Constable Pam Sowter (née Anderson) joined the New Zealand Police in 1956, one of eight women in her intake of 100 trainees at Trentham Military Camp. Trainees lived in army barracks split into three sections, each with its own tutor. While Pam was the first policewoman to graduate at the top of her course, sadly, her certificate reads: ‘Passed out first of HIS course’.

After graduation she was assigned to Auckland, where she patrolled set beats in the CBD, Parnell, Newmarket and Ponsonby, always with another policewoman.

One night on patrol Pam and her colleague Val Keefe decided to walk under Grafton Bridge rather than over it as instructed. Once they realised they were lost they scrambled up a clay bank into a factory yard to get out. On their return to the station they had to think of a story to explain their bedraggled state.

Pam remembers the first public speech she made as a policewoman, when she was guest speaker at the Blockhouse Bay Plunket Mothers Club. Being inexperienced and nervous, she had written out her speech. As she got up to speak, she realised she’d left her entire speech at home. Pam decided to take the bull by the horns, telling the women she’d forgotten her notes and suggesting they ask her questions instead. It turned out to be a success and she never suffered from nerves again when speaking to a crowd.

Pam eventually married fellow police officer Norm Sowter. After their marriage Pam stayed with police for a short time but had to retire when she became pregnant. Her three sons were sworn members of the police and two of them are still serving.

One day in 1955 Betty Bennett had two interviews for jobs. The first, conducted by a sergeant at Auckland Police Station included taking the Oath of Office. When she said she would have to go to the other appointment she was told that she needed to give three months’ notice. This was an unusual beginning to a career which included her becoming the first policewoman to be promoted to sergeant and then, commissioned officer.

She began her police training with the first group of women to train with men at the, then new, Trentham Police Training School. She was also one of three Māori women in the class. Following her training she was posted to Auckland, where she rapidly demonstrated her skills as a competent member of the Women’s Division and was promoted to the rank of Detective in 1959.

In 1960 the Government Service Equal Pay Act was passed and caused much debate about the relative value of women’s work in the police where women received 80% of a male constable’s pay. Qualifying for promotion, Betty unintentionally became the catalyst for an urgent review of policewomen’s pay. Cabinet did not grant policewomen equal pay until 1965.

Promoted to sergeant 1961, she returned to uniform and was put in charge of Auckland Women’s Division. Her exceptional communication skills, practical and pragmatic approach to police tasks and sense of humour meant she quickly became a much admired “boss”.

In 1962 she was awarded the British Empire Medal for her achievements and outstanding qualities of leadership. In 1966 she became the first policewoman to become a commissioned officer and was transferred as an inspector to Police National Headquarters. Her first task was visiting centres where policewomen were employed to observe their duties and check on their general welfare.

Commissioner Urquhart proposed the reinstatement of the Women’s Division with Inspector Bennett at its head, and promotion only available for women within it. Betty convinced other senior officers that policewomen had proved their worth and there was ample evidence that they were capable of any policing situation that might arise. Because of this, the proposal did not proceed.

Betty retired from Police in 1970.

Rosalie Sterritt joined the New Zealand Police in 1948 as part of the fourth intake of women to be trained as police officers.

Originally from Kaikoura, Rosalie and five others were sent, after graduation, as temporary constables to Auckland where they worked for a year before being appointed permanently.

Two years after joining the Police, Rosalie suffered a serious back injury during a search for a missing mental patient at One Tree Hill in Auckland. While attempting to climb higher she had grabbed a branch which broke and caused her to fall. The accident and the damage caused by the fall were the start of an uphill battle for Rosalie to keep her job as a policewoman.

Rosalie had spinal surgery to repair her back in 1957 and it took her a year to recover. When she returned to work she was assigned office work because she couldn’t perform full duties. In 1959, there was a push to deem her medically unfit to work. Determined not to have her job taken from her, Rosalie pursued Supreme Court action and won her case, keeping her job. Despite the then commissioner successfully appealing the decision, no further action was taken against Rosalie and she stayed with Police

Rosalie became an inquiry officer, then an inquest officer before retiring in 1985. She has actively pursued her interests - scouting, music and woodworking and has her own workshop for repairing and making items from wood and metal. Rosalie owns a campervan and regularly takes it away on trips around the country. She recently moved into a new retirement home, which she chose based on the fact she was able to take her beloved campervan with her.

Nora Crawford completed her secondary education by correspondence while on the family farm near Hawera. Although she completed a course at Massey University and became a herd tester in 1943 she became a member of the third intake of policewomen.

She was posted to Auckland in March 1944 where her duties included dealing with ‘idle and disorderly’ women, investigating illegal bookmakers and sly groggers, patrolling parks and cinemas, and helping the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) to interview female offenders, victims and witnesses. She proved to be particularly adept at the latter task.

In 1955 her interest in fraud and her skills at detection were recognised by the CIB and she was given the opportunity to work on cases alongside her male colleagues. This was a significant accomplishment at a time when many policemen resented the presence or promotion of women in the service.

After attending a qualifying course at the New Zealand Police Training School, Nora Crawford became the first policewoman to reach the rank of detective in 1958. Good natured, forthright, and friendly she took pride in doing same job as the men. She was also given additional duties, including being designated as an escort and bodyguard for visiting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth in 1953, and Queen Sirikit of Thailand in 1962. In 1969 she was promoted to the CIB fraud squad.

Nora retired after 23 years of investigative service with the CIB and her reputation as a skilled fraud investigator led to a second career with bank card security. She was influential and active in several police-related groups during and after her police service. Nora was a foundation member of the New Zealand branch of the International Police Association and was involved in setting up the Auckland retired police officers’ club. 1985 she became patron of Recruit Wing 101 at the Royal New Zealand Police College, the first time a policewoman had been honoured.

Marie Storey (nee Nixon), joined the New Zealand Police in 1943 as part of the 3^rd intake of women. Her father had been a Senior Sergeant with Police and was the Editor of the Police Gazette. He had died just before she joined, but he had seen the first intake of women and had been very pleased with the idea of women in the Police.

By the time Marie joined it was thought that it was better for experienced women to explain aspects of the job to the new trainees, so Marie and the other female recruits in her intake were often given lectures and on-the-job training from women who had been in the job for a few years.

During her time as a policewomen, Marie and the other women were often used as decoys to help catch offenders. She remembers one time being used as bait in Mount Victoria to catch a man who had been harassing women. She was tasked with walking back and forwards along a path waiting for the man to appear. On reaching the bottom of the track for the fifth time a cat walked out, startling Marie and itself, and sent them both running. Marie recalls that her male colleague was quite impressed at her speed in reaching the nearest lamp post.

She was also involved in an operation to catch an Australian man who had been making obscene phone calls to women. The operation was a success and resulted in the arrest of a high-ranking Australian bandsman who was touring New Zealand at the time.

Marie married and left the New Zealand Police in 1947 when she became pregnant with her first child.

In 1941 ten women were chosen as trainees to become New Zealand’s first policewomen. They started training at a depot in Newtown, Wellington and after completing their 3-month course, the ten women were sworn in as temporary constables. Of her intake, Constable Nancy Aitchison was the longest serving member, retiring in 1970 at age 60 after 29 years of service.

After training Nancy and Constable Mollie Speakman were sent to Christchurch as the city’s first female police officers. As women weren't issued with uniforms in those days, and instead wore civilian clothing, it made them ideal for undercover work. They were used in seeking evidence of sly grogging, bookmaking and in searching ships and opium dens for women.

After 13 years at the Christchurch station she transferred to Napier, where she remained until she retired. Future inspector Joe Franklin, whom she had enlisted as a non-police diving expert during a, earlier case found her impressive.

In 1953 Nancy was awarded the Coronation Medal, one of 19 awarded to the New Zealand Police and one of two to policewomen that year. In 1969 she was awarded her 28-year service clasp at the Christmas Day parade at the Napier Police Station and was reported as being ‘the oldest serving member of the Women’s Division of the Police in New Zealand.’

After retiring Nancy returned to her hometown Dannevirke but died shortly after following a long battle with breast cancer.

Edna Pearce was one of the first ten women to begin police training on June 3rd, 1941. The recruits were selected by the Police Commissioner Denis Cummings. They needed to have ‘superior education’, common sense, know shorthand and be able to type. They also had to be single or widowed and over the age of 25. Edna, a kindergarten teacher and keen gymnast met the criteria perfectly.

After finishing her training Edna was posted to Auckland and attached to the detective branch. In the early days of working there she was confined to working on cases involving women and children. Like the rest of her intake, she wasn't issued with a uniform but was expected to wear smart civilian dress complete with hat, gloves and handbag. In November of her first year Edna was the first policewomen to make an arrest.

A highlight of her career was being seconded to the Department of Internal Affairs to take charge of an internment camp for Japanese women and children at Pokeno, in the Waikato. The internees were families of traders operating in the Pacific Islands. Her duties included teaching correspondence school, arranging medical treatment, ensuring adequate supplies of food and censoring correspondence.

In August 1943 an attempt was made to transfer the internees to Australia by a Liberator aircraft. It crashed in the Mangere swamp killing three women and four children. Edna was called upon to identify the dead and the hospitalised survivors who were eventually returned to her care. Later that year she accompanied the group to Australia on the protected ship MV Wahine. Some of the Japanese women continued to correspond with her as they waited out the war in Australia. Their letters show how much they appreciated her care while interned in New Zealand.

In 1944 Constable Pearce returned to her duties in Auckland. When policewomen went into uniform in December 1952, she was given the collar number “1”. In 1954 she went to Hamilton as its first policewoman and remained there until she retired at 60 after completing 25 years’ service.

Superintendent Sandra Manderson decided when she was six that she wanted to join the New Zealand Police, because she wanted to work in and for the community.

She joined the New Zealand Police in 1987. During her career with the Police, she has held a range of positions including Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), frontline and operational appointments. In 1993 she was awarded a Queen Services Medal for services to the community.

Sandra was the first female officer to be promoted to superintendent. After her promotion she became National Manager of Organisational Performance based at Police National Headquarters, which involved evaluating the police performance in the organisation. She became the first female to be appointed district commander, becoming Canterbury’s District Commander in 2002 a job she enjoyed, working with great staff, government departments, local councils and the community.

She has also achieved other firsts in her career: she was the first director of the Crime Prevention Unit in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Police’s first National Manager of Organisational Performance and the first female police attaché to the Americas, based in Washington DC.

When Prince Charles visited New Zealand in 2012 she was the commander of policing around the visits. She also was the national commander for policing for the 2015 FIFA Under-20 and ICC Cricket Cup. Sandra was subsequently based at Police National Headquarters, where she worked as the International Services Group Manager. She was also President of the Police Guild.

Sandra retired after 30 years of service in 2017.