A Westpac Rescue Helicopter has flown into Fairlie for a very special landing – to officially open the new Fairlie helipad.
The helipad project was spearheaded by Andrew Hurst, a Westpac Rescue Helicopter Ambassador, former rescue helicopter patient, and local farmer.
“With the new H145 rescue helicopters coming into service, I felt Fairlie needed something better than just a piece of grass to land on,” Hurst says.
The Fairlie community quickly embraced the helipad project, raising the $90,000 required.
“The Fairlie Lions Club immediately got behind the idea, as did High Country Earthworks, L&L Construction, and Fulton Hogan. Every business or person we asked for support immediately said yes. It was a real community project.”
Other major donations came from the Fairlie Community Op Shop, the Fairlie Community Board, and the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, which funded the specialist helipad lighting and control system. The MacKenzie District Council has committed to maintain the helipad.
Hurst credits the skill and speed of the rescue helicopter with saving his leg after suffering a major trauma during a collision on his farm.
“I would hate to think that the rescue helicopter couldn’t help someone because it couldn’t land. This new helipad is on an IFR route, which means helicopters can fly here in low cloud or more adverse weather conditions.
“We are a small, rural community. The rescue helicopter is the fastest way we can access critical care; the helipad will save lives,” Hurst says.
The helipad includes ambulance parking and an asphalted path direct to the Fairlie Medical Centre. The job of building it was more complex than Hurst first imagined.
“Initially I thought I’d just be able to go down with a digger, scrape a bit of grass off and pour some concrete. It turns out there’s a lot more involved in a helipad than that! But the helipad is as good as it could ever be; I’m stoked with what the community has achieved,” Hurst says.
The opening of the Fairlie helipad is part of a major transformation of the region’s rescue helicopter service, known as MISSION 2026. The Trust has purchased three state-of-the-art H145 rescue helicopters for the Canterbury West Coast region. The first of these helicopters is now in service, with work underway to make the other two mission-ready.
Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust CEO Christine Prince says the Fairlie community has shown an extraordinary level of commitment and heart throughout the helipad project.
“This helipad is a meaningful investment in the future health and safety of Fairlie which will benefit families for generations.”
Prince says community support has been instrumental in the success of MISSION 2026 but warns the job isn’t finished yet.
“We are working to get two more H145 helicopters operational as quickly as possible while fundraising to support advanced crew training for these world-class machines. We ask our community to continue to support us as we complete our vision to modernise the rescue helicopter service, so we can save more lives, more often,” Prince says.
In 2025, the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter has been called out for 691 missions, with 136 of those missions to South Canterbury.
