Two Canterbury Volunteers Received Award

Canterbury Coastguard volunteer Nelson Colyer, and South Canterbury Land Search and Rescue volunteer Wayne Keen received certificates from the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council at a ceremony in Wellington last night for their contributions to search and rescue in 2011 or over an extended period.

The council said Keen had made "determined efforts" to find missing hunters Corey Foster and Allan Hill months after official searches were suspended. Foster went missing while hunting in the Avoca Valley near Arthur's Pass in June 2007, and information passed on to police by Keen resulted in Foster's body being recovered on March 29, 2008.

Hill went missing in North Canterbury's Ashley Gorge area on July 6 last year, and his body was found by Keen. Keen was involved in the initial searches for both men and said he had not been able to leave the cases unresolved.

"It's always a team effort. I guess I was just the one who happened to get lucky." said Keen.

Colyer, of Lyttelton, was recognised for his role in the rescue of the tug Rakanui on April 23 last year. Colyer boarded the sinking tug and managed to reduce the water level enough so the boat could return to Lyttelton under its own steam. He chose to stay on board to help the exhausted crew during the four-hour journey back.

The council's gold award, for the most significant contribution to search and rescue last year, went to the Hawke's Bay Helicopter Trust. The award recognised the efforts of Dean Herrick, Geoff Taylor and Stephen Smith during the rescue of the yacht Kawa on October 11.

The other two certificates went to Brook Rapson and Murray Phipps-Black, of Wellington's Worser Bay Surf Life Saving Club, for their response to the stricken East by West ferry on March 2, 2011, and Coastguard Maketu volunteer Shane Beech for his efforts in rescuing two surfers in the Bay of Plenty's Kaituna Cut on January 23 last year. TOT News