At 84, Eileen Harvey-Thawley has a new medal to put on her uniform when she joins the ranks of the Mapua Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Last week she headed to Government House where the Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro placed the Queen’s Service Medal for Services to Fire and Emergency on her uniform.
“I’ve been anxious for months, but I didn’t need to worry. I met some lovely people who had some amazing stories of service.”
Eileen joined the brigade in the mid-1990s, the New Zealand Fire Service in 2004 and has no plans to retire yet. Every week she is with the team at practice and continues to be the brigade’s treasurer and welfare officer.
Her service to the community goes beyond the fire brigade and she has supported a range of projects over the years including the restoration of Cobb House in the Moutere Hills and numerous other historical assets in her community, and assisting ANZAC Day commemorations. Twice she has been awarded the Tasman District Council’s Community Award.
Alongside her husband Graeme she donated a large family farm alongside the estuary leading into Māpua to the QE11 Trust to ensure the preservation of the local ecology and for the community.
