The helipads at Ruatoria, Te Araroa and Te Puia Hospital were celebrated on August 15 and in that week – in addition to their other missions — the team was dispatched to one urgent medical event at Ruatoria and two at Te Araroa.

That backed up Ngati Porou Oranga (NPO) chair Na Raihania’s comments that they are not just concrete and steel, “they are lifelines for our whānau”.

The landing sites’ installation was the result of a joint project between NPO, Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust (EHRT) and the air ambulance helicopter provider for Central New Zealand, Search and Rescue Services (SRS), to help shore up health equity and community resilience on the East Coast.

Backed by post-Cyclone Gabrielle resilience and recovery funding from Health New Zealand, they offer better access for the Gisborne-based Eastland Rescue Helicopter, while also improving comfort for patients being uplifted after an accident or medical event.

“The facilities address the unique geographical challenges faced by remote East Coast communities in accessing life-saving emergency medical services,” says EHRT chair Ian Parker.

“But they represent more than infrastructure . . . they represent resilience for our communities and ensure our whānau have equitable access to critical care where they need it, when they need it.”

The helipad project had been more than 12 months in the making with the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter using the first at Te Puia Hospital in May, 2024 and the second (at Matakaoa Community Health Centre in Te Araora) just three months later. The final site, at Whakarua Park, Ruatoria, was operational by July 2025.

That site was the scene of an extra celebration with a plaque marking the contribution of former Ruatoria helicopter pilot Denis Hartley, who founded EHRT in the wake of 1988’s Cyclone Bola. It was unveiled by Denis’ widow Jacqueline and one of their three children, son Wayne, who said that “while Dad’s work took him all over the world, he always saw Ruatoria as home”.

There was also a special moment at Te Araroa when, in addition to their stunning waiata, students from Te Waha o Rerekohu Area School presented EHRT with $1150 raised over a year of mufti-day fundraising.

SRS chief executive Paul Baxter said the government’s generous contribution had enabled not just the three new helipads, but also upgrades to the EHRT base in Gisborne and enhanced fuel access facilities across the region.

And Na Raihania, too, acknowledged the support of the Crown, as well as the leadership of hapu and community volunteers.

“This collaboration reflects our region’s readiness to innovate and share responsibility for the health and wellbeing and resilience of all whānau.”

CAPTION: A SPECIAL DAY: Denis Hartley’s widow Jacqueline Hartley, Whakarua Park chair Selwyn Parata and Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust chair Ian Parker at the blessing of the Ruatoria helipad.