Arduous Training For Rescue In The Mountains

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30919, 27 November 1965, Page 5

Arduous Training For Rescue In The Mountains

[Specially written for “The Press” by

RODGER KINGSBURY

9 pjn. on Friday, November 5, a deerstalker shooting in the x Arthur’s Pass National Park was reported as overdue to the Christchurch police.

The report was the first step in a carefully planned search-and-rescue exercise organised by the police to test emergency communication services and the co-ordination of rescue units.

The exercise was on the largest scale ever held in Canterbury, and the most successful.

The supposedly injured deerstalker was Constable R. Kennedy, of Christchurch, a hunter of wide experience. For the purposes of the exercise he was left by a companion at the Mount White bridge over the Waimakariri river on Monday, November 1. Kennedy intended to do some shooting in the area of the Hawdon and Edwards rivers, and had sufficient food with him for two days. He did not know the area but had a map of the Arthurs Pass National Park.

Kennedy's companion was supposed to pick him up at the bridge at 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 4, but when Kennedy did not turn up he reported the matter to the police. The only other information he could supply was that Kennedy was wearing a green shirt and khaki shorts and had a small tent and frame pack. On receipt of the report the head of the Christchurch police search and rescue team, Senior-Sergeant R. D. Whales, had a check made of local transport firms in case the missing man had been picked up in the National Park and brought back to Christchurch. He then got in touch with the nearest police station, Darfield, and the chief ranger at Arthurs Pass, Mr Peter Croft.

No shooting accident had been reported to Constable P. Larmer at Darfield, and no other shooting parties were known to be in the National Park at that time. Search Authorised The officer in charge of the Christchurch Police District (Chief Superintendent G. W. Alty) instructed SeniorSergeant Whales to organise a search party to leave Christchurch on the Saturday morning. Representatives of the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand, the New Zealand Alpine Club, Canterbury Mountaineering Club, Deerstalkers Association, and Christchurch Tramping Club, and the police search-and-rescue squad received a preliminary briefing at the Central Police Station that night. Senior-Sergeant Whales was appointed headquarters controller, and Mr B. A. Fineran, of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, field controller. Transport to and in the search area was provided by 3 Transport Company,

R.N.Z.A.S.C., based at Addington Military Barracks. Base medical and catering facilities were provided by the 3rd Field Ambulance. R.N.Z.A.F. Communications personnel from Wigram manned the base radio, maintaining contact with the sub-bases and Wigram Air Station.

To relieve the Christchurch Central Police Station communications section of traffic connected with the search, a field headquarters base was established at the entrance to the Hawdon Valley. This arrangement had the added advantage of giving headquarters staff practical experience in the field. Such a base in normal circumstances would be the police station itself. Maps And Radios The search parties were issued with maps of the area and walkie-talkie radios. They were given a trial run in their radio operation and procedural practice and a final briefing before setting out to establish sub-bases in the Edwards and Hawdon valleys. In all, 40 men moved into the search area on the Saturday morning. Four men, including a member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, manned each of the two forward bases. Two field parties of four moved on up the Edwards Valley, and six began their search for the “missing” man up the tributries of the Hawdon river. Each party carried a radio and had an experienced leader. Rain began to fall steadily from early in the afternoon and those parties gaining height above the Hawdon river were handicapped by limited visibility. An air search from a Wigram-based R.N.Z.A.F. Devon had to be called off because of low cloud. Slow Progress Weather conditions worsened during the afternoon. Heavy rain and high wind made progress slow and by early evening the searchers had to withdraw to tent camps nearer the valley floor. One party had earlier been forced to take an alternative route because of deep snow drifts, and several others had lost radio contact with their base camp because of the difficult terrain. Once encamped for the night searchers found no re-

lief from the north-westerly storm which reached its height in‘the early hours of Sunday morning. Tents were blown down time and again and torrential rain soaked their equipment. Meanwhile, back at the headquarters camp, the general picture of the progress of the search was gradually being built up as the location of each party and its direction of progress was plotted on a master grid map from information received from the sub-bases. The officer in charge of the Christchurch Police District was advised of progress and a press release was issued through the Wigram radio link. Casualty Found The search was resumed at first light on Sunday morning and in much improved conditions. The party which had been forced to withdraw to below the Walker Pass the previous evening climbed again to about 4000 ft between the Otehaka and Hawdon rivers. Just before 7 a.m. it found the “injured” deerstalker.

Now began the most difficult part of the operation—the task of carrying a man suffering from a compound fracture of the leg, arm and eye injuries and exposure, out of difficult country. The task was made all the more difficult by the swollen tributaries and river of the Hawdon. The deerstalker was given first aid and tied into an improvised stretcher made from a tent, climbing ropes, and poles cut from the bush. The fact that the man had been found and the extent of his injuries was immediately radioed back to base camp and relayed to headquarters. Relief For Bearers From headquarters Mr Fineran redirected those parties still in radio communication to converge on the returning searchers and provide relief shifts for the stretcher bearers. An army ambulance, intended to receive the injured man at the Hawdon hut, was unable to cross the flooded river and had to turn back. Its place was taken by a larger vehicle more suitable for fording deep water. The Gnat, a three-wheeled utility vehicle specially adapted to carry a stretcher, was able to reach the Hawdon Forks hut further up the boulder-strewn valley. It was used to carry the

stretcher for a considerable distance on the return journey and provided a welcome relief for the tired bearers. Planning for the exercise began at the end of August and the Hawdon-Edwards area was chosen in October because of the wide variations in terrain it offered. The success of the operation was largely due to the groundwork put in by Constable B. Thomas, of the police search - and - rescue squad, and to Mr Fineran. The police are primarily responsible for land search and rescue operations, and the duty of organising parties devolves on the officer in charge of the police district concerned. Search and rescue work for missing persons, aircraft, or small ships is divided into three distinct categories by the Police Department.

Class I searches are conducted by the police using only police personnel and facilities: class II searches, of the type arranged for this exercise, are those in bush, hill or mountain country, which utilize the assistance of Federated Mountain Clubs, Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, and other volunteer organisations, and in these operations field control is usually delegated to an expert nominated by the District search representative with the police providing liasion and assistance: class 111 searches are for aircraft, or large scale operations coordinated and directed by the Search and Rescue Organisation. Early Beginnings The Search and Rescue Organisation has evolved over the years to become a most efficient form of service. In 1933, the Tararua Tramping Club of Wellington prepared safety rules for its tramping and in April the next year called together all mountain clubs in the Wellington region to co-ordinate search and rescue operations in the local ranges. Later in 1934 field search arrangements were discussed with the Police Department and a district search procedure was agreed upon. In 1935 the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand made the Tararua Tramping Club’s search organisation the basis of the federation’s national scheme. In the years since then a great many calls have been responded to, and much valuable experience has been gained. In 1949 representatives of organisations which render service to search and rescue work met to Wellington and as a result the Search and Rescue Organisation (SAR) came into being to 1950. The result of their co-ordinated effort has been very successful and the many calls answered has welded it into an efficient service.

Composition The SAR Organisation is composed of service (Navy, Army and Air Force), civil facilities (police, Marine Department, Civil Aviation, Forest Service and other coopted departments) and nonGovernment organisations (Federated Mountain Clubs and Amateur Radio Emergency Corps). The area of control for New Zealand is divided into four centres of responsibility. For Christchurch the coordination centre is at Wigram Air Station which maintains continuous service. It is responsible for the central portion of the South Island within the boundaries in the north of a line between Cape Foulwind and Kaikoura and in the south of a line between Haast Airfield and Oamaru Airfield.