ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY OF
NEW ZEALAND
RECENT RECIPIENTS
CASE NO. 1794 TAINA ROBERT TEHAETA KEELAN BRONZE MEDAL
At 4pm on 21st January 2022, two-cars crashed on State Highway 1, south of Foxton.
Taina Keelan whilst driving past noticed three occupants still in one of the vehicles. Keelan went to the aid of the occupants. Members of the public had also stopped to assist the driver in the other vehicle.
Owing to the damage to the vehicle, the door of the car with the three occupants was unable to be opened and at this point in time a fire had started in the other vehicle. Rescue services had still not arrived at the scene, and Keelan using all his available strength wrenched the door, ripping it off the frame of the car. Keelan removed the driver from the vehicle and after putting them in a safe location away from the vehicle returned to rescue the other two occupants. Rescue services arrived on scene and transported the three occupants to hospital where they were late discharged.
Keelan without thoughts for his own safety, went and above and beyond the actions of others, it was his determination and strength that allowed access to the vehicle, returning to pull all three attendants out even though a vehicle very nearby was fully ablaze.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
ZEALANDIA'S BRAVE
In Zealandia's Brave, author, John D Wills records a wealth of history of all three of the Royal Humane Societies which have bestowed awards for bravery and acts of humanity in New Zealand or to New Zealanders and others for deeds performed either in the United Kingdom or Australia.
The book was written and published as a centennial project for the Society which celebrated its century in October 1998.
The book contains a record of all the awards bestowed, along with the citations recounting the deeds which were being recognised.
An alphabetical index allows for easy identification and location of records by families and researchers.
A copy of the index can be found here.
The Executive Officer receives many approaches seeking information and is happy to be of service.
Many New Zealand Libraries have the book in their collections.
ISBN 0-473- 55 6-6
