NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 61

6 MAY 2011

had one in his pocket and Inspector O’Leary was able to cut the belt that was restraining the child and they pulled the child from the wreckage to safety. The intense heat, dense smoke and flames prevented any further rescue attempts from being made.

Mr Booth displayed bravery in going to the assistance of Inspector O’Leary in his rescue of one of the children in the Toyota. There was an ever-present danger of the fire engulfing them both as they stood beside the vehicle attempting to effect the rescue.

Paul BUCKLEY
Detective, New Zealand Police

Citation

On 7 May 2009 Detective Paul Buckley was one of the first members of the Armed Offenders Squad to arrive at the scene of the fatal shooting of Senior Constable Len Snee, and the wounding of Leonard Holmwood, and Senior Constables Grant Diver and Bruce Miller, by Mr Jan Molenaar in Chaucer Road South, Napier.

Detective Buckley arrived at the scene with Senior Constable Bradley Clark from the southern end of Chaucer Road, stopping his vehicle at the intersection with Spencer Road. Moving up the hill on foot, the two men reached a position outside No. 35 Chaucer Road South from where they could see a male civilian, Mr Len Holmwood, lying on his back at the rear of Senior Constable Diver’s abandoned vehicle. Carrying on up the hill again, they reached Senior Constable Diver’s vehicle and, while Detective Buckley took up a covering position with his rifle, Senior Constable Clark dragged the wounded Mr Holmwood to a position out of direct sight of the gunman and began dressing his wound.

Realising that they were probably too close to the gunman’s position, they lifted Mr Holmwood and dragged him further down the road to a place of safety behind a block wall in the vicinity of No. 1 Spencer Road, where they continued to administer first aid to his injuries. He was later taken by a Police car to a waiting ambulance.

Detective Buckley, in concert with Senior Constable Clark, displayed both bravery and dedication to duty in carrying out the evacuation of Mr Holmwood from a position that was only metres away from the gunman’s house. Their actions enabled Mr Holmwood to receive essential first aid to a serious wound which, had it remained untreated for any length of time, might have proved fatal.

James Iain CHRISTIE

Citation

At 8.23 p.m. on 25 September 2007 Mount Ruapehu erupted. The eruption caused boulders, rocks, mud and other debris to smash through the Dome Shelter near the summit of the mountain, where Mr James Christie and his climbing partner, Mr William Pike, were asleep. Mr Christie was able to free himself from under the debris when the floor boards gave away and the water receded, but Mr Pike was buried up to the waist and had also sustained a compound fracture to the lower right leg.

Mr Christie immediately went to the aid of his friend. In the dark, and dressed in only thermals, he tried to pull the rocks off his friend’s body. When his hands were too cold to continue, he tried using a shovel and an ice pick to remove the material that covered him, while at the same time trying to keep him conscious. Because the rocks were too big and heavy, he could only free his friend’s left leg. All the while, the mountain was continuing to erupt intermittently and the ground was shaking, causing debris to land on and around the Shelter. Unable to free Mr Pike from the debris that entrapped him, Mr Christie realised he would have to leave his friend and go to get help.

After tying a tourniquet around Mr Pike’s broken right leg, he proceeded down the mountain to get help, in the dark, dressed only in wet thermals, wet jacket, and boots with no socks, and carrying an ice axe. After 40 minutes of running down the mountain, avoiding pot holes made by the rocks blown from the crater, and slipping over in the icy conditions, Mr Christie came across a snowcat driver, who contacted emergency services.

Had Mr Christie decided to remain with his friend, it is likely that both men would have died from hypothermia before help could have arrived. Mr Christie’s courageous decision to leave his friend and the relative safety of the Shelter resulted in both men surviving the ordeal.

Bradley James CLARK
Senior Constable, New Zealand Police

Citation

On 7 May 2009 Senior Constable Bradley Clark was one of the first Armed Offenders Squad members to arrive at the scene of the fatal shooting of Senior Constable Len Snee, and the wounding of Mr Leonard Holmwood, and Senior Constables Grant Diver and Bruce Miller, by Mr Jan Molenaar in Chaucer Road Napier.

Senior Constable Clark arrived at the scene with Detective Buckley from the southern end of Chaucer Road, stopping his vehicle at the intersection with Spencer Road. Moving up the hill on foot, the two men reached a position outside No. 35 Chaucer Road South from where they could see a male civilian, Mr Leonard Holmwood, lying on his back at the rear of Senior Constable Diver’s abandoned vehicle.

Carrying on up the hill again, they reached Senior Constable Diver’s vehicle and, while Detective Buckley took up a covering position with his rifle, Senior Constable Clark dragged the wounded Mr Holmwood to a position out of direct sight of the gunman and began dressing his wound.

Realising that they were probably too close to the gunman’s position, they lifted Mr Holmwood and dragged him further down the road to a place of safety behind a block wall in the vicinity of No. 1 Spencer Road, where they continued to administer first aid to his injuries. He was later taken by a Police car to a waiting ambulance.

Senior Constable Clark, in concert with Detective Buckley, displayed both bravery and dedication to duty in carrying out the evacuation of Mr Holmwood from a position that was only metres away from the gunman’s house. Their actions enabled Mr Holmwood to receive essential first aid to a serious wound which, had it remained untreated for any length of time, might have proved fatal.

Nicholas John CLERE
Detective Sergeant, New Zealand Police

Citation

On his arrival at the cordon point at the northern junction of Chaucer Road South and Guys Hill Road, Napier, on 7 May 2009, Detective Sergeant Nicholas Clere took command of the Police elements in the immediate area, including members of the Armed Offenders Squad. Having completed a reconnaissance of the area between his cordon position and the gunman’s house, he was advised that the wounded Senior Constable Grant Diver was located at No. 45 Chaucer Road, two doors up the road from the gunman’s house. He sent a member of the Armed Offender’s Squad to ascertain Senior Constable Diver’s condition and the urgency of medical attention required, and made arrangements for an ambulance and medics to be available.

He formulated a plan in which he, a member of the Armed Offenders Squad, another Police Officer and a volunteer Advanced Paramedic from St John Ambulance would take a stretcher to where Senior Constable Diver was hiding and