SERGEANT BROOKES

Southland Times, Issue 18962, 8 June 1923, Page 6

SERGEANT BROOKES

retired after lengthy service, a few reminiscences. After a period of service with the New Zealand Police Force amounting to almost 44 years. Sergeant W. A. Brcokes signed off duty at Bluff last Friday. During the first ten years of service from 1879 to 1889, he was a member of the Armed Constabulary Force stationed in camp, at Oakere in the North Island. In those far distant days the Armed Constabulary were employed in curbing the activities of the Maori followers of Te Whiti, who prophesised that the Pakehas wculd be driven out of the land. So confident were his followers that this prediction would come to pass, that they sometimes invaded the areas occupied by the European settlers and proceeded to plough up the land. In May, 1889, he was transferred to Clyde where he remained until February, 1890. The amalgamation of the Southland and Lakes Police districts then took place and he was transferred to Invercargill for a short period, after which he went to Bluff until 1898. His next-ap-pointment was Ophir, and three years later he went to Ross. After 5, years’ service at Ross he was promoted to Sergeant and then transferred to Christchurch. Three years later he was transferred to Invercargill and thence to Bluff in 1911, where he served until his recent retirement. When interviewed at his Bluff residence a few days ago the genial Sergeant was in his usual robust state of health and appeared to be capable of enjoying his well-earned rest for many years to come. When referring to health matters he remarked that it was very noticeable when he was stationed at Christchurch how many of the new recruits went on sick leave after being on duty for about a fortnight. When it was suggested to him that they would be unaccustomed to the hard pavements and had probably suffered from sore feet, he remarked, “That might have been the trouble At any rate if their feet were any worse than mine when I did town duty for the first time, then they were pretty bad. My feet were all blistered and when I had finished my four hcurs’ duty I had a job ; to get my boots off and I had a harder I job still to get them on again when the : time came to go on for the second four hours.” When asked if any of the persons whom he had brought to justice had ever attempted to get even with him later on, he replied, “No, not one so far as I know, I don t think that I am leaving very many enemies behind me and there is one thing that I must say, the Bluff men have always come to cur assistance wherever we were in difficulties.” He remarked further that there were some people who regarded the police as their natural enemies, but these were the first people to run to the police for assistance.