Young and eager to hit the beat - Police graduation tomorrow

Forty-one new constables will graduate from The Royal New Zealand Police College in Wing 263 tomorrow. Their wing patron is Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, esteemed Māori educationalist.

Wing 263 members have youth on their side. The majority fall within the 21 to 25 year age group with seven members being under 20 when they arrived at The Royal New Zealand Police College.

School of Initial Training Practice Leader, Senior Sergeant Mike McCarthy says, "I have been very impressed with the maturity and camaraderie of this wing. They are a young bunch but are mature beyond their years."

Just what we are looking for
New Zealand Police has embarked on a new recruitment phase that aims to attract people aged 18 to 25 years, people who speak the same 'lingo' as the communities they will serve, and will carry Police through the next couple of decades.

Many of Wing 263 fit that profile, and they've shown they've got what it takes. Recruitment marketing manager, James Whitaker, has worked with several of today's graduates on some yet to be released campaign material and he was impressed by their down to earth nature, the reasons they joined and their ambitions for the future.

"Remember their names. All of the current NZ Police executive (including the Commissioner) started before they were 25, so who knows, one of these outstanding recruits could be our future leader," James said.

Photo below
Pictured in front of a 'refurbished' 1886 Hastings Police Station are from left Constables Freddy Minnee (20), Kahu Olendzki-Schulz (18), Phill Moody (19), Jed Landon (18), Thomas Ealam (20), Lucian Simmons (20) and Ben Grant (20).


The majority of Wing 263 has been posted to stations in the Counties-Manukau Police District.

They will be posted to:

Canterbury: Christchurch (4), Timaru (2)
Tasman: Greymouth (1)
Central: Palmerston North (1)
Eastern: Gisborne (1)
Counties-Manukau: Papakura (4), Otahuhu (5), Howick (10), Pukekohe (1), Manurewa (6)
Waitemata: Henderson (4), North Shore (2)


Wing 263 prize winners:

•Minister's Prize for First in Wing was awarded to Constable Raphael Price, posted to Howick.

•Commissioner's Prize for Second in Wing was awarded to Constable Hamish Fair, posted to Christchurch. Constable Fair was also awarded the Holden Tactical Skills & Safety Prize (overall winner in defensive tactics, firearms & driving), the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award, the Driver Training Award, and the section prize for section two.

•Patron's Prize for Third in Wing was awarded to Constable Willem Lourens, posted to North Shore. Constable Lourens was also awarded the International Police Association Academic Prize (overall winner for Academic Exams 1, 2 & 3).

•The Ericsson Practical Prize for the overall winner for practical assessments, skills files & forensic fingerprinting was awarded to Constable Laura Green, posted to Henderson.

•The Meltzer Prize for Weapon Training was awarded to Constable Jed Landon, posted to Howick.

•The Intergraph Computer Skills Prize (overall winner in computer studies) was awarded to Constable Jacinda Clarke, posted to Papakura.

•The Porirua City Council Leadership Award (selected by the wing management team as having demonstrated outstanding leadership and potential to succeed) was awarded to Constable Ben Grant, posted to Timaru.


Police Association Prizes for Section Achievement:

This prize is awarded to an individual from each section who, in the collective view of the members of the section and the wing instructors, made the greatest contribution to the overall success of the team.

•Section One - Constable Nathan Whitley, posted to Gisborne.
•Section Two - Constable Hamish Fair, posted to Christchurch.


Wing Patron: Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, MBE

Dame Iritana is of Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu, Nga Puhi, Canadian and English descent. She received the honour of Dame in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours for services to Māori education.
Her other honours include the 1990 Commemoration Medal, Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1992, 1993 Women’s Suffrage Medal, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 2001, Adjunct Professor at Aotearoa Wananga in 2003, and in 2006 she received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Victoria University.

Dame Iritana has been involved with Māori education for more than 60 years. She began her teaching career in 1948 at Tikitiki School on the East Coast, before becoming a welfare officer in Ruatoria where she developed a network of East Coast play centres. Her involvement with early childhood education continued when she moved to Lower Hutt in 1972.

Dame Iritana played a key role in establishing Te Kōhanga Reo movement and reversing the decline in the Māori language. The first kōhanga reo, Pukeatua, was opened in Wainuiomata in 1982, and by 1994 there were more than 800 nationwide, catering for about 14,000 children. Internationally, the model is now seen as a benchmark for the revitalisation of indigenous languages.

She worked at Māori Affairs from 1984 until retiring in 1989, with three years as department assistant secretary. Dame Iritana has served on a host of government and official committees and working parties involved in the development of education policy. She is a life member of the Māori Women's Welfare League, a Māori Language Commissioner, and deputy chairwoman of the Māori Education Trust. She has stood as a list candidate for the Māori Party in the Ikaroa Rawhiti electorate.

Fellow Wing Patron Dr Pita Sharples said, “Iritana has been in the front line of seeking better outcomes for Māori for more than half a century whether it be in education – as in Te Kōhanga Reo movement – or in general welfare and well being.”

Dame Iritana, who is 81, rarely takes a break from her busy schedule and she says she is unlikely to stop any time soon.

“As long as you can move and get up in the morning, why not do something?” she says. “I'm very busy, but until I go deaf or blind why not continue taking an interest in the world and try and make it a better place for your grandchildren?”



Graduation will take place at The Royal New Zealand Police College, Papakowhai Rd, Porirua, on Thursday 22 September at 2:00pm. The ceremony will be attended by the Honourable Judith Collins, Minister of Police, and Police Commissioner Howard Broad.