Police have provided additional on-the-ground support to Chatham Islanders wishing to obtain their firearms licences. Wellington Area Arms Officer Niamh Amas spoke to us about their visit.
Why did you travel to the Chathams?
We needed to process 27 firearm licence applications and associated referee interviews – with a mix of renewals and first-time applicants. That would be a lot of work for resident Constables Teagan and Dan Turner to complete on their own when they have their routine tasks to attend to. So, we flew a team down on Air Chathams to support our officers over four days.
Who went?
Four of us were fortunate enough to go - Damian Karena, Murray Johnston, Maxine Olsen, and myself. We’d been planning the trip for several months, but had our visit postponed due to COVID-19. It was great to finally go in late November and meet the locals and provide them with our services.
The team together.
What did you do?
First stop was the Courthouse just outside Waitangi. That was our base for four days. From 10am to 8pm, we completed all our interviews at the station and also fitted in several security inspections at people’s houses. With recent modifications to the Arms Act, regulations and Police policy means there has been significant changes in the way firearms licences are applied for and considered.
Why do people use firearms on the Chatham Islands?
Hunting would be one of the main reasons for firearms ownership. There’s also a need for possum and swan pest control and a lot of management of wild cattle and pigs, which present a destructive threat to farm livestock.
What’s the difference between your work in Wellington and on the Chathams?
The remoteness and the limited means of communication stood out the most. But we’d made a lot of arrangements in advance. Good planning meant islanders could book their interview slots with us at the Police station before we arrived. We were also moving licence holders from a manual book system to an electronic database.
How well was your visit received?
They’re a friendly bunch on the Chathams. We had people turning up to make applications who hadn’t booked in with us – which is good. People want to do the right thing, and we’re looking forward to keeping in touch with them while we process their applications.
Anything else?
Yes, but I’ll leave Norm Karena, our Firearms Vetter from the Wairarapa to tell you about his interview with a Council Animal Ranger who had an interesting tale...
“This photo shows a white round marble ball which was found in the ranger’s back yard by her partner while digging the garden over," says Norm.
"They live on the west side of the Chathams at a place called Torotoro. The other green-ish round granite ball was found by a friend at Kaingaroa on the northern side of the island in their grandfather’s garden about a year ago.
“At the time, no one had known what these round objects were so they asked a chap by the name of Hamish Campbell, who is one of New Zealand’s leading geologists, to look at the balls.
“It was identified that in late 1700s to early 1800s, the French were among some of the earliest settlers in New Zealand and established a colony at Akaroa and whalers were operating off the Banks Peninsula. At some stage the French Whalers headed off to the Chathams and were attacked by the local Māori.
"This did not sit well for the French and they sent a French Corvette (ship) to the Chathams in around 1838 and fired upon Māori Pa sites, and hence why they were found near coast lines.
“Marble and granite were used as cannon balls in the early stages and were effective weapons when fired from cannons. These balls would fragment like grenades when they hit something hard, causing serious injuries or death.”