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Story: Search and rescue

Radio communications

Two men seated in the bush in front of a radio and wires.

Two men use a radio during the search for lost tramper Stanley Vial in February 1951. After the Second World War, search and rescue teams began to use radios. But in the 1950s the equipment was still primitive and too heavy to be carried far.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: 114/258/14-F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick and Dan Clearwater, Search and rescue – Rescue equipment and techniques, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/13220/radio-communications (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick and Dan Clearwater, published 2 March 2009, reviewed and revised 27 July 2023 with assistance from Dan Clearwater.