2012-11 - New Zealand Police Association

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Member servicesWheels for AfricaGraham Elliott, managing director of Elliott Travel, one of thePolice Association’s Member Discount providers, recentlyorganised a mountain biking trip to Tanzania in east Africa, famedfor its scenery and wildlife.Police TravelInsuranceAvailable onlineanytimeYou might be arranging travelin the weekend or at theairport ready to depart:• More choices of cover.• 15% discount for HealthPlan members.• Many common healthconditions automaticallyaccepted*.Lift-off with newPolice Travel Insurance- online - anytime!Visit ‘Insurances’ section at:www.policeassn.org.nz*For full details refer to the policy document available fromthe ‘Police Travel Insurance’ page under the ‘Insurances’section at: www.policeassn.org.nzBefore the cycling started, Grahamand his group of nine Kiwis andthree Swiss soothed their jetlagby spending some time at the renownedNgorongoro Crater and Lake Manyarawhere they got close to lions, cheetahs,elephants, hippos and rhinos.Graham is an outdoors type of bloke,but he also likes the finer things in life, sohe made sure that once the cross-countrycycling tour got under way it included a fewluxury stopovers for saddle-weary riders.Although some of the terrain was prettyrugged, the support vehicles (a 20-seaterbus and four-wheel drive Land Cruiserwith a crew of five) that went on aheadand prepared lunch and dinner, andcomfortable accommodation at the end ofthe day, certainly eased the way.The route from the town of Arusha inthe west to Pangani on the coast involved500 kilometres of cycling and a 250km busjourney.The first day’s riding was tough, saysGraham. Although it was only 12kms,much of it was on gravel mixed with lots ofboulders. “It felt like a power plate session,”Graham says. Gradually, the road ran intofirm desert sand, which made the goingeasier and the group was distracted bycamels along the way to a Masi camp, wherea full-size tent with beds and an ensuiteawaited. The Masi tribesmen had a firegoing to heat water with which they filleda roof tank to provide much-appreciatedhot-water showers for their guests.The second day’s cycling was 40kmthrough desert tracks. “We saw very fewpeople. It was like riding off to nowhere,”Graham says. But the riding was fantastic,he says, topped off by luxury lodgeaccommodation at the end of the day.The third day’s travel took the group tohigher ground, through a landscape of reddust, heading to the small settlement ofKamwanga. Graham says the locals wereamazed to see them. “I guess they don’tsee too many white people, let along geeksdressed in Lycra and all different coloursand with sunglasses.”No lodges at this stop. Pup tents were putup in the grounds of the school.Cycling past locals going about their daily activities.The facilities extended to two long-droptoilets and a tiny room with a 20-litrebucket of dirty warm water to wash with.“It was basic at its best,” says Graham, “butwhat a truly memorable experience. Thekids sang to us and were so interested in usand us in them. It was very humbling.”The next day produced some brilliantmountain-biking with a 90km trip takingin the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, throughsavannah forests, a banana plantation and“through someone’s back yard, just avoidingtheir washing”, ending up at Lake Chala. Thepup tents were up again, but this time in abeautiful camp that is home to 300 elephants.Then it was on to a hotel stopover inMaranga before travelling 250km by bus tothe Usambara Mountains and its cliff-topaccommodation. The cycling moved up agear as the group headed even higher towardsMuller’s Lodge, 97km away, accompaniedalong the way by children crying “jambo”, aSwahili greeting.What goes up must come down and thenext day the riders got to freewheel for about30kms over single tracks, across creeks andthrough a green belt before ending up ata mission house, hosted by nuns... withcold beer.The last day was a speedy run over dirtroads to the coast to the comforting warmthof the Indian Ocean and a camp with aswimming pool on the beach. Bliss.For the latest travel bargains for memberssee the “Elliott Travel” page under ourMember Discounts section atwww.policeassn.org.nz. Elliott Travelhas prearranged special travel offersexclusively for our members and willalso hunt out individual holiday deals onbehalf of members.264 november 2012police news – the voice of police
FeatureMemories are made of theseMany police employees collect official memorabilia.Graham Morrell, who runs the 111 Club, has a specialreason to continue his hobby, he tells Deb Stringer.A defunct badge forNyasaland, now Malawi.Of all the items Sergeant GrahamMorrell has collected over theyears, a police teddy that belongedto his late son Ian remains front and centreof his police insignia collection.Graham has been building his impressivecollection for 33 years and although itincludes more than 5000 badges, patches,hats and teddies from around the world,Sergeant Ted Moriarty will always be hismost prized possession.“My boy Ian who died when he was 14was really into collecting like me, so wethought it was fitting to deck out his tedwith a custom-made police uniform andadd a miniature long-service leave badgeand give him his own QID [Ian’s date ofbirth] to pay homage to him.”These days Ted Moriarty spends a lot oftime in the Napier forensic photographer’soffice, a job Graham has held for 32 of the37 years he has been with Police.Ted Moriarty does venture out onoccasional field trips, including to theannual Police 111 Club’s Swap Meet heldin Taupo. Graham has been running theclub since the mid-90s and membership isopen to all emergency service enthusiaststhroughout Australasia, with its annualmeeting giving its 31 members thechance to display their latest and greatestcollections.A shield in memory of Graham’s sonis awarded each year to the person whois voted as having the most impressivecollection.“It’s really nice to have the shield becauseit’s just another way to keep my boy’smemory alive. It is one of the centralreasons why I continue my commitment tothe club,” Graham says.Graham’s memorabilia includes Britishbadges, K9, Air Support and PoliceTed Moriarty belonged to Graham’s son Ian, also akeen collector, who died when he was 14.Graham Morrell says internet sites such as TradeMe and eBay have killed off some of the trading aspectsof his hobby, which may be a problem with a silver lining, as he’s running out of space for his collection.Academy displays along with his mostrecent collection – badges from countriesthat no longer exist or have changed theirnames, such as Nyasaland (now Malawi),New Guinea (now Papua New Guinea andIrian Jaya) and Yugoslavia (now dividedinto several regions).Getting insignia is not always easy, saysGraham. “These days, websites like TradeMeand eBay have killed off the trading aspectof the hobby, which is a shame because noweveryone expects something from their tattyold patch or badge,” he says.Composing handwritten letters tobuild-up international contacts is anotheraspect of the hobby that had died out sincethe introduction of technology. “I wouldhave written hundreds of letters over theyears and although I still get to make somecontacts via email and have made life-longfriends, it’s not quite the same and a coupleof years back I was thinking I may have tostop collecting because I was finding it veryhard to access the things that were missingin my collection.”That feeling subsided though andGraham is now on the hunt for a helmetfrom the City of London Police to fill a gapin his collection.“Even though I don’t actively collect hats,this collection has grown to over 100 withthe most recent addition being a helmetfrom the Isle of Man.”Another stand-out in his hat collection isan Italian feathered Lucerna, traditionallyworn by the Italian police, which he pickedup eight years ago.Although there are many items out therethat Graham would love to have in hiscollection, he says he is unsure how long hewill continue to collect simply because heis fast running out of room to store all histreasures.“It has definitely been a hobby which Ifeel has enriched my life and I guess I willcontinue to do it as long as it makes mehappy,” Graham says.Another hobby of Graham’s is restoringold photographs. He is interested inhearing from anyone who wishes to haveold police photos restored. Graham canbe contacted at graham.morrell@police.govt.nz.new zealand police aSSOCIATION november 2012 265
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