Across Aotearoa, danger often arrives without warning. What happens next depends on who is nearby — and whether someone chooses to act.

Today, 10 New Zealanders were formally recognised in the New Zealand Bravery Awards, honoured for acts of courage that saved lives, and in one tragic case, cost a life. Their stories stretch from Flaxmere to Otago, from floodwaters and fire to knife attacks and raging rivers.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon summed it up simply:

“Every day, ordinary New Zealanders face danger – and some days they are lucky enough to have someone close enough, and brave enough, to help them out.”

Flaxmere: A Split-Second Decision That Saved a Life

One of those honoured is Junior Faamalosi (Losi) Isaako, who received the New Zealand Bravery Decoration for his actions during a brutal stabbing in Flaxmere.

In the early hours of June 20, Isaako woke to shouting outside his home. When he looked out, he saw a violent scene unfolding — multiple people fighting, one man fleeing, another chasing him with a large knife.

The victim was cornered against a vehicle and stabbed once in the back and twice in the leg. As he collapsed into a foetal position, another attacker joined in, kicking and punching him. The knife was still raised.

That moment changed everything.

Isaako ran straight toward the danger. He kicked the knife-wielding attacker, threw him to the ground, restrained him, and disarmed him. The second offender fled.

Then Isaako switched focus — from confrontation to care.

He moved the victim to safety, applied a makeshift tourniquet using a towel, placed him in the recovery position, and applied pressure to the wounds until emergency services arrived.

Police later said Isaako’s actions saved the man’s life.

Luxon called it an “extraordinary act of bravery.”

A Child’s Courage: “I Wouldn’t Wish This On Anyone”

Among this year’s recipients is a 12-year-old boy, now the third youngest person ever to receive a New Zealand Bravery Decoration.

His bravery unfolded on 17 September 2024, inside his own home.

The boy was with his father when a neighbour arrived. When the door was opened, the neighbour punched the father in the face, accused him of spying, and forced both father and son into the house, smashing glass as he pushed them inside.

The attacker assaulted the father until he was unconscious. The violence did not stop.

The father was dragged to the couch. The boy sat nearby as the neighbour continued the assault. The man then took a knife from the kitchen, began filming an “interrogation”, stabbed the father in the leg, and repeatedly punched or kicked him if he believed answers were untrue.

The ordeal lasted almost two hours.

Throughout it all, the boy stayed calm.

When his father could not answer questions, the boy spoke instead — making up responses to protect him. He tried to distract the attacker, tried to pull him away, and protected his sister by persuading the man to let him call someone to collect her before she arrived home.

Eventually, as his father’s condition worsened, the attacker allowed the boy to call an ambulance. Police arrived and arrested the man.

The father survived, but only after a critical hospital stay and long recovery.

The boy later said:

“It was a horrible experience. I would not want anyone to go through anything similar.”

His father said he was proud — not just of the award, but of the courage that saved his life.

Otago: A Rescue That Ended in Tragedy

Another set of awards recognises a moment of courage — and devastating loss — at the confluence of the Rees River and Lake Wakatipu in January 2023.

A young boy was swept into fast-moving water, panicking and unable to touch the riverbed or fight the current.

Sergeant Harshad Ashok Ghodke, off duty and with his family, swam out to help. He reached the boy but could not make it back against the undertow.

Seeing the struggle, Australian tourist Jonathan Jordan Young swam out to help pull the boy to safety. The current separated them. Exhausted, Young went under.

Susan Rebecca Burke, also an Australian holidaymaker, then swam out, focused entirely on the child. She hooked her arm around the boy’s chest and swam him close enough to shore for Sergeant Ghodke to take him to safety.

Moments later, cries of “he’s gone under” rang out.

Burke immediately swam back out with others, duck-diving repeatedly until exhaustion. They could not find Young.

Jonathan Young’s body was recovered the following day.

All three were awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal, with Young honoured posthumously.

In a joint statement, Burke and Ghodke said:

“The rescue was a collective effort… Jonathan’s actions demonstrated profound selflessness.”

Young’s partner Hsu Tin spoke with heartbreaking clarity:

“For a boy to continue living, in return he gave away his.
He loved living. He died for his love of living.”

Police Officers Who Ran Toward Danger

Five of those awarded bravery medals are police officers, recognised for going beyond duty — some while off duty — to save others.

They include:

• Constable Alexander James Christian Henry Kerr, who helped prevent a woman from drowning in the Waikato River at night

• Detective Sergeant Heath Courtenay Jones, who rescued a fellow officer and her two young children during Cyclone Gabrielle flooding near Hastings, then assisted an elderly couple trapped nearby

• Constable Friederike Faber and Sergeant Richard Mervyn Bracey, who arrested a man at an Auckland property as petrol-fed flames burned around them

Police Minister Mark Mitchell said:

“Police do an outstanding job every day… but those recognised today have gone above and beyond.”

The Full List of 2024 Bravery Award Recipients

New Zealand Bravery Decoration (NZBD)

For acts of exceptional bravery:

• Mr Junior Faamalosi Isaako

• Young Person N (name withheld)

New Zealand Bravery Medal (NZBM)

For acts of bravery:

• Sergeant Richard Mervyn Bracey

• Ms Susan Rebecca Burke

• Mr Hayden Paul Cornwell

• Constable Friederike Faber

• Sergeant Harshad Ashok Ghodke

• Detective Sergeant Heath Courtenay Jones

• Constable Alexander James Christian Henry Kerr

• Mr Jonathan Jordan Young (Posthumous)

Why These Stories Matter

These awards are not about heroism for praise.
They are about instinct, selflessness, and moments where people chose others over themselves.

Some lives were saved.
One life was lost — but not forgotten.

Today, Aotearoa pauses to say thank you.