From local government leadership and sporting excellence to dedication to education and rescue efforts, five Nelson locals have been recognised in this year’s New Year Honours. Today, we are bringing you their stories.
Five decades ready for anything, but he was unprepared to get a New Year Honours nod.
Ian Watts has been awarded a King’s Service Medal for his commitment to Nelson Tasman Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) and the region’s specialist civil defence rescue team, New Zealand Response Team 2 (NZ-RT2).
While the Nelsonian may have been singled out on this occasion, his mantra is that it’s a team effort for recognition of royal proportions.
“At the end of the day, I just do the training and turn out when required, and don’t make a fuss about it… so it was out of the blue, it’s nice to be recognised, I guess,” he reflects.
“It recognises the two organisations and the whole group of people in them, you can't do it alone.”
Ian’s dawn of volunteering was aged 15 in St John Nelson’s cadets, and “an excuse to get out in the hills” with the local LandSAR group was an “easy fit” and an “exciting” addition to his volunteering portfolio.
He has traversed at times rugged terrain on searches for lost and injured public which have lasted up to five days.
Prepared to drop anything to respond at any time, Ian permanently keeps a notepad and pen in his pocket to record details from calls reporting search and rescue jobs.
Fifty years down the track, he has served the group in various capacities, including regional chairman.
“At times it’s hard and stressful, but when you happen to be looking for someone, and you walk on them in the middle of the night or on a wet, crappy day [they are] pretty happy to see you,” he says.
“It’s a good organisation which has got a good lot of people… it's a pretty good feeling that joint efforts get the outcome you all want.”
Ian has been a Nelson Tasman emergency responder since he was “nagged” to be involved in the 2002 establishment of the region’s New Zealand Response Team (NZ-RT2).
Providing training and team leadership for regional and national emergencies, and liaising with Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Hato Hone St John, and local councils in these dangerous situations is in his wheelhouse.
Ian assisted in working through phone calls regarding collapsed structures and damaged homes after the Christchurch earthquake in 2010, and alongside an engineer, helped survey damaged property in the city's Red Zone after the 2011 quake.
He was promoted to team leader six months before the Kaikōura earthquake in 2016, which his team was deployed to, gathering intel and checking on residences in affected Seddon and Ward.
Ian’s seven years in the pivotal role also included responding to Cyclones Fehi and Gita, which battered Nelson Tasman in 2018.
Reconnaissance and reporting the event’s gravity and response requirements to the Emergency Assistance Centre was Ian’s team’s responsibility.
The month-long Pigeon Valley Fire in 2019 saw him assist police to evacuate Wakefield and its nearby settlements, manage cordons for farmers to tend to livestock, and provide food and drink to fire crews.
With his team leader hat on, Ian also helped set up a new base for the response team at Appleby, overhaul its vehicle fleet, initiate a gear inventory system, and achieve national accreditation.
Recently retired from a building career, 66-year-old Ian reckons “a few more years” volunteering in times of crisis.
“I manage to keep myself at that operational level… and [LandSAR and emergency response] has a great bunch of people who are quite happy to do the hard yards,” he acknowledges.
“If it wasn't for all the other people putting their hand up, [a KSM] wouldn't be possible.”
