Officer opting for the Southern Alps

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 47, 12 May 1987, Page 5

Officer opting for the Southern Alps

Raetihi's Police Constable is to leave the Waimarino soon, having opted for the scenery of the Southern Alps. Constable Trevor Pullen and his wife Dale moved to Raetihi in November 1984 from a suburban patrol base job in Newmarket, Auckland. Mr Pullen spent seven years stationed at Newmarket but for five of those years worked from Ellerslie in the three man base. The base is also the Auckland district dog unit and he was offered the position of dog handler but declined in preference to a country station. Mr Pullen started his training in 1977 at the Trentham Police Training School, now replaced by the Royal New Zealand Police College, Porirua. Upon graduation, he was posted to Auckland Central where he lived in barracks. He worked for a time in the enquiry office at the Auckland CIB before joining the patrol base.

Mr Pullen originally aspired to join the New Zealand Air Force and holds a commission rank of Flying Officer with New Zealand cadet forces, which enables him to teach Air Training Corp cadets. He joined the Auckland squadron in 1971 as a teenager and maintained an interest. Mr Pullen said he has not recently trained any cadets because the nearest base is in Wanganui and job responsibilities have kept him in Raetihi. Mr Pullen specialised in Search and Rescue and was with the Auckland district Search and Rescue squad for seven years. His job included the recovery of bodies from disasters, such as the Erebus crash in Antartica, when half the squad were involved. He was also involved in numerous searches for people lost in bush and the gruesome task of recovering the bodies of people who had committed suicide.

Being involved in Search and Rescue meant that he had to be physically fit and also able to deal with the more unpleasant aspects of the job. Mr Pullen lectured at two national police Search and Rescue courses and was instructor of police cadets in 1984. Sincc transferring to Raetihi, Mr Pullen has had little time to pursue his interests which include hunting and fishing. He is also a keen pilot and holds his pilot's licence. He was involved with the fund raising for the Waimarino Rescue Trust equipment and was a member of the trust. Mr Pullen's wife Dale, who is expecting their second child in August, and their 16 month old son James are on their way to Fairlie, South Canterbury this week while Trevor will stay on in Raetihi for a time. With a population of 1100 and set in rolling hill country, Fairlie is not dissimilar to Raetihi. Mr Pullen is taking over

from a constable who has held the postion at the one man station for 18 years. Mr Pullen said he is looking forward to the new position but will miss the friends and acquaintances he has made during his time in Raetihi.

He has recently resigned from the Raetihi Volunteer Fire Brigade and intends to join the Fairlie Brigade. Mr Pullen said he has enjoyed his association with the Ohakune Police who he said were very

supportive Two applications have been received for Mr Pullen's post and a decision will be made this week on the appointment of a new constable, said Ohakune Police Sargeant Neil Coker.