This is a story about a senior constable, a former superintendent, two sisters, a widow and the mystery of a Police medal turning up in an op shop.
It begins with a volunteer at the Salvation Army Family Store in Nelson coming across a well-preserved case containing a 28-year Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
The worker was curious about why something so personal had ended up in a place where they’re more used to sorting the likes of pants, spatulas and souvenir coasters.
That inquisitive and caring person was Kaye, who mentioned it to her sister - Tasman District Senior Constable Nyanne Graf-Pollard.
On inspection, they could see the name Lindsay Hunter was engraved on the rim of the medal.
From one compassionate sister to another, Nyanne knew the true value of the medal and set about attempting to return it to its owner or custodian.
She and her partner turned to a retired police network on Facebook, which led to a phone call from Lauree – the sister of the late police officer Lindsay Hunter, who died in 2018.
That call guided Nyanne to Lindsay’s widow – another Kay - who was surprised to hear about the find but confirmed the award had been in the Hunter household.
The pair rendezvoused in Nelson and to Kay’s delight she was reunited her late husband’s medal.
Kay Hunter with mementos of Lindsay. 'Having the medal back... is yet another reminder of all those years Lindsay and I spent together'.
That leaves one puzzle to solve: how the medal ended up in a charity store.
“I have no idea how it made its way to the op shop. I have moved house, so it’s possible that it got moved on in a bag of stuff to be recycled. I guess we’ll never know,” says Kay.
“Having the medal now back in my hands is yet another reminder of all those years Lindsay and I spent together and in particular, his dedication to police work and the friendships we both developed amongst his police colleagues.
“I plan to take great care of it, and I really appreciate the efforts from Nyanne and everyone else to get the medal back to me.”
According to our staff at the Police Museum, Lindsay Hunter had quite the constabulary career, serving in Canterbury, Tasman, Wellington and at the RNZPC.
From the No 2 Walter Nash Cadet Wing No 2 in 1958, he was a probationary constable in 1960, promoted to sergeant in 1965, senior sergeant in 1971, inspector in 1975 and superintendent in 1991.
Lindsay was appointed Director of Training at the RNZPC in 1988. According to the book With Confidence and Pride, this “coincided with Commissioner Malcolm Churches' changing of the police style from ready response to community-orientated policing. Staff had to be trained for the new methods and a huge programme of district training was designed".
