New citizen came close at Pike mine

Scarred by the Pike River mine tragedy, there was no-one prouder than Dan Scheepers when he became a New Zealand citizen yesterday.

Mr Scheepers was born in the Western Cape in South Africa, came to New Zealand 20 years ago, liked what he saw and stayed.

A mining engineer, he initially worked at a coal mine in Waikato before heading south to the ill-fated Pike River Mine, where he got all his New Zealand qualifications.

He said it was a great place to work but on November 19, 2010, everything changed as an explosion rocked the mine, killing 29 men.

Mr Scheepers could have been one of those — in fact, it was first thought he was.

"I was on leave for two days but my crew on the ground was working that day when it blew up. They had a look at the digs and my facemask was not there. But someone else must have taken it in. I was in Christchurch when it happened," he said.

He said he had organised his two days’ leave a long time before the date but — luckily — something had cropped up and he changed the dates slightly, moving them just two days. If that had not happened he would have been in the mine.

"I was in Christchurch at a home, just hearing about what was happening and how the guys on my crew were affected."

He returned to the West Coast and talked to families of those affected and struggled for a while with the effects of the explosion. He declined to comment on where blame lay.

He said eventually he had to move forward in life and went to Nelson for another mining job.

Then he started working for Downer in Auckland in tunnel-boring machines.

But he had settled in Dunedin and loved the city. The chance came up to become a citizen of New Zealand and it was processed so quickly he decided to go ahead with it.

"I applied and within three days they had phoned me up and asked me a few questions. Within a month they had done the whole process. It feels so good to be a citizen now. And I’m an All Blacks supporter."

Also becoming citizens were father and son Shao-Lu and Jia-Yang Chen, originally of Taiwan.

They came to Dunedin seven years ago, Mr Chen sen having just retired as a dentist. His son, dressed beautifully in a tuxedo yesterday, said the move was driven by a chance to get a good education and perhaps follow in his father’s footsteps in terms of career.

The Otago Boys’ High School year 11 student said he enjoyed Dunedin and his father especially loved the scenery and being part of a vibrant Christian community.

Those granted citizenship yesterday were: Noela Ablasa Abluyen, Philippines; Micah Queenie Lumiwes Ardaniel, Philippines; Dazel Anne Bayang Maxion, Philippines; Yoram Barak, Israel; Sarit Rothschild, Israel; Kristal Nacion Bas, Philippines; Anne Amelie Besson, France; Clement Francois Georges Lagrue, France; Sebastiaan Albert Godfried Bruinsma, Netherlands; Shao-Lu Chen, Taiwan; Jia-Yang Chen, Taiwan; Rodel Obispo Concepcion, Philippines; Gus Zambezi Cope, Australia; Kimberly Dawn Cope Tait, United States; Bart Degreef, Belgium; Tania Priscilla Moerenhout, Belgium; Marion Elisabeth Myriam Dumetz, France; Aladina Tumolva Durian, Philippines; Oliver Palmero Edrad, Philippines; Basil Ethan Eldhose, India; Jacinta Nia Eldhose, India; Anu Thachilukandathil Kuriachan, India; Paul Michael Fox, United States; Durr E Muhammad Ghauri, Pakistan; Alexander Golikov, Russia; John Daniel Hall, England; Trena Anne Heseltine, Australia; Alasdair William Martin, United Kingdom; Beth Anne Jones, United States; Hannah Puche Josue, Philippines; Marc Lynnel Ocampo Josue, Philippines; Hailey Puche Josue, Philippines; Kamalpreet Kaur, India; Harinder Singh, India; Alexia Josephine Kauff, Germany; Jeffery Tyler Kutz, United States; Stacey Lares La Sangre, Philippines; Jaime Dindin Lalaguna, Philippines; Simone Lehr, Germany; Penehuro Lemauai, Samoa; Danni Ma, China; Jodi Lynn Parrish, United States; Stela Pasic Adams, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Sara Mary Phillips, United Kingdom; Apaula Faith Pinatake, New Zealand; Michael Alexander Priestnall, England; Terence Arthur Prior, United Kingdom; Uma Nazira Eleanor Reid, Philippines; Maxwell Akram Alexander Reid, Philippines; Charles Zarif John Reid, Philippines; Kimberly Ariane Saint Martin, United States; Eric Daniel Scheepers, South Africa; Elin Clare Simes, United Kingdom; Kalino Soakai, Tonga; Antje Franziska Sohrmann, Germany; Elaine Grace Cagang Tan, Philippines; Marlowe Jeff Andales Ygot, Philippines; Marvin Gerald Silverio Tapon, Philippines; Klyde Martin Sanchez Tapon, Philippines; Krisna Sanchez Tapon, Philippines; Leena Tirrul, Canada; Chalatorn Tohjongmol, Thailand; Jason James Alexander Wasson, Ireland; Kai Shira Woolf, South Africa; Junyang Zhang, China; Zhiyong Zhu, China.