“He had probably fallen maybe 25m, and then he managed to climb back up about 10m – so he was about 15m down and couldn’t get up.”
Nesbit said a woman from a nearby house on Battery Rd called emergency services.
Firefighters could just about see the older man from her house.
“We were semi-familiar with where he was because, about three or four weeks ago, we had a fire in the same location on the hill.
“We ended up driving back right up the top to find the access to come down.”
The man lives on Chaucer Rd North. His wife, who was home at the time, was unaware he had fallen, but he was able to talk to the Battery Rd neighbours at the foot of the hill.
One told Hawke’s Bay Today the man asked her neighbour if she could contact his wife, and she was about to do so when the rescuers arrived, assessed the situation and decided the best approach was from the top.
Nesbit said the man’s wife “sort of didn’t realise that he had disappeared or fallen down there until we started walking through their property to find access”.
“So she was just blissfully unaware, just thought he was still out there doing his gardening,” he said.
Nesbit said it looked as though a bit of dirt had given way and he “tumbled down”.
“Once we figured out where he was … we set up all our specialist lines gear.”
It took about 15 minutes to reach the man.
The rescue taking place at Hospital Hill in Napier. Photo / New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union
“We had to cut a bunch of trees and branches out of the way as we went down to clear a path because he had obviously tumbled through them, and our lines to bring him back up needed a clear path.”
The rescuer had to navigate a vertical drop of 10m to 12m before descending on a steep angle for the rest of the way.
“Every time the rescuer stood somewhere or put his feet, there was crumbly dirt coming out from underneath him.”
With residents watching from the northern side of Battery Rd, near the end of Campbell St, the firefighter reached the man, secured him in a harness, and both were hauled back to the top.
Firefighters say it looked as though a little bit of dirt had given way and the man “tumbled down”. Photo / New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union
The man had been able to tell the neighbours below that he was not injured, and Nesbit said the gardener had only a few cuts and bruises.
“He is very, very lucky; it could have easily gone a lot worse.”
The Battery Rd resident said: “I’m surprised he didn’t hurt himself more.”
Such rescues were more common at sites such as Te Mata Peak, rather than on Napier Hill, Nesbit said.
“These are specialist skills that we have in Hawke’s Bay, and we are always working to keep on top of them, and it was a successful outcome and a very well-done job.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.