982

NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 37

Trevor Francis MOKARAKA (deceased)

Citation

On the morning of Friday, 10 December 1999, a man
entered his home and instructed his defacto partner to go to
the shops for some cigarettes. While she was away, he killed
their children by cutting their throats. When she returned to
their home, he attempted to cut her throat and stab her
to death. Her screams were heard by two neighbours,
Mr Mokaraka and Mr Fenton Penetana, who both went to
her aid. Upon entering the house, they were confronted by
the man who was attempting to kill his partner on the lounge
floor. The two men tried to disarm him and in the process
Mr Mokaraka received a fatal stab wound to the chest.
The offender was subsequently charged with three counts of
murder and two counts of attempted murder, but was found
not guilty on grounds of insanity.

Peter James DEAM

Citation

On the morning of 9 April 2000, two brothers aged 13 and
14 years at the time were fishing in the Waihao River
around an area known as the “box”; so-called because of its
wooden boxed internal waterway channel. While walking
alongside the box structure, they began sinking into the
stones but managed to get away. The younger boy lost a
gumboot during the incident, so the older boy went back to
retrieve it and became trapped. The younger boy ran for help
and found Mr Deam in the nearby car park. By the time Mr
Deam reached the box, the older boy was buried up to his
chest in the stones. Mr Deam unsuccessfully attempted to
pull him out by using his jacket as a rope. He then instructed
the younger boy to hold onto the end of the jacket while he
ran to get a rope from his car. He looped the rope under
the sinking boy’s arms and shoulders, however, the boy
continued to sink. Mr Deam then drove to the nearest house,
but the occupant had no telephone so both men returned to
the boy who was by then up to his neck in the stones.
Pulling on the rope only seemed to hasten the sinking, so the
second man went to a nearby farm to call for help and upon
his return could only see the boy’s hands. Mr Deam had
continued with his efforts to rescue the boy, including trying
to dig him out, keeping his head above the water and his
mouth free of shingle. Another man arrived to help and
Mr Deam decided to enter the box channel from the opposite
end and try to push or pull the boy from underneath. He
removed most of his clothing and entered the dark, confined
and extremely dangerous channel, pushing against the
strong current and moving shingle. He located the correct
position by knocking and calling out to the third man and
was able to find the boy’s leg to try and push him free. At
this time, a member of the Fire Service arrived to assist
wearing a wetsuit. Mr Deam was taken away for medical
attention shortly afterwards suffering from the extreme cold.
Heavy equipment was later called in to remove the boy, who
had by that time drowned.

Jeanette Ruth PARK

Detective (now Sergeant), New Zealand Police

Citation

At about 1.00 p.m. on 5 July 2002, Detective Park and
Detective Constable Duncan Taylor went to an address in
Taipo Road, Rongotea, to warn a local family that a person
known to them, and who was the subject of a Domestic
Protection Order in respect of a family member, may have
returned to the area. While talking to the family, they saw
the person drive past the house. The two officers, who were
unarmed, pursued his vehicle which stopped, but when
they got out of their vehicle the other person drove off and
returned to the Taipo Road address. Both vehicles stopped
in the driveway of the house. As the two Police officers
left their car, the male occupant of the other presented a rifle
at Detective Constable Taylor and without warning, fired
a single shot which killed him instantly, Detective Park
considered going to the aid of her colleague but saw the
offender point the rifle at her. He fired a shot, which missed.
He then fired another shot, hitting her in the buttock and
inflicting a serious wound. Nevertheless, she was able to
jump the cattle stop at the end of the driveway as the
offender fired a fourth shot. Believing she was being hunted
by the offender and knowing she had to get help, Detective
Park used cover to go some 500 metres over farmland to a
farmhouse. She alerted the occupant to the danger and
reported the situation to Police Operations. She then began
taking the occupant to a place of safety but saw that another
Police car had arrived and was parked too close to the house
where the shooting had taken place. Detective Park made
her way up a ditch to the patrol car to warn the officers to
move to a place of safety. By this time, the pain from her
wound was severe and she could no longer stand. She
crawled along the roadside and warned another officer of the
danger. Detective Park was then evacuated to hospital to
have her wound treated. The family were eventually rescued
unharmed and the offender arrested. The actions of the two
officers had given the family time to barricade themselves in
a room from which they eventually made their escape
unharmed.

THE NEW ZEALAND BRAVERY DECORATION
(N.Z.B.D.)

Brian John PICKERING

Citation

On 25 September 2000, Mr John Painting and his son
Matthew were tramping in the Kaimanawa Ranges. At an
altitude of almost 5,000 feet, they were caught in what was
later reported as a “50 year storm” with freezing temperatures,
70 knot winds and blizzard conditions. They were found
by chance in a distressed condition and suffering from
hypothermia by Mr Pickering, who was on the first day of a
six day journey into the Kaimanawa Forest Park. Using his
skill and experience, Mr Pickering positioned the two men
below a track, placed them in their sleeping bags and gave
them food. He also tried to wrap them with a tent to shield
them from the driving wind. He then dialled 111 on his
cellphone and alerted the Police to the situation. He was able
to provide details of their location and names, and requested
assistance from the search and rescue organisation. He
managed to get both men into one sleeping bag and
remained with them, keeping them as warm as possible until
help arrived. Throughout the incident, he kept in regular
contact with the search and rescue headquarters. Mr Pickering
put his own life at risk by staying with the two men, who
would have died in the storm had it not been for his actions.

Geoffrey Frank KNIGHT

Constable, New Zealand Police (retired)

Shortly after midnight on 4 June 2001, Constable Knight
attended a violent domestic incident near Tapanui. The two
occupants of a house had been traumatised by the actions of
the male occupant’s brother, who had broken into the house
and assaulted the male occupant, causing serious injury. He
threatened to kill the female occupant and her children and
had unsuccessfully attempted to open their firearms cabinet.
By this time, the female occupant and children had sought
safety in a bedroom. Unable to gain access to them, the
intruder retreated, armed with a knife and threatening to kill.
At this point, Constable Knight arrived alone and called for
Police backup, which he knew would be up to 30 to 40
minutes away. The intruder reappeared, resisted arrest and
engaged in a violent struggle with Constable Knight, who
managed to restrain him for approximately 30 minutes until
local Fire Brigade members arrived to assist. The offender
was subsequently charged with numerous offences.