Search Organisation Holds Trial In Mt. Oxford Area

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28840, 10 March 1959, Page 8

Search Organisation Holds Trial In Mt. Oxford Area

A man “injured” in an “aircrash” was “rescued” in the Mount Oxford area on Sunday afternoon during a successful field trial held by the Search and Rescue Organisation. Mr N. D. Hardie, a member of the New Zealand Alpine Club and a wellknown mountaineer, took up an unknown position on Mount Oxford in the morning. About 45 persons, from various organisations which were taking part in the field trial, were divided into four parties. In transport provided by the Army one party was taken to Cooper's Creek, the second to a position a mile further south, and the other two parties to two points on the Lees Valley road. The first two parties approached the search area from the south and the other two from the east and the north-east. A field headquarters was set up to co-ordin-ate the activities of the parties. The organisations taking part included the Army, the Royal 1 New Zealand Air Force, the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, the police, and members of the Canterbury Alpine and Mountaineering clubs and the Deerstalkers' Association.

The Air Force provided one radio link between the field headquarters, the R.N.Z.A.F. station. Wigram. and the police station, and the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps had a similar link between the field parties, headquarters, and the police station where members had a radio set in operation. The “injured man” was sighted just after midday by an R.N.Z.A.F. Devon piloted by Flying Officer I. W. Collins, who picked up the L-shaped ground marker indicating the area of the “crash” on the slopes of Mount Oxford and directed a ground party to the area by radio. The other three parties were directed

to return to base by radio. The rescue party reached the “injured man’’ at 3.5 p.m., and he was brought back to the field headquarters just before 6 p.m. Mr G. Buchanan acted as search officer for the day and the sections were in charge of the following: Army, Major G. W. Stanley; Air Force, Flight Lieutenant T. Lowry; police, Senior-Sergeant E. H. Clark. The radio communications had operated very well and provided valuable practice for operating in an area where there were no telephones, said Senior-Sergeant Clark.