The Weekend Sun
Friday 25 November 2016
27 news and views for the over 55’s
Thurgood’s 35 years in the thin blue line Ted Thurgood sits comfortably in his home in Mount Maunganui with a career behind him of 35 years in the police force.
him and the community over the years. “It was exciting, you never knew what you were going to do day-today. A couple of times I’d looked down the barrel of a rifle, yet
Ted and Rona met in their late teens at a dance school on Karangahape Rd in Auckland. Since then, Rona has always been by Ted’s side, both in and outside of work. Rona worked as Ted’s Ted’svoluntary voluntary deputy, being a nurse and counsellor to prisoners alongside bringing up their four children. “I used to answer phone calls. If Ted Ted locked locked anyone anyone up up and and couldn’t take them them to to the the central central couldn’t take police station it was my job to give them a cup of tea, sandwiches or whatever,” says Rona.
place by the force. “I’d hate to be in [the police force] today. When I was working there was no drugs, just booze. There was more respect for us back then.” Since his retirement from the Police he’s
Now, at Now, at 86 86 years years old old and and having having just celebrated 65 years with his wife Rona, he reflects on his time as an officer. “I never knew anything about [the Police], I was working and living in the country where there was no Police around you.” Ted was Ted was raised raised in in Raetihi Raetihi and and worked as a tree feller and in sawmills with his family. On September 14, 1950, he joined the police force. His job allowed him and his family to move around the country from Hamilton to Morrinsville and to Te Te Karaka – before serving his last seven years at Te Te Puke’s police station station in in Puke’s police the 1965. At that time, the station only held two officers – Ted was in charge leading to Te Puke being his favourite station he’d worked at. “I liked my Ted and Rona Thurgood reminisce over their 65 years of marriage and Ted’s 35 years in the police force. job and I enjoyed Photo: Chris Callinan. it. I caught a lot of sly groggers “I used to be very nervous but in still survived.” Being threatened and bookmakers,” says Ted. those days there was more respect with weapons, picking up human One of his memorable moments remains from extreme traffic for us and I lost that nervousness in Te Puke was tracking down a collisions and murder scenes were and got on famously with them”. local bandit, known as Whitcliffe, just a few aspects of the job but Ted had no choice but to retire who had made a lot of threats to at age 55 due to an order put in says he had “no fear whatsoever”.
enjoyed playing golf, partook in axemen events and was a bailiff in the local courts in the late-1980s for five years. Today, Ted has his awards of service proudly displayed in his living room. “I’ve never regretted any-thing I’ve done plus I’ve been happily married for 65 years,” says Ted. “We were poorly paid – but we had the best time of our lives.” Rachel Noon
Garage sale to contribute to the good work The statistics should jolt us. Two out of three New Zealanders are affected in some way by dementia, 60,000 Kiwis have been diagnosed and by the year 2050 there will be an estimate 150,000 New Zealanders living with it. The most common form of
dementia is Alzheimers – about two-thirds of dementia sufferers have it. This weekend there is a way Bay of Plenty residents can contribute to the good work being done at the Alzheimers Centre in Tauranga. They provide strategies for
managing dementia, support groups, volunteer support services, and educational programmes. To assist those services, the Alzheimers Centre is holding a garage sale at 116 13th Ave tomorrow, November 26, from 8.30am-noon. Admission is free.
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