Latest news with #StBede'sCollege
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Chch teenager gives back after chopper rescue
After being saved by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, teenager Riley Abbott raised $3500 for the service. Crews will be shaking buckets around the country today for the annual Chopper Street Appeal Day. Photo: Supplied A Christchurch high school student has defied the odds after a devastating crash - and now he's giving back to the air rescue crew who saved him. Sports-loving teenager Riley Abbott's life changed in an instant in July 2023. The St Bede's College boarder and rugby enthusiast from Hawarden misjudged a jump while riding his dirt bike, leaving him with a shattered femur and dislocated hip. In cold conditions and fading light, Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedics stabilised Riley on-site and flew him to Christchurch Hospital using night vision technology that made the urgent flight possible. Riley underwent surgery and faced months of rehab, leaving his future in sport uncertain. A year later, Riley, now 17, learned he would need a full hip replacement due to severe joint damage. With resilience and determination, Riley joined his parents in the Coast to Coast. He cycled all 140km of the bike stages, raising $3500 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service. Today members of the public will have the opportunity to support Westpac rescue chopper teams too. The organisation will be shaking buckets around the country to raise money for its annual Chopper Street Appeal Day. Canterbury's Westpac Rescue helicopters flew 765 missions across the region last year, up 15% on 2023. Of the call-outs, 42% were to attend accidents such as Riley's, 23% for medical conditions and 8% search and rescue missions. Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust chief executive Christine Prince said the public's generosity is essential to keeping its choppers and specialised crews operating. Prince said the trust has set a target of $1.4 million, with $600,000 still needed before the end of this year to help support the purchase of three H145 rescue helicopters from Switzerland. 'We are raising the bar to meet the growing needs of our communities. 'Our mission is to increase the response capability of the rescue helicopters by 20%, deliver new technologies, medical equipment, and training so we can help save more lives.' • To make a donation or find out more, visit
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Teen gives back to chopper after rescue
After being saved by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, teenager Riley Abbott raised $3500 for the service. Crews will be shaking buckets around the country today for the annual Chopper Street Appeal Day. Photo: Supplied A Christchurch high school student has defied the odds after a devastating crash - and now he's giving back to the air rescue crew who saved him. Sports-loving teenager Riley Abbott's life changed in an instant in July 2023. The St Bede's College boarder and rugby enthusiast from Hawarden misjudged a jump while riding his dirt bike, leaving him with a shattered femur and dislocated hip. In cold conditions and fading light, Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedics stabilised Riley on-site and flew him to Christchurch Hospital using night vision technology that made the urgent flight possible. Riley underwent surgery and faced months of rehab, leaving his future in sport uncertain. A year later, Riley, now 17, learned he would need a full hip replacement due to severe joint damage. With resilience and determination, Riley joined his parents in the Coast to Coast. He cycled all 140km of the bike stages, raising $3500 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service. Today members of the public will have the opportunity to support Westpac rescue chopper teams too. The organisation will be shaking buckets around the country to raise money for its annual Chopper Street Appeal Day. Canterbury's Westpac Rescue helicopters flew 765 missions across the region last year, up 15% on 2023. Of the call-outs, 42% were to attend accidents such as Riley's, 23% for medical conditions and 8% search and rescue missions. Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust chief executive Christine Prince said the public's generosity is essential to keeping its choppers and specialised crews operating. Prince said the trust has set a target of $1.4 million, with $600,000 still needed before the end of this year to help support the purchase of three H145 rescue helicopters from Switzerland. 'We are raising the bar to meet the growing needs of our communities. 'Our mission is to increase the response capability of the rescue helicopters by 20%, deliver new technologies, medical equipment, and training so we can help save more lives.' • To make a donation or find out more, visit
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Chch teenager gives back to chopper after rescue
After being saved by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, teenager Riley Abbott raised $3500 for the service. Crews will be shaking buckets around the country today for the annual Chopper Street Appeal Day. Photo: Supplied A Christchurch high school student has defied the odds after a devastating crash - and now he's giving back to the air rescue crew who saved him. Sports-loving teenager Riley Abbott's life changed in an instant in July 2023. The St Bede's College boarder and rugby enthusiast from Hawarden misjudged a jump while riding his dirt bike, leaving him with a shattered femur and dislocated hip. In cold conditions and fading light, Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedics stabilised Riley on-site and flew him to Christchurch Hospital using night vision technology that made the urgent flight possible. Riley underwent surgery and faced months of rehab, leaving his future in sport uncertain. A year later, Riley, now 17, learned he would need a full hip replacement due to severe joint damage. With resilience and determination, Riley joined his parents in the Coast to Coast. He cycled all 140km of the bike stages, raising $3500 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service. Today members of the public will have the opportunity to support Westpac rescue chopper teams too. The organisation will be shaking buckets around the country to raise money for its annual Chopper Street Appeal Day. Canterbury's Westpac Rescue helicopters flew 765 missions across the region last year, up 15% on 2023. Of the call-outs, 42% were to attend accidents such as Riley's, 23% for medical conditions and 8% search and rescue missions. Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust chief executive Christine Prince said the public's generosity is essential to keeping its choppers and specialised crews operating. Prince said the trust has set a target of $1.4 million, with $600,000 still needed before the end of this year to help support the purchase of three H145 rescue helicopters from Switzerland. 'We are raising the bar to meet the growing needs of our communities. 'Our mission is to increase the response capability of the rescue helicopters by 20%, deliver new technologies, medical equipment, and training so we can help save more lives.' • To make a donation or find out more, visit
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
'Priceless' medal found at Oamaru recycling centre
The mystery of a "priceless" medal found at the Oamaru recycling centre and given to the family of a World War 2 soldier has partly been solved. It began when Oamaru genealogist Faye Ormandy found a soldier's army belt at the Waitaki Resource Recovery Park shop last November. She began to trace its origins, including that of two medals attached dating to 1904 and 1921. One of the medals was engraved: "P. Dickel, awarded for the 880 Yards Relay Race at St Bede's College in 1921". Mrs Ormandy found out the recipient was a Corporal Henry Percival Dickel (known as Percie). He had served in Egypt during World War 2, and has a son, Noel Dickel, living in Dunedin. Mr Dickel senior had apparently excelled in sports at St Bede's College, where he also won eight other events during the Christchurch school's first annual sports competition in 1921. As a result, Mrs Ormandy tracked down and returned the medal to Noel Dickel and his family last December. "It was really nice that his whole family was there. "The fact that they had the photo of Percie with the relay team and all their medals was just superb," Mrs Ormandy said. Noel Dickel, now 86, said it was great to have the "priceless" medal returned. His father had been a member of the Scottish Battalion and a Quartermaster Sergeant. He lost his rank and became a Corporal in going overseas. Mrs Ormandy said they still have questions about the medal, as the St Bedes College archives only date back to 1922. This included why Percie Dickel, of Port Chalmers, ended up at school in Christchurch. "The family don't seem to know and St Bede's haven't got records of it. That was a bit of a mystery. "How did the belt end up at the Oamaru recycling shop?" In her initial research, Mrs Ormandy found the army money belt may have been awarded as a prize. The other medal on the belt, dated 1904, was for a G. Robertson with the initials PR. Mrs Ormandy said hopefully, that medallion could be returned to the appropriate family. But finding information on a G. Robertson in any army archive was a struggle. One question has been answered. With the help of Toitu Otago Settlers Museum curator Sean Brosnahan, they believe the medal was possibly from an artillery shooting competition for army volunteers held in Port Chalmers in 1904. "It's the most logical thing that's come out of anything that people have looked at," Mrs Ormandy said. "I think the G was probably for Gunner Robertson, so it might not necessarily be the initial for his first name." And there are questions how the Dickel and Robertson names were connected. "The coins on the belt are right up to the late 1940s." Mrs Ormandy would still like to locate Robertson descendants and to determine the original owner of the belt. If anyone has any further information they can contact the Waitaki Society of Genealogists.
