Mt Aspiring rescuer celebrates 33 years' service

Mountain of memories: Retired LandSAR Wanaka member Stu Thorne (centre) holds a photograph of Mt Aspiring taken by fellow long-term LandSAR member Geoff Wayatt (left) and presented to him on Tuesday night in recognition of 33 years of service to the organisation. Alan Gillespie (right), also a longterm member of the group, made a speech thanking Mr Thorne for his long service.

The image - taken during a search and rescue mission by Geoff Wayatt, also a long-term member of the group, was especially meaningful for Mr Thorne as it captured the northwest ridge of the mountain where a lot of the rescues he had been involved with had taken place, along with a number of fatalities.

Mr Thorne retired last year from LandSAR Wanaka after being involved in more than 100 operations. He was presented with an award at the group's AGM on Tuesday night.

Award presentations had already been made to Mr Thorne at the end of last year from both LandSAR New Zealand and the New Zealand Police.

During the presentation, fellow long-term search and rescue volunteer Alan Gillespie thanked Mr Thorne for his dedication and expertise over the years.

‘‘Stu had the largest impact on Wanaka search and rescue in the early stages,'' Mr Gillespie said.
Mr Thorne was involved in the initial form of Wanaka LandSAR -at the time, a combined group of the Mountain Safety Committee and Wanaka Search and Rescue group - operating out of the Department of Conservation headquarters in Wanaka, where he still continues his work today as a Doc ranger.

In his search-and-rescue capacity, Mr Thorne was secretary treasurer, gear custodian and the primary contact at the organisation's headquarters.

He also volunteered for many years as an ambulance officer and, as a result, was at the forefront of first aid training for the local SAR group, including as an instructor for outdoor first aid.

In the past 15 or so years, Mr Thorne had continued his involvement as a search and rescue adviser for the Wanaka Police and was still involved operationally in a number of search-and-rescue missions.

In acknowledging his award, Mr Thorne said it was extra special to receive recognition of his work from the local branch.

Wanaka LandSAR was ‘‘in good hands'' since his departure and members were doing a ‘‘wonderful job'' of search and rescue in the area, he said.

‘‘I've learnt a lot from it and hopefully I've given some people something back from it all,'' Mr Thorne said.