A serendipitous spot for helicopter house owners
When Anna Booth’s father-in-law, William Booth, had a heart attack while shearing sheep on his Tapawera farm, the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter was there to help him.
The rescue chopper landed in one of the paddocks, after the sheep had been chased off, and saved William’s life, although he needed to be resuscitated after arriving at Nelson Hospital.
‘‘The helicopter saved my fatherin-law’s life,’’ says Anna.
‘‘He literally died on the operating table just after they got him out the helicopter. If that had happened anywhere else, he wouldn’t have made it.’’
Now Anna and Alex have purchased Mitre 10 Mega’s helicopter house, with the proceeds of the sale going into the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter endowment trust – and the couple’s new home sits on the same spot the rescue chopper landed the day it saved William’s life.
Anna said that when she and Alex ‘‘put two and two together’’ and realised their new home had been placed at the exact spot where the chopper had landed, it was a ‘‘pretty cool’’ feeling.
The couple ended up purchasing the helicopter house completely by chance. Initially planning to build, the cost of materials went up by $50,000 in the time between planning and designing.
It was when they were driving past Mitre 10 in Nelson and saw the framing of the house as it was taking shape in the carpark that they got involved.
After meeting with Mitre 10 Mega community engagement manager Murray Leaning, the family went to the house, where Anna’s 5-year-old daughter ran straight to what is now her room and declared that she wanted it for her bedroom.
After keeping in contact with Leaning, the couple eventually made an offer that was accepted by the organisation.
Anna said the family moved into their new home about four weeks ago, but had been in the house properly for two weeks.
The new house was ‘‘great’’, she said. It is located on Alex’s parents’ farm near Kahurangi National Park, with his parents’ house just 150m away.
Alex’s parents loved having them close, Anna said, as it meant they wouldn’t need to move off the farm when they got older.
Anna spoke about the time and effort volunteers had put into the project. By doing the work they did in building the house, they allowed the rescue chopper to continue saving people across the region, like William.
‘‘They’re just really, really good people that go out of their way to make dreams come true.’’
Rescue helicopter trust general manager Paula Muddle said the funds from the sale of the house would be a massive boost to the endowment fund.
‘‘We’ve built three Mega houses, and in six years we’ve managed to get [the fund] to $6 million.’’
The goal was to get the fund to $15m in 15 years, she said.
Leaning and Mitre 10 MEGA Nelson CEO Brandon Beveridge said they would keep building houses for the fund for as long as it is needed.
‘‘We just love doing it,’’ said Leaning.
‘‘The helicopter saved my father-in-law’s life.’’ Anna Booth