Former Queenstowner Hamish McCrostie is pictured after being officially recognised by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro in Wellington last week, when he became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).
McCrostie, now of Havelock North, was recognised in the New Year’s Honours list for his services to outdoor recreation and Search and Rescue (SAR).
A member of the NZ Mountain Safety Council (NZMSC) snow and avalanche advisory committee for many years, he helped develop the NZMSC National Incident Database and established the pre-hospital emergency care training and qualification certification, and the NZ Professional Ski Patrol Association.
A long-time Queenstowner, McCrostie was involved with SAR in the Whakatipu and was a SAR advisor to NZ Police and LandSAR.
The former ski area manager at Queenstown’s Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, McCrostie was also a Snowsports NZ board member, and had contributed to the Ski Areas Association of NZ.
More recently he was GM of mountain operations at Genting Ski Resort, in China, where he was involved in developments for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
