Donella Mackay (80), of Karitane, holds her certificate of
appreciation at the Waikouaiti Events Centre on Saturday.
Photo by Jane Dawber.
Donella Mackay was never one to worry about getting
grubby or breaking nicely manicured fingernails.
That was why the Karitane 80-year-old knew as soon as she sat
behind a desk in her first office job, that it wasn't going
to work out.
Ms Mackay, or Donny as she is better known to her friends,
recalled the excitement when she joined the Royal New Zealand
Navy in 1949, where she served two years in Wellington.
"If I stayed on, I would have been posted to Auckland. But I
wanted to go south, closer to home. So I did a stint of
clerical work at the hospital in Dunedin.
"It didn't take long for me to work out that working indoors
wasn't for me.
"It was too monotonous. So I joined the army."
On Saturday, Ms Mackay was one of about 60 war veterans who
received awards at a presentation at the Waikouaiti Events
Centre.
Although Ms Mackay never saw active service overseas, in her
16-year career in the New Zealand Army she reached the rank
of Warrant Officer, and is one of a very rare breed of women
who have served in both the navy and the army.
When it was suggested the skills she learnt in the army would
be useful keeping a brood of children in order, she said: "It
would have, if I had any".
Her commitment to her military career meant she never married
or had family.
On Saturday, New Zealand Defence Service medals were
presented by Defence Minister Dr Wayne Mapp, Anzac of the
Year Brigadier (retired) Dr Brian McMahon, Chief of Navy
Rear-admiral Tony Parr and Colonel (retired) John Campbell,
and certificates of appreciation were presented by Dunedin
Mayor Dave Cull, Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton, Kati Huirapa
Runaka chairman Matapura Ellison and Dunedin RSA president
Alan Goding.
The service was one of two held in the area at the weekend.
Another was held at Puketeraki marae earlier in the day.
Dr Mapp described the event as an "amazing community event,
where we all get to recognise the service of people in our
community."
"There is something about the service under a code of
discipline ... that brings people together in a way that few
other things do.
"We as a nation, we as a community, have sought to value that
service," he said.
- john.lewis@odt.co.nz
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