The New Zealand Bravery Star NZBS I to Z

Instituted in September 1999 as part of a Government
move to replace British awards for bravery with
distinctive New Zealand awards.

The NZBS replaced the George Medal.

Awarded for

“acts of outstanding bravery in situations of danger”

NZBS

Damian Peter John KLAVS
Constable NZP
Date of action 16 June 1999 Awarded 29 January 2005

On the evening of 16th June 1999, Constable Klavs was patrolling, alone,
when he saw a van being driven erratically on Jackson St, Petone.

The van had been reported as stolen. He stopped the van, which contained
eight young people, he approached the driver, asking for his driver's licence.

The driver then presented a sawn-off shotgun at him, resting the weapon
on the window sill, only a foot or so from the Constable.

The driver pulled the trigger, but the gun did not discharge as the safety
catch was still applied.

Constable Klavs returned to his patrol car and called for assistance.

The van left the scene at speed and Klavs followed while reporting on the
direction of travel and requesting back up.

In East Street, the van turned and drove back towards the Constable, ramming
his car and pushing the driver's side into a concrete wall.

Fearing for his life, the Constable managed to exit the vehicle by the
passengers door, and tried to leave the scene on foot.

The van pursued him, so he took shelter behind a trailer while the van
drove by.

The van returned so the Constable left the trailer and
ran down the road with the van following him with the occupants
abusing him and threatening his life, the shotgun was fired but missed.

The van then left the scene.

The driver was subsequently convicted of
trying to murder the constable.

Antony McCLEAN
[Deceased]
Date of action 15 April 2008 Awarded 2 April 2011

A group of 10 students from Elim Christian College, including Anthony
Mulder [aged 16]and Anthony[Tony] McLean, a teacher, started on
a river canyoning expedition in the Mangatepopo Gorge.

This was one of the activities on the school camp and was led by
Ms Sullivan, an instructor from the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits
Centre.

On the way back down the Gorge, they became trapped by rising water
in one of the narrowest points, a short distance from where the stream
flows over a 7 metre-high dam.

When the party set off there was light rain falling and the stream was
running at its normal height/rate.

The party did not know that there had been heavy rain higher up in the
Mangatepopo catchment area and it was heading for the Gorge.

By the time they reached the narrow part of the Gorge above the Dam
the stream was in flood and they found themselves trapped between the
sheer sides of the canyon and the rising water.

They found themselves trapped on a ledge beneath an overhang, but as
the water level continued to rise above knee level and the current
increased, it appeared that remaining in this position was not going
to be possible and they would eventually be swept away.

At 3.30 pm Ms Sullivan, the instructor, made a decision to go down the
stream.

She would go first and take a position on the left bank above the dam.

From there she would throw a rope, using the throw bag method they
had practised, to each member of the group as the came down the stream.

The students were told to swim to the left-hand side and grab the rope as
they came down, the instructor would then pull them to safety.

Tony McLean was to remain with the student group and would be the last
to leave the ledge.

As he would be out of sight upstream he would release the students every
five minutes, this would allow time for Ms Sullivan to prepare the rope
for each student.

The Instructor and Teacher agreed that the those least confident in the
water would be paired with a more confident and better swimmer.

This was done with a looped sling and a Karabiner.

The others were to go individually.

Ms Sullivan took Ashley Smith with her, Floyd Fernandes was paired
with fellow student Anthony Mulder, and Tony Hsu was paired with
Tony McLean.

The instructor and Ashley Smith managed to catch hold of a rock and
haul themselves to the safety of the bank only five meters from the top
of the dam.

Tony let the students go in five-minute intervals as agreed.

By the time he and Tom Hsu were ready to leave the ledge the stream
was in full flood.

Tony managed to catch the rope thrown by the instructor but was unable
to hold on against the force of the water.

They were swept over the top of the dam.

Tony McLean and Anthony Mulder were found, some considerable distance
below the dam, still attached to their friends.

Anthony Walter MULDER
[Deceased]
Date of the Action 10th April 2008 Awarded 2nd April 2011

The same situation as above, except, they could not reach the rope or
extended hands and were swept over the dam to their doom.

Trevor Francis MOKARAKA
[Deceased]

Date of the Action 10th December 1999 Awarded 29 January 2005

On the morning of Friday 10th December, a man ordered his de-facto
wife to go to the shops for some cigarettes.

While she was away he killed their two children by cutting their throats.

When she returned to the house he attempted to cut her throat and stab
her to death.

Her screams were heard by two neighbours Mr Fenton Penetana and
Mr Mokaraka, who both went to her aid.

Upon entering the house they were confronted by the man who was
attempting to kill his partner on the lounge room floor.

The two men tried to disarm him and in the process Mr Mokaraka
received a fatal stab wound to the chest.

The offender was charged with three counts of murder and two counts
of attempted murder.

He was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity

Mr Taufaui Avalu PAEA
Date of the Action 6th December 2004 Awarded 3 May 2008

On the morning of 6th December, in Glenfield, Auckland, Mr Paea’s
neighbour was brutally murdered by her estranged partner, who
had been on the run from the Police for a number of weeks.

The offender arrived at the woman’s house while she was getting
out of her car and helping her two-year-old daughter out of the
car seat.

The offender began to assault the woman who managed to break free.

He caught up with her and began to stab her in the back and shoulders.

The victim managed to break free again and this time she ran to
Mr Para’s front door.

The offender caught the victim there and both of them fell through
it into the hallway.

Mr Para, aged 67, who was in the kitchen at the time, rushed into the
hallway to find the offender straddling the victim and stabbing her in
the neck, shoulders and stomach.

He called out to the offender to “Stop”, but was ignored.

Mr Paea then tackled the offender, wrapping his arms around him
and trying to pull him off the victim.

The offender pushed Mr Paea away causing him to fall on the victim.

As he tried to stand the offender stabbed him in the left cheek, causing
a deep puncture wound that required five stitches and a brief period of
hospitalization.

Mr Paea, wounded and in shock, managed to escape from the offenders
attention, and alerted another neighbour, requesting that they call the
police.

He then returned to his house to save his wife and grandchildren, who
were in the lounge.

His wife managed to pass them through a window and he took then
to a place of safety, returning to rescue his wife and attempt to help
the victim.

As he approached the house he met the offender, who was leaving,
carrying two knives.

Seeing Mr Paea the offender jumped over a fence, ran through a
neighbour’s property to his car and then drove away.

Jeanette Ruth PARK
Sgt NZP
Date of Action 1 pm on 5 July 2002 Awarded 29th January 2005

Detective Park and Constable Duncan Taylor went to an address in
Taipo Road, Rongatea, to warn a local family that a person known to
them, and who was the subject of a domestic Protection Order in respect
of a family member, may have returned to the area.

While talking to the family they saw the person drive past the house.

The two officers, who were unarmed, pursued his vehicle which stopped,
but when they got out of their vehicle the other person drove off and
returned to the Taipo Road address.

They gave chase and both vehicles stopped in the driveway of the house.

As the two Police Officers left their vehicle the male occupant of the
other car presented a rifle at Constable Taylor, and without warning,
fired a single shot which killed him instantly.

Park considered going to the aid of her partner but saw the offender
point the rifle at her.

He fired a shot that missed, he then fired another shot, which hit her
in the buttock, inflicting a serious wound.

Nevertheless, she was able to jump the cattle stop at the end of the
driveway as the offender fired a fourth shot.

Believing she was being hunted and knowing that she needed help,
she managed to get some 500 meters over farmland, using all
available cover, to a farmhouse.

She alerted the occupants of the danger and reported the situation
to Police Operations.

She then began taking the occupant to safety but saw that another
Patrol Car had arrived and was parked too close to the house where
the shooting had occurred.

Park made her way up a ditch to warn the Officers to move their car
to a safer place.

By this time the pain from her wound was sever and she could not
stand.

She crawled up the roadside to warn another officer of the
danger.

She was then evacuated to a hospital to have her wound treated.

Detective Constable Duncan Taylor [Deceased] was awarded
the NZ Bravery Medal for his actions.

Timothy Nigel SMITH
Detective Sgt NZP
Date of the action 7 May 2009 Awarded 2 April 2011

On 7th May Detective Sergeant Smith was one of the first Police Officers
to arrive at the scene of the fatal shooting of Senior Constable Len Snee.

And the wounding of Mr Len Holmwood, and Senior Constables Grant
Diver and Bruce Miller, by Jan Molenaar in Chaucer Road, Napier.

Although he was unarmed, he advanced to the immediate scene of the
incident, across the road and slightly uphill from Molenaar’s house,
where two civilians were sheltering behind their cars.

He could see Senior Constable Miller lying in a driveway next to Molenaar’s
house and partially covered by a brick wall.

He requested the keys and permission to drive one of the cars, realizing
that it would not be possible to extract Miller without some means of
protecting him.

As he did so he saw two more colleagues arrive and cover Millers body
with theirs to protect him from further injury.

He climbed into the car, cleared the back seat of a guitar case, and heard
a volley of shots,

Assuming that the shots were aimed in his direction, and fearing for the
life of his colleagues, he sat up, started the car, reversed, did a U-turn
and reversed up the driveway to where Miller lay.

One of the other constables opened the back door and loaded Miller into
the back seat.

Smith then drove away from the scene to a position of safety at the Police
cordon and an ambulance was called.

While waiting for the Ambulance Smith kept Miller awake and as comfortable
as possible.

The car had been hit twice in the evacuation, one of which entered the roof
of the car and exited through the driver's side rear window.

Smith then volunteered to assist in the extraction of Constable Diver, using an
ambulance sited above No 41 Chaucer Road, loading the injured Diver onto a
stretcher and carrying him up the hill to the waiting Ambulance.

Paul Anthony SYMONDS
Snr Constable NZP
Date of the Action 7th May 2009 Awarded 2 April 2011

Senior Constable Symonds was the senior of the team of three
Armed Offenders Squad who were the first squad to reach the
vicinity of Chaucer Road, Napier on 7th May 2009.

He kept contact with Police Communications the whole time,
helping to build a picture of what was happening.

He decided to convey his reports over the main Police Radio
Channel, rather than the encrypted AOS Channel.

This meant that the information was able to be heard by the
Police in Napier, enabling them to make swift tactical decisions,

This placed Symonds at risk as his communications could have
been heard by the offender, Jan Molenaar.

The AOS squad were intent on finding and evacuating the three
Officers, two of whom they knew had been shot, and any civilians
who might have been in the area.

As they moved down Chaucer Road they came to Constable Miller,
who had been shot, and was being attended to by others.

Ascertaining that he was stable they continued on to find Constable
Snee lying on the roadside outside No 41 Chaucer Road.

While Hurworth and Burne provided cover, Symonds bent to check
Snees condition, finding him deceased.

Mr Holmwood, a civilian, who had been shot was also located nearby.

Knowing that the offender was armed with a high powered
semi-automatic weapons, and able to accurately fire them, and was
volatile, and had already shot three police and a civilian they knew
they were in a dangerous position.

They continued looking for Constable Diver, thinking that he might
be at the rear of Molenaar’s house, Symonds called out to him.

Without warning, Molenaar fired a volley of at least 13 rounds at
them, they took cover behind a wooden fence where the shots went
through the wood just above their heads.

Sometime later Symonds received advice that Diver was at No 45
Chaucer Road and he went there with Hurworth,

Symonds covered the road while medical assistance came to Divers
assistance and he was evacuated.

The AOS team then moved into No 43 Chaucer Road to keep
Molenaar cordoned in his house.

Symonds remained there until relieved late in the evening of the 7th

Note:
Senior Sergeant Anthony James Miller, Sergeant Hearth Courtnay Jones,
and Constable Kevin Lawrence Rooney, all members of the NZ Police were
each awarded a NZBD for their actions om 7th May 2009,

Detective Paul Buckley, Senior Constable Bradley James Clark,
Detective Sergeant Nicholas John Clere, all members of the NZ Police,
Advanced Paramedic Stephen James Smith St John’s Ambulance Service,
Mr Donald Garry Fraser and Ms Christine Margaret Jackman were
each awarded a NZBM for their actions on 7th May 2009

Info

Further Info

Part 1, A to H