8 NOVEMBER
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
3949

John Joseph McNAMEE

Citation

Mr McNamee, an employee of Alpine Guides Ltd, was guiding one of two groups on 11 July 1997 when he and four skiers in his party were buried in an avalanche five kilometres from Mt Cook, in the Southern Alps. Mr McNamee managed to free his pack, get his shovel out and then dig himself out in a very short period of time. With a quick scan of the area, he spotted visual signs of two of his skiers who were completely buried except that each had a hand visible. The priority was to free these skiers to the extent that they had clear airways and could breathe. Once this was accomplished, he located the other two skiers, one of whom had stopped breathing. Mr McNamee administered CPR by which time four other guides, who had been working nearby, had been summoned by Mr McNamee when the avalanches first started, had arrived and they were followed by other rescue personnel. All those buried by the avalanches were suffering to some extent from hypothermia and with the possibility of undetected injuries, it was decided to fly three of the skiers to Christchurch Hospital. All were released the next day. There is no doubt that if Mr McNamee had not managed to free himself and the others in such a short period, there would have been multiple fatalities.

Dated at Wellington this 23rd day of October 1999.

MARIE SHROFF, Clerk of the Executive Council.

NEW ZEALAND GALLANTRY AWARDS

The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the following New Zealand Gallantry Award:

THE NEW ZEALAND GALLANTRY DECORATION (N.Z.G.D.)

John Clinton Lionel OXENHAM (W22215)

Chief Petty Officer Writer, Royal New Zealand Navy (Retired)

Citation

On 1 December 1992 Chief Petty Officer Oxenham, who was serving in Cambodia with a United Nations peacekeeping mission, was a member of a patrol conducting operations along the Shroeng Sen River. During this patrol, Chief Petty Officer Oxenham, together with three British officers and two Philipino senior ratings, were taken prisoner by members of the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea, formerly the Khmer Rouge. The group was detained for four days while negotiations to release them took place. It was during this period that Chief Petty Officer Oxenham ensured that their capture did not have a tragic outcome. His positive and level-headed behaviour was instrumental in diffusing a very tense and potentially life-threatening situation. The controlled but relaxed approach adopted by Chief Petty Officer Oxenham helped to reassure his fellow captives, while this behaviour, which often bordered on careful affront, including two failed escape attempts, demonstrated to the captors that the group were totally unwilling to acquiesce to captivity. At a time when he and his colleagues were under extreme duress, he positively, bravely and effectively influenced the interaction between captors and captives, such that all prisoners were eventually released unharmed.

Dated at Wellington this 23rd day of October 1999.

MARIE SHROFF, Clerk of the Executive Council.

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS:
LEGISLATION DIRECT, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND—1999

ISSN 0111-5650
Price $2.30 (inc. G.S.T.)
32553—99A