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The two Department of Conservation guards killed in a helicopter crash this week have been recognized as conservation pioneers having saved thousands of native birds.
The tributes continued yesterday for Paul Hondelink (63) and Scott Theobald (59), as well as for the pilot Nick Wallis (38), who died when the helicopter they were in was crashed shortly after takeoff near Wanaka on Thursday. Less than three months after losing another brother, Matthew, in a strangely similar accident, Jonathan Wallis paid a moving tribute to his younger, "larger-than-life" brother, Nick, who flew the Hughes 500.
"It was 6 feet 6 inches … 120 kg, it was effervescent, nothing was a problem.
"Nick was larger than life, in a literal context."
With Toby, the other son of Wanaka's aviation pioneer, Sir Tim Wallis and his wife, Prue Lady Wallis, survived, Jonathan said that the second tragedy this year had compounded the suffering of the family.
"It's a cruel reality, it's been three months since Matthew died in a helicopter crash, not far from here.
"It makes things doubly difficult, you do not become immune to that, nobody does it."
The Wanaka community was gathering around the family, he said.
"Wanaka has a rural heart and people support us."
Otago Chief Executive Graeme Gale also paid tribute yesterday to Nick, a former employee, as a highly qualified and excellent driver.
"He worked on our fleet for a few years before finally returning home to fly.
"It did not matter whether he was an engineer or a driver … he was a very caring guy."
Doc Director General Lou Sanson said Hondelink and Theobald were leaders in their field.
Mr. Hondelink was the most important chamois and tahr fighter in the department. Theobald was the first to use pest control dogs.
"This helicopter contains resources that we will never replace," Sanson said.
"We lost so much.
"Paul and Scott have one of the most important conservation experiences in the country, or even the world.
"Thousands of native birds are alive because of them."
"Paul and Scott went to work Thursday for the same reasons that they did it every other day, and for the same reasons as Nick, in order to make a difference in conservation."
The former director of the Otago Coastal Area, Robin Thomas, who had worked with both men, said their deaths were "a huge loss, in many different ways".
A former trapper of possums, Mr. Theobald has become a pioneer in the use of dogs to manage cats and kittens.
"A really nice guy, very talented and very passionate about what he did … and very good work with animals," said Mr. Thomas.
"It's a huge loss for conservation."
Mr. Thomas said he has worked with Mr. Hondelink for over 30 years, reminding him as a "key person on the ground" in the development of the Judas Goat strategy, where a goat equipped with a radio transmitter is dropped with a flock to guide the hunters.
"Paul had a thorough knowledge of goats and tahrs.
"We worked very closely on the development of these systems and techniques and we flew a lot together."
He remembered his former colleague as being calm and calm in often difficult situations.
"He was very laid back, very professional, but not easily stressed, what you really need in this kind of situation.
"I think the terse word … seems to come to mind."
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