Photo: ODT filesToday's visitors and residents to Queenstown have much to thank Glenorchy’s Richard Kennett for. Mr Kennett also had a significant role in the protection and management of Te Koroka special area, near Glenorchy, in partnership with mana whenua. Additionally, he had a lengthy involvement with LandSAR, including being the Wakatipu LandSAR committee chairman from 2011 to 2017. He was the senior non-police representative on the search and rescue incident management team in the Wakatipu Basin, through which he had contributed to numerous significant search and recovery field operations. In that crash the pilot and nine passengers, on a scenic flight from Wānaka to Milford Sound, were all killed.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 30, 2025 15:35 UTC