When DOC promoted their “Freshwater Threats Ranger” back in 2012, (see “Jobs at DOC” article below…) who would have imagined his achievements some 12 years later? The photos are from last night when the Taupo Fishing Club held a special meeting to honour Dave’s latest conservation award. So many speakers paid homage with tributes to this humble one-man army of good sense. Such species are hard to find anywhere these days. He deserved every tribute for his King’s Service Medal. Congratulations again Dave Cade KSM.
Jobs at DOC:
Dave Cade, freshwater threats ranger – Department of Conservation — 08/06/2012
Every Friday Jobs at DOC will take you behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation.
Today we profile Dave Cade, freshwater threats ranger…
Name: David Cade—known as Didymo Dave
Dave spreading the message: check, clean, dry
Position: Freshwater threats ranger, based in Turangi
At work…
What kind of things do you do in your role?
Spread the CHECK CLEAN DRY/kaitiakitanga message far and wide by whatever means, fair or foul.
What is the best part about your job?
I don’t have a job—I’m on a mission for New Zealand.
What led you to your role in DOC?
They came looking for me!
What was your highlight from the month just gone?
Two mates adapted a small log splitter to an aluminium can crusher so I can crush the hundreds of cans we pick up from off the side of the road, restaurants, and bars etc. so much faster. The proceeds from the sale of the cans are donated to conservation projects.
Dave at work
The rule of three…
Three loves
- Trout fishing
- Waikato rugby teams
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
Three pet peeves
- People who don’t respect their country
- People who drop rubbish
- Selfish people
Three favourite places in New Zealand
- Anywhere when I’m with my two sons
- Hinemaiaia Stream in Taupo
- Lake Taupo
Favourite book
The Bible—love the story of David who kicked the snot out of Goliath.
Deep and meaningful…
What piece of advice would you tell your 18 year old self?
Dream bigger dreams then go chase them!
Who or what inspires you and why?
Jeff Donaldson—Otago Regional Council, Billy Graham—a boxer from Wellington, and the Late General Patton. Men on a mission!
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A dairy farmer—I was until my health packed up.
And now, if you weren’t working at DOC, what would you want to be?
I’d be running my own business again.
What sustainability tip would you like to pass on?
Aluminium cans can fund a lot of conservation—don’t throw them away.
If you could be any New Zealand native species for a day, what would you be and why?
A North Island robin, the cutest little things around.
What piece of advice or message would you want to give to New Zealanders when it comes to conservation?
This country is worth fighting for!
Dave’s stoat tail project
The stoat tail project started a couple of years back. I get tails sent to me from around New Zealand. I tie them into trout flies in my own time and then sell them through a conservation-minded fishing store for $5 per fly.
I make no charge for materials or time, the store charges no commission, and all proceeds are donated to a trapping line that is on the Hinemaiaia Stream, 20 minutes south of Taupo which is run by my son and I again in our spare time. We have built up to 125 traps, and just on 600 rats, stoats, and weasels have been trapped.
Below is TRM’s blog on his award:
Didymo Dave
King’s Service Medal (KSM)
David Leon Cade, for services to conservation and biosecurity awareness.
At long last, Didymo Dave, aka Dave Cade, is being “officially” recognised and rewarded for his immense personal contribution to conservation and biosecurity awareness.
He is TRM’s ultimate Hero who exemplifies selfless voluntary service.
This blog is all about a very special person who TRM first met about 2006-7 when he called into the motel to crank us up on the need for more public awareness about potentially nasty stuff – like Didymo. That was when we first recognised his passionate advocacy and crowned him “Didymo Dave”. The name stuck. If you met him he would qualify as the most unlikely hero you could ever imagine as most of his good works go unrecognised and unrewarded. Hopefully, some of his photos below illustrate the depth of his generous unselfish public-spirited character and wide range of activities. He just makes everyone feel more hopeful about the future of our precious natural environment.
For over 20 years Dave has done more on his own for biosecurity awareness in the Taupo-Turangi-Tongariro region, than all the other Government agencies combined!
He is the epitome of a one-man band demonstrating as a prime example of “walk the talk” – that if you believe in something and roll your sleeves up and get stuck in and persevere, then dreams can come true.
In 2020 he received the Minister for Primary Industries’ Biosecurity Award for his efforts to stop the spread of freshwater pests, but now he has graduated to higher status in the King’s Birthday Honours list.. It couldn’t happen to a better bloke!
The local Council previously acknowledged and recognised his efforts, even though he did not work for them, by replacing his clapped-out old wagon about five years ago with a new vehicle – fuel provided by Harcourts, maintained and serviced by Turangi Auto Centre. Nobody was quite sure how he was paid or who he worked for as he just helped out everywhere. Possibly to avoid any negative criticism over the free-to-use vehicle, the Taupo Council appointed him as their Ambassador inspecting tourist campsites and spreading goodwill – a difficult occupational hazard with so many “freedom campers” flouting the rules. He has flourished in that role and the public promoted him as Toe Paw’s Champion.
In addition to his biosecurity work, there is also another side to DD that only locals may realise and appreciate just as much. Everywhere he goes he looks out for any way that he can volunteer to help his local community. It may be simple “public-good” activities – we remember many instances after Council and Government Departments had neglected their civic duties and blamed each other, he was always the first to step up as Mr. Fix-it with too many tasks spread over 20 years to try to recall them all
So TRM trolled through our photo library to try to illustrate examples and found him in such strange situations that many may not appreciate the extent of his dedication – like collecting zillions of cans to sell to support the kids at Starship Hospital, cutting weeds back that were blocking the “Welcome to Turangi” sign, remaking and distributing rat traps (see photo above), digging drains on the Hinemaiaia anglers access road to reduce constant flooding (see photo below), removing noxious weeds and wind-fall trees, picking up rubbish such as discarded nylon traces (see photo) along the river bank (now being molded into a giant trout as a reminder gimmick), educating tourist anglers of the biosecurity threats, so many occasions helping local kids in trouble with the authorities and putting them on the right track again by training them on pest trap lines, coaching them with casting lessons, etc. The list never ends…
He is so admired and respected by kids as he has achieved far more, educating them on the more important biosecurity priorities of living in our slice of paradise – all the stuff that the school system could never teach them. He can communicate with them when their parents’ efforts fail.
How does something as vague as “biosecurity awareness” make an impression at big public events where there are so many competing commercial firms trying to sell their image? DD demonstrates how. He converted a classic Bentley and appointed a chauffeur to make a more memorable arrival in immaculate DD style that nobody else could match or imagine. And it rolls on from there. DD’s alter ego, Dame Didymo Davina, stole the show.
What a team at the boat show. You can see the excitement and passion oozing out of Dave all kitted out to sell Didymo Awareness. The message was so important to DD that he dressed up in No 1’s for the big event. He was the Star of the Show.
Every Christmas he is seen all over town “in drag” as the most popular “Santa” in the region stopping to spread the biosecurity message and bribing everyone with gifts – he deserves his dedicated following. As confirmed in the photo below, he has to fight off many secret admirers.
Amongst anglers at TRM he is larger than life after maintaining the fish trap up at Lake Otamangakau in the depths of freezing winter frosts for several seasons. We arranged for some inmates to visit the DOC trap to appreciate the process and posted a brief video of his performance. It was so entertaining he could have sold tickets!
So that just scratches the surface of some of the activities of our most unlikely local hero to explain why he has achieved the first official King’s Birthday award in NZ for his unique services to biosecurity awareness.
DD explaining the process to one of his greatest admirers – SWMBO – at the Lake O fish trap in 2013.
Well deserved Dave.
DD’s latest fb post in reply to Andrew Hoggard’s post (He is the Minister of Biosecurity)says it all:
So DD OFFERED THE MINISTER A MONTH’S WORTH OF PIES…………Andrew Hoggard is the Minister for Biosecurity n yesterday, as the photo shows he had a pre budget pie for lunch. So I messaged him n offered him, as photo 2 shows a months worth of pies if he can get enough $$$ into the Dept of Conservation’s budget so we can get a Freshwater Pests Ranger in the Taupo/Turangi area. Well he liked my message so that’s a start I guess!
To explain to DD’s fans living overseas, the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrate the official birthday of King Charles III, are appointments made by the King in his right as King of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. This is the first honours list to include appointments to the renamed King’s Service Order (formerly the Queen’s Service Order) and award of the associated King’s Service Medal (previously the Queen’s Service Medal), following the death of Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III in 2022.[1]
The honours were announced at 5 am local time on 3 June 2024.