James ‘Jimmy’ Shaw, who was in his 70s, died suddenly, but peacefully, last Thursday at Lakes District Hospital.
Arrowtown chief fire officer (CFO) Murray Forward says Jimmy was still an active Arrowtown firefighter – making him one of the oldest fire brigades in New Zealand – something he had been doing for the past 55 years.
Born in Queenstown, Jimmy attended Arrowtown School before attending Dunedin’s John McGlashan College for high school.
As a teenager, he returned to Arrowtown to complete a mechanic’s degree — a 9,000-hour correspondence course — planning to work in the family-owned garage and transportation company, Shaw’s Garage.
The company was initially founded by Jimmy’s grandfather, James Shaw – a mayor of Arrowtown in the 1920s, who first operated a portable threshing mill.
James handed over the business to Jimmy’s father, Willis Shaw, who served as mayor of Arrowtown for nearly 20 years in the 1950s and 1960s.
Jimmy, meanwhile, completed his training as a mechanic and then joined the Arrowtown Fire Department at the age of 20 on June 6, 1967.
Just two years later, he was named CFO.
Forward says he may have been the youngest CFO in NZ at the time – ”but he would certainly be the youngest chef in Otago and Southland”.
Jimmy held that role for 26 years and was active as the brigade went from attending about a dozen calls a year to first responders and medical incidents, rural fires and rescues, among other things.
Forward, who has been a firefighter for 24 years, says Jimmy was honest, quick-witted, a respected mentor and “lived for the fire service.”
“For a man, 55 years of dedication to a fire service and a community is a huge undertaking.
“There would be very few people in the country who are so committed to their community and their fire service.
“You couldn’t get a more rock-solid guy who was just always willing to help, and always willing to share his knowledge.”
In 2017, Jimmy was awarded the double gold star for 50 years of service, which Forward says is “nothing to sneeze at”.
He was only the second to be awarded in the Whakatipu – the first went to Queenstown volunteer Bob Robertson in 2009.
Lately Jimmy’s role within the brigade had been very much a community job – Forward says he was passionate about making sure older members of the community had working smoke detectors in their homes.
He also ran a lawnmower business and looked after vacation homes for absent owners, so he would kill two birds with one stone while on the job.
“He was running around doing sections for vacationers… in between he walked past some old duck’s house, came in and sounded her alarm.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand group manager Roger Smith says Jimmy’s track record is not only remarkable for his long involvement with the Arrowtown brigade, but also for his dedication to the safety of the local community.
He will be fondly remembered and deeply missed inside [Fenz].
“Rest in peace.”
Forward also recalls one time Jimmy took the stage at Arrowtown’s Athenaeum Hall, during an Old King Cole firefighter’s cunt for a fall festival at the time.
While Jimmy took on the title role, Bruce Kenyon – commonly known as “Speed” – was his wife.
“At one point we were all naked on stage,” Forward laughs.
“Butts only, not the front part of course.”
In addition to fond memories, Forward says he struggles to understand the magnitude of the loss of his death.
“You can’t overstate the impact he had on the community and the Brigade.”
Jimmy’s survived by his longtime partner, Thalia Dunn, sons Robbie, Jason, also known as ‘Archie’, and daughter, Mandy.