New book examines Whakaari rescue pilot
Author Ron Crosby with Mark Law in 2021 in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, where their shared love of the bush helped build the connection behind Lucky You’re Tough. Photo: Chris Gray
When Ron Crosby first started looking into the story of helicopter pilot Mark Law, he was not setting out to write a book.
Ron already knew Mark, the pair shared a love of the bush, had flown and walked together, and Ron knew some of Mark’s story. But the events surrounding the 2019 Whakaari White Island eruption left him wanting to understand more about the man who had chosen to fly towards an erupting volcano to help those caught in its aftermath.
What was it about Mark that gave him the courage to do that? And how had the man who was recognised with a Bravery Star for his actions later found himself, along with his company Kāhu NZ Limited, facing significant legal consequences?
Those questions led Ron to speak with Mark’s family, friends and people he had worked alongside. The result is Lucky You’re Tough, a book Ron says is as much about getting to know the man behind the headlines as it is about what happened on Whakaari.
“I felt the public would want to know both what attributes had built such character in a man for him to have the level of courage to land on Whakaari while it was still erupting to save people, and the lack of common sense in how our nation treated one of its heroes,” Ron says.
Those conversations gave Ron a broader picture of the man he was writing about. “It became obvious there was a theme to their appreciation of Mark, which matched my own, of a rather outstanding, engaging bloke.”
That is the Mark Ron hopes readers will get to know. Seeing the book finally come together is also about recognising what Mark and the other pilots did that day, he says. “It is good to see those who showed such tremendous courage be recognised for the humanity they displayed in landing to give succour to those in desperate need of assistance.
“The book is a testament to a bloke whose life has been extremely interesting, varied and often exciting. All of that combines with touches of humour to hopefully make a highly readable book which sells well, as 75 percent of the royalties will be going to help meet the fines imposed on Mark’s company Kāhu NZ Limited.”
Lucky You’re Tough launches on August 20.