In April 1992 , staff of the weather station were snorkelling at Northwest Bay when one of them , Mike Fraser , was attacked by a great white shark some offshore from the beach at Middle Bay . Fraser managed to return to shore with the assistance of one of his team , Jacinda Amey , after suffering severe lacerations to both his arms . The team kept Fraser alive at the bay — some from the main base — while a rescue helicopter from Taupo was called and made an emergency flight to the island to repatriate him to Invercargill Hospital . This was the longest ever single-engine helicopter rescue in the world . Jacinda Amey was awarded the New Zealand Cross — the highest bravery medal for civilians — for assisting the injured team member from the water . The rescue helicopter pilot , John Funnell , was awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal
New Zealand Cross
New Zealand Cross (1999)
Campbell Island, New Zealand