More news of Ohakune's ex-patriates

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 18, 24 September 1985, Page 3

More news of Ohakune's ex-patriates

Graeme Cole Graeme Cole — now a Field Sergeant responsible for supervising the training procedures of basic grade traffic officers — says that he loves his new job though he misses not being 'one of the boys\ rides a motorbike — a Yamaha 750 police special — on which it is easier to carry out his supervisory duties in city traffic. Graeme said that the Yamaha 750 was a most popular bike with traffic officers and was not subject to the high-speed 'wobble' problems of the earlier model Hondas. For a little over five years Graeme Cole was Ohakune's popular traffic officer. . .he and his wife Barbara came to live here when he took up his appointment in May 1980. They bought their own house in Mangawhero Terrace and still own it . . . in fact Barbara and the two children still live there pending the usual Public Service appeal period which is to be heard this week and will hopefully confirm Graeme's permanent appointment. The appeal will be heard tomorrow. They will then be able to sell their Ohakune house and buy another somewhere in the Wellington area... "the price of buying another home will dictate the area where we'll live but it will probably be in Newlands, or the Hutt Valley, Stokes Val-

ley or Upper Hutt," he said. "Meanwhile I'm staying with my parents in Lower Hutt — that's where we came from and I served with the MOT jn Wellington for nearly ten years prior to coming to Ohakune so the area is very familiar to me." Graeme, who took up his new appointment and promotion to sergeant in July, said that he misses Ohakune but manages to come up occasionally to see his family. "I also manage to keep in touch through the Ministry of Transport H.O. Ops Room in Wellington. . .we keep a record of all weatherrelated road closures and when I look at a map of the central North Island with signs indicating that the Desert Road has been closed by snow, I can relate to the actual situation up there." Graeme says that he has been in touch with other Ohakune expatriates including Marty and Lynne Sutherland and another former constable Don Lee and his wife Karen who left the area a little over three years ago.

Lisa Norling Fourteen-year-old Lisa Norling of Ohakune has been attending the New Zealand School of Dance 'Dance and Education' course in Wellington since the beginning of this year. She was one of six successful students who auditioned for this prestigious course which is open to applicants from throughout the country. The other successful applicants include twb from Gisborne, one from Auckland, one from New Plymouth and one from Greymouth. Each student on the New Zealand School of Dance course must also be enrolled at the Wellington High School for the formal part of their education. Of the six already mentioned three are 4th Formers, one is a 5th Former and two are 6th Formers. Lisa is a 4th Former. She and the others have to undertake a daily routine of dance practice after school each day. They also have a half-day elective at high

school each Thursday during which additional dancing classes are conducted. Saturday morning classes are also held. Students study classical ballet, modern dance and folk-dancing sometimes known as character dancing. The course is designed to cater for talented students of dance who have the potential to make a career for themselves if given the right training and opportunities, said New Zealand School of Dance director Anne Rowse, herself a former member of London's Festival Ballet company. Anne Rowse is impressed with Lisa's performance and enthusiasm to date. "She has a natural talent, a very nice stage presence and a good feeling for dance." The New Zealand School of Dance students travelled to Auckland recently to participate in a week-long seminar of international dance known as 'Dance and the Child'. During their performance Lisa and her fellow students were filmed and interviewed by TV One's 'Kaleidoscope' team.

I he Bulletin's roving reporter was again in Wellington recently and took the opportunity to catch up with two more Waimarino 'expatriates' . . . readers will remember that we featured former Ohakune policeman and now Karori community constable Marty Sutherland in a recent edition. This time we spoke with Ohakune's former traffic officer Graeme Cole who is now at MOT headquarters in Wellington and we photographed local ballet student Lisa Norling during classes at the New Zealand School of Dance.