the gunman was not within the thin Police cordon, he and the other constable set out in search of the gunman. Constable Harvey heard a verbal challenge to the gunman and made toward the direction of the voice. They were without radio communication and their every movement was fraught with danger. Constable Harvey gained a fleeting view of the gunman as he walked over a higher piece of ground. The gunman fired a volley of shots at an unknown target. His possession of a .38 calibre police revolver indicated to Constable Harvey that a member of the Police had been incapacitated.

Detective Knox was one of the initial group of Police to respond to the incident at Aramoana. Because of the lack of portable communication Sergeant Guthrie first deployed Detective Knox as a physical communicator between another Constable and himself. Detective Knox moved variously between the Constable and a Police vehicle relaying the sergeant’s orders. Detective Knox was then deployed to a cordon position near the gunman’s house. The Detective observed the gunman outside the house carrying a burning object in one hand. Detective Knox returned to the Police vehicle and relayed his observation to Sergeant Guthrie. During the sergeant’s return radio transmission Detective Knox heard the sergeant call out a challenge. There was an immediate volley of shots. Detective Knox realised Sergeant Guthrie’s perilous position, and without regard for his own personal safety, called out to the sergeant. As the sergeant did not reply Detective Knox bravely moved across open ground to his last known position.

After locating the slain Sergeant Guthrie and radioing the shooting of the sergeant to control, Detective Knox joined Constable Harvey. Believing the gunman might have further weapons in his house, and despite not knowing his exact whereabouts, the two policemen approached, entered and searched his premises. The gunman had decamped but the search revealed three high-powered firearms and a quantity of ammunition. Constable Harvey seized the weapons and removed them from the premises. Still without portable radio communication, Constable Harvey and Detective Knox decided to make for safer ground. During this movement the two policemen passed a parked utility vehicle where a number of bodies lay. Again, Constables Harvey and Knox exposed themselves to extreme danger while checking the vehicle and condition of the gunman’s victims. Finding one of six people alive, the two policemen decided to instigate an evacuation. Constable Harvey exposed himself to further danger by returning to a Police vehicle to meet with the arriving Armed Offenders Squad and to arrange the evacuation. Detective Knox remained with a wounded girl for nearly 40 minutes before she was evacuated in a daring rescue. Constable Harvey and Detective Knox, in difficult and dangerous conditions, displayed exemplary acts of bravery in the highest traditions of the New Zealand Police.

Terry Edward VAN TURNHOUT

Constable, New Zealand Police

David Thomas WEIR

Senior Constable, New Zealand Police

Constables Van Turnhout and Weir, members of the Dunedin Armed Offender Squad were deployed in the Aramoana village on the evening of 13 November 1990.

Constables Van Turnhout and Weir volunteered to recover two victims although the whereabouts of the gunman was unknown. They proceeded in a Police dog van into an open intersection to effect the recovery of a wounded man, knowing that they had virtually no protection from gunfire. Constable Weir positioned the van to allow Constable Van Turnhout to drag the wounded man into the passenger’s side of the vehicle. Constable Weir then reversed the vehicle at speed to a waiting ambulance. The victim later died. The second victim, a child, was being protected by Detective Knox near a utility van. This necessitated a further recovery attempt and again Constables Van Turnhout and Weir volunteered. They drove to the utility van and recovered two children. Detective Knox, Constable Harvey and two other persons. One of the children was dead and the other, although seriously wounded, survived the ordeal. Both recovery operations were exemplary acts of bravery in the highest traditions of the New Zealand Police.

THE GEORGE MEDAL (POSTHUMOUS)

Peter Morris UMBERS (Deceased)

Senior Constable, New Zealand Police

In the early hours of Sunday 27 May 1990 there was an armed robbery at the Poolburn Hotel, Central Otago. As a result police throughout Central Otago were called out. Senior Constable Umbers, stationed at Ranfurly, was directed to go to the intersection of State Highway 85 and the Ida Valley Road. On route to this point and about five kilometres out of Ranfurly, he sighted a vehicle coming from the direction of Poolburn. Constable Umbers was alone and he took the decision that he should stop and check the motor vehicle. He was aware that the offender was armed and that any vehicle he stopped could well be that of the offender. The first vehicle he stopped contained innocent people. Almost immediately after allowing this vehicle to proceed, he stopped a second vehicle which contained the offender. By radio he informed his superiors and other police of the action he was taking. He also advised details of the vehicle, its registration number and the number of occupants. He then failed to respond to any further