January 6, 2026
Donald “Don” Geddes never volunteered for the praise.
Donald “Don” Geddes never volunteered for the praise.
“You don’t really do that stuff for the recognition… but it is quite nice to be recognised for what you do in the community.”
The Methven man was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year's New Years Honours for his decades of work in fire services, and land and search operations.
Mr Don Geddes worked with Ashburton District Council for 18 years, operating as the Principal Rural Fire Officer and Civil Defence Emergency Management Officer over that time.
“Probably achieved quite a lot, in building up the brigades, at the time, they were called volunteer rural fire forces,” he said.
“Some of them were almost dead in the water, and we managed to rebuild them from scratch.”
In his time on the job, Geddes facilitated the building of several rural fire stations in Mid Canterbury, and worked with local irrigation companies to get around 120 fire hydrants in the ground in remote areas.
Geddes has also been with the Methven Land Search and Rescue (LSAR) group for 50 years, chairing it for 19.
“About three years ago I decided to hand over the reigns… for new blood to come through, while I was still around, I’m able to provide them with advice and guidance if they need it.”
His rescue volunteer work extends even further; he currently chairs and is a trustee of WanderSearch Canterbury.
“The whole purpose of it is to provide [tracking] devices for people who have a tendency to wander – Alzheimer's, dementia, ADHD, anybody who's got this tendency to wander off.
“It can save days, or hours of search time.”
He is also a former Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust trustee.
“I've stepped down from that, but I am still available to them as a deputy response coordinator.”
Helping people is in Geddes’ nature as a born-and-raised Methven man.
“I guess that’s what you do, isn’t it, as part of being a good citizen?
“But there's the satisfaction of actually helping other people, too. I get something out of it as well. It's not just me doing it for the community.”
Geddes thanked his family and wife, Diana, for enabling him to get out and help people at a moment’s notice.
“Every time you pager goes, or the phone goes and you rush out the door, you don’t know when you're going to be back.”
“My wife Diana, in particular, she has kept the home fires burning, kids have obviously grown up and left home.”
He also thanked the Ashburton District Council and Fire and Emergency New Zealand for allowing him to jump between roles when a situation arose.
“[The council] was very supportive, particularly with funding to allow us to build up the fire forces and build new stations.
“And my employer now [Fire and Emergency NZ], who allows me to participate in these other community activities; If I get a search and rescue callout, they're more than happy for me to just go, providing there's nothing critical that I'm leaving behind.
He also thanked his Methven LSAR volunteer buddies – “a good bunch” – for their work over the past 50 years.
By Anisha Satya
Donald “Don” Geddes never volunteered for the praise.
“You don’t really do that stuff for the recognition… but it is quite nice to be recognised for what you do in the community.”
The Methven man was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year's New Years Honours for his decades of work in fire services, and land and search operations.
Mr Don Geddes worked with Ashburton District Council for 18 years, operating as the Principal Rural Fire Officer and Civil Defence Emergency Management Officer over that time.
“Probably achieved quite a lot, in building up the brigades, at the time, they were called volunteer rural fire forces,” he said.
“Some of them were almost dead in the water, and we managed to rebuild them from scratch.”
In his time on the job, Geddes facilitated the building of several rural fire stations in Mid Canterbury, and worked with local irrigation companies to get around 120 fire hydrants in the ground in remote areas.
Geddes has also been with the Methven Land Search and Rescue (LSAR) group for 50 years, chairing it for 19.
“About three years ago I decided to hand over the reigns… for new blood to come through, while I was still around, I’m able to provide them with advice and guidance if they need it.”
His rescue volunteer work extends even further; he currently chairs and is a trustee of WanderSearch Canterbury.
“The whole purpose of it is to provide [tracking] devices for people who have a tendency to wander – Alzheimer's, dementia, ADHD, anybody who's got this tendency to wander off.
“It can save days, or hours of search time.”
He is also a former Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust trustee.
“I've stepped down from that, but I am still available to them as a deputy response coordinator.”
Helping people is in Geddes’ nature as a born-and-raised Methven man.
“I guess that’s what you do, isn’t it, as part of being a good citizen?
“But there's the satisfaction of actually helping other people, too. I get something out of it as well. It's not just me doing it for the community.”
Geddes thanked his family and wife, Diana, for enabling him to get out and help people at a moment’s notice.
“Every time you pager goes, or the phone goes and you rush out the door, you don’t know when you're going to be back.”
“My wife Diana, in particular, she has kept the home fires burning, kids have obviously grown up and left home.”
He also thanked the Ashburton District Council and Fire and Emergency New Zealand for allowing him to jump between roles when a situation arose.
“[The council] was very supportive, particularly with funding to allow us to build up the fire forces and build new stations.
“And my employer now [Fire and Emergency NZ], who allows me to participate in these other community activities; If I get a search and rescue callout, they're more than happy for me to just go, providing there's nothing critical that I'm leaving behind.
He also thanked his Methven LSAR volunteer buddies – “a good bunch” – for their work over the past 50 years.
By Anisha Satya
