Bay Harbour: March 16, 2022

<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong> News Wednesday <strong>March</strong> <strong>16</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 4 NEWS Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Sense of loyalty keeps fire chief turning <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong> News continues its series on our fire chiefs. Reporter Kristie Boland talks to Governors <strong>Bay</strong> Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Andrew Norris READY TO GO: Andrew Norris with his son Alex and daughter Anita. A family affair at the Governors <strong>Bay</strong> Volunteer Fire Brigade. A COMMON theme among harbour fire chiefs has been that fighting fires runs in the family, Andrew Norris’s family is no exception. Norris, his daughter Anita and his son Alex have all served for the Governors <strong>Bay</strong> Volunteer Fire Brigade and all three work for the emergency services in their day-to-day jobs. Norris, 57, begun his firefighting career around the same time as Lyttelton’s chief Mark Buckley. The pair did Sea Venturers together in their youth. Like Buckley, Scouts and Venturers were a big part of Norris’ life growing up in Lyttelton. Norris is the middle child of seven siblings. They lost their mother at a young age and their father brought them up on his own. “Most of our youth was spent around Sea Scouts. For the old man it was good because it kept us kids entertained,” Norris said. Sea Venturers meant Norris and his siblings could go camping, sailing, rowing and do all the outdoor activities he could have hoped for growing up. “I had a really good childhood and youth with Scouts, I really enjoyed it, thrived on it,” he said. A third generation Norris, he has lived his whole life in the harbour basin. His father and his uncles all worked on the wharf. When Norris finished high school, he worked for the Canterbury Savings Bank for a year then he worked for six years at J.Voyce as a ship’s providore. Norris was 20 when he joined the Lyttelton Volunteer Fire Brigade with Buckley. “As a 20-year-old I think it was the excitement of it all, the thrill, the big toys, kicking around with the big boys, that’s what appealed me at the time,” Norris said. Norris doesn’t stray too far from the emergency services in his day to day life. He works in the communications centre at New Zealand Fire Service in the city. He moved from Lyttelton to Governors <strong>Bay</strong> with his wife Rita in 1996 and joined the Governors <strong>Bay</strong> brigade. Norris and Rita have two adult children Anita, 29, and Alex, 27. Anita has been a firefighter for the brigade for 10 years. She also works full-time with the Christchurch Airport Fire Service. Alex spent four years in the brigade with his father and sister. His full-time job is alongside his father at the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct as a dispatcher. Norris said he is very proud to have had both of his children in the fire service with him. “They’ve done extremely well,” he said. Norris has been a part of the Governors <strong>Bay</strong> brigade for 25 years and has been the chief since 2009. It’s a sense of loyalty that has always kept him there. “And the thought that you can actually do something good. It’s just because I enjoy it, so that’s why I do it,” Norris said. He stresses that his is only one of many roles that are important in the brigade. $100 OFF New Customer We offer FREE In-home & Virtual Assessment 03-348-3057 www.hpac.co.nz 355 Blenheim Road info@hpac.net.nz

Wednesday <strong>March</strong> <strong>16</strong> <strong>2022</strong> <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong> News Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz NEWS 5 out for brigade “I don’t think we give enough credit to the background guys. We (chiefs) might be the recognised ones leading the brigade but without all those other people in the background we wouldn’t have a fire brigade,” Norris said. Like the other harbour fire chiefs, the Port Hills fires and the earthquakes have stood out in Norris’ career as something he will never forget. One of the first crashes he was called to as a young volunteer was a fatal in the Lyttelton Tunnel. The crash involved his boss at the time J Voyce who was killed. “That was the first serious crash I’d been to. That stands out,” he said. While Norris has seen a lot of tragedy in his firefighting career he doesn’t let things effect him too much. “I’m very lucky, I don’t get too stressed by things,” he said. The brigade tend to spend a lot of time socialising together outside of their work. The small community has 25 volunteers in the brigade. “The community has to provide the firemen, and that’s what this community has done in spades, we’ve done really well. We have 25 people in this small space and it’s a credit to them.’’ Norris said the “invisible people” in the brigade and in any volunteer roles don’t get enough credit. “Sometimes people might forget when the fire bell wakes them at one in the morning, there’s 20 or so people getting out of bed and going to help somebody,” Norris said. •Next week we talk to Little River’s John Genefass (Left to right) – Andrew Norris, Tony Lightburn, Mark Buckley and Ross Clements in the early 1980s during their Sea Venturers days. ​ Children’s centre to benefit from fundraiser AN ONLINE arts sale will mean at least $75,000 for the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre. Sculpture on the Peninsula had to cancel its show a week before it was scheduled to be held when New Zealand went into red light settings in late January. Organiser Gill Hay said within a week, more than 2000 photos had been taken and the items catalogued and loaded to online art sales website NZArtbroker. “Everything had been going beautifully and we were so organised, and then we got the news. It was all hands to the pump to make sure we could honour the sculptors that had done so much already, and to continue to support the children of Cholmondeley,” she said. Thanks to overwhelming public support, the online event generated the highest level of sales in the event’s 22-year history. But overall takings were still significantly down due to a number of fixed costs and the loss of gate and food and beverage sales. “Still, we were astounded by the generosity of the hundreds of opening night ticket-holders, sponsors and suppliers who donated their tickets or fees,” Hay said. The $75,000 donation is likely to be increased later this year once the trust that organises the event is wound up. The January event was to be the last for Sculpture on the Peninsula. “While we’re disappointed we weren’t able to finish with a final event, we’re proud to have sustained the legacy of Sculpture on the Peninsula for so many years, and we are so grateful to the sculptors, volunteers and sponsors who have enabled us to support Cholmondeley for so long,” Hay said. Sculpture on the Peninsula has raised more than $825,000 for Cholmondeley Children’s Centre since the event began in January 2000. fLoor CoverinG BARGAINs St Ives (2nds) By Bremworth - 100% New Zealand Wool carpet, extra heavy duty contemporary plush natural look. 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