Looking in the rearview mirror and seeing a police car is not so unusual. But seeing a whole police station? That was a distinct possibility in Eastern District last week when the former Nuhaka Police Station moved to Mahia.
The move was prompted a couple of years ago by Eastern District Commander Superintendent Tania Kura who, stopping off in Nuhaka one day en route to a tangi, commended the 10-year-old building. ¡°This is a beaut little station ¨C but is it in the right spot?¡±
To sole-charge Constable Craig Henneker the answer was no. Nuhaka, about 20km from the Mahia Peninsula to which it was once the gateway, is shrinking while Mahia is growing. That¡¯s meant most days Craig makes at least one 40km round-trip to Mahia, now home to 1000-plus people and boasting infrequent but spectacular rocket launches, and growing weekly.
With the boss¡¯s backing he developed a presentation outlining the case for the move, and took it to both communities.
Those in Mahia ¡°welcomed it with open arms¡±. The less enthusiastic Nuhaka community ¨C which numbered about 5000 when Police established a presence there in 1912 but is now down to about 230 including those from outlying farms - have been mollified by a direct line to Police Communications outside the local fire station.
Laying the groundwork also included having the new site blessed by local kaumatua Papa Bill (Ng¨¡ti Ronogomaiwahine), before the station was moved. There will be another blessing when it becomes operational in mid-December, ahead of an official opening in January.
Tania says it was a great opportunity to join the dots ¨C both within Police, where the move aligns with the property group¡¯s strategy, and with local communities.
¡°It¡¯s been an exciting opportunity to work more closely with community partners, and to have real visibility where the demand is,¡± she says.