Story of first Petone Policeman become folklore for family
After reading about the Petone Historic Police Station?s centenary celebrations, Moera resident Basil Duncan was reminded of a frontier story of that has been handed down through the generations. Mr Duncan says his great grandfather was one of the first Petone policemen and he was initially told the tale by his grandmother. ?There is one story that gets told. ?The first Petone policeman?s daughter, my grandmother, was only three years-old and she was playing in Elizabeth Street. ?Local Maori were watching her play with her friends, she was this blonde, blue-eyed little girl, really cute, and the Maori kidnapped her,? says Mr Duncan. The Petone Police Station was built in Elizabeth Street in 1909 before being transferred to its current site on Jackson Street in the early 90s. As the tale goes, the Maori meant no harm to the child but rather were intrigued by her foreign, fair complexion. The little girl was taken to a Pa further up the valley, where Mr Duncans great grandfather headed to ?scout out the place?. ?There he saw her playing with all the Maori children and he galloped in and picked her up and rode off, just like in the Westerns. ?The Maori must have thought she was a little cutie, and even as an older lady she was beautiful, you know,? he says. As one of the earliest Petone residents, Mr Duncan?s grandmother bore 13 children, one of which was his father Bill Duncan who went to work the goldmines of the South Island?s West Coast. Later in life his grandmother moved back to Karori. Petone Historical Society secretary Roy Hewson says there is no record of a Duncan serving at the 1909 police station, but in the early days of settlement it?s possible he existed as a casual community constable. Unfortunately Basil Duncan passed away before the Police Station?s centenary; he was 71 years-old.
