Dunedin LandSAR (Search and Rescue)

[b]The History of Search and Rescue in Otago - an overview[/b] There are probably earlier accounts of searches which could be recorded in the Alpine club's archives in the Hocken Library and the Otago Daily Times before the 1960's. The appointment of Paul Powell as chief search officer for the Federated Mountain Clubs in the 60's would be the start of a more systematic approach to Search and Rescue. Powell had served in the navy during World War II, and was a local dentist. He also had a background in mountaineering. The late Scott Gilkison, prominent mountaineer and accountant was also involved in Search And Rescue. However Powell fell out with the police over lack of provision for decent radios. He resigned and Roger Barrowclough took over. Bruce Moore was a contempory of Powell and is still alive today. Search personnel were provided from the mountain clubs such as the Otago Tramping Club, deerstalkers club and alpine club with comms provided from AREC using army World War II TRS radios and pigeons. Search and Rescue was part of the Federated Mountain Clubs with government departments having representatives. In 1964 the government of the day instituted the NZ Mountain Saftey Council with initial funding from the Internal Affairs department which enabled the appointment of the first field officer ex-police inspector Bill Bridge: ex-guru of National Search and Rescue and author of the first manual on SAR in New Zealand . Like Search and Rescue, the Mountain Safety Council recruited experienced trampers and climbers as volunteers, instructors were often the same people in SAR. This was the case in Dunedin and elsewhere, I believe. The theory being that an educated public would lessen the number of SAR callouts. About this time, school outdoor education exploded with the emergeance of permanent camps, such as Tautuku, Borland, and Berwick with schools such as Otago Boys High school, and Dunstan High School having camps in the Matukituki Valleys (east and west). Dunedin, with Alexandra covered the Aspiring National Park for searches, the late Arnold Hubbard, the local chemist was prominent in some of these. [b]Trevor Pullar[/b] past Search Adviser and Mountain Safety Council advisor.