If you get lost on the Coromandel Peninsula be assured Thames local Brian Boyle will do everything he can to bring you home safely.
The 'theoretically retired” 75-year-old is the coordinator of the Coromandel Peninsula Search and Rescue Committee plus founder of the Coromandel Peninsula Wander Search Charitable Trust.
In April, Brian's efforts were celebrated at the 2014 New Zealand Search and Rescue Council Awards held in Wellington, where he received a Certificate of Achievement for Support Activity.
The certificate is awarded for important contributions to search and rescue in the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region, either during 2014 or over an extended period.
A humble man, he's absolutely chuffed with the award but also quick to point out the efforts of his team too.
'Gee whizz,” he says, 'on the Peninsula we have some pretty incredible people that have been involved in search and rescue for a long time.
'It's a job that needs to be done and I just happened to have the time. With the support of all the guys we've achieved a heck of a lot really.”
Brian was 17 when he first became involved with search and rescue in New Plymouth, as a member of the Taranaki Alpine Club back in 1957.
Shortly after moving to Thames in 2003, he became a Thames LandSAR committee member at the first opportunity and would go on to form a wider Coromandel Peninsula SAR committee.
This committee aligns and steer the five local groups, with Brian also the coordinator alongside his other roles.
'Compared to where it was in 1958 to where it is now, search and rescue is an entirely different animal,” says Brian. 'In the early days we were really there just to carry people out, whereas now, the knowledge, skill and capabilities required are vastly different to what I knew in my youth.
'The training we go through now is just outstanding and our trainers are often engaged by other countries to install great search management processes and techniques.
'New Zealand has such a heck of a reputation and is a world leader when it comes to search and rescue.”
A Wandertrak device, hidden in an autistic boy's shoe. Photo: NZSAR
When asked what led to the establishment of the Coromandel Wander Search Charitable Trust in 2013 he admits it kind of happened by accident.
It was during one of NZSAR general meetings in Wellington that Brian got talking to a Gisborne LandSAR member who mentioned the Freemason's had donated Wandertrack pendants to them.
The pendants have a tracking device inside them which helps greatly reduces search time and are issued to people prone to wandering, such as those living with dementia.
'I was like ‘hang on, what's this?” remembers Brian. 'So by complete accident I learned what it was and did some more digging afterwards.”
In 2012, Brian and the team were involved in three searches which took place in the space of about four months.
He recalls the first search took a total of 630 man hours. The next two, which happened in the space of a couple of weeks, took 550 and 480 total man hours.
'Nine months later we carried out a search for a visitor from Auckland who was wearing a Wandertrack pendant – we found him in 16 minutes.”
For Brian, the nice thing about the Wandertrack pendants is the peace of mind it gives to the family of people who are prone to wandering.
He's also been heartened by the generosity of people in the community who support and keep the trust going via donations.
'It's not surprising how many generous people there are, when they hear about these sort of things they're more than happy to make a donation.
'It's really nice to be on the end of that generosity, it makes it pretty easy to get out there and provide a service.”
On top of his search and rescue work, Brian is also a world champion triathlete. In 2014 he won Ironman Hawaii in the 75-79 age group, and was also Sport Waikato Hauraki/Thames Coromandel District's over-40's Sportsperson of the Year. Photo: Sports Waikato