The Star: May 06, 2021

The Star Thursday May 6 2021
18
NEWS
• From page 17
“Things started to heat up, but
I naively didn’t see just what danger
I was in as a big line of protestors
came towards me one way
and the Red Squad was coming
the other and I was in the middle.
“Out of nowhere John came
racing towards me and pushed
me into the safe house. For a moment
the photographer was off
duty on the biggest story of the
day to make sure his workmate
was safe.’’
Being good at his job was only
one facet of McCombe’s endearing
personality. He was an incurable
practical joker, who loved
playing pranks on his colleagues,
but he was also quick-witted
and resourceful, as recalled by
reporter Brian Cowley.
“On the one hand, he was
the consummate professional,
charming and calming his
nervous subjects with soothing
banter and achieving the desired
photograph by means of mutual
co-operation.
“Then there was the devil-maycare
character who would startle
the reporter accompanying him
with an impromptu cameo from
the McCombe playbook of crazy
tricks.’’
Cowley remembers running
late for a job and being amazed
when McCombe drove across a
busy Christchurch, avoiding all
streets and traffic lights, zipping
instead down alleyways and business
access lanes.
When they arrived, he apologised
for their tardiness, saying
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Consummate professional with a devil-may-care character
McCombe’s infamous picture of an eight-year-old
Canterbury rugby fan prompted calls for the boy to be
banned from Lancaster Park.
the “traffic wasn’t with us’’,
which, Cowley says, was no lie!
Away from his work, Mc-
Combe was a man of many
interests, chief of those being his
family. But he was also an avid
hunter, fisherman, boatee, golfer
(later in life) and a crack clay
target shooter.
How many colleagues knew he
was the 1992 New Zealand clay
sparrow champion shooter and
a national clay target shooting
representative while a member
(and former vice president) of the
Belfast Gun Club?
Indeed, daughter Melody
recalls a quote from North Canterbury
artist Sam Mahon, in his
book The Year of the Horse, about
her father – “he went hunting
with dad and wrote that dad was
as artful with a gun as he was
with a camera.’’
What they are more likely to
remember are the many great
times enjoyed at the McCombe’s
homes in Tancred St – where
plans for the infamous Media
Club in Chancery Lane were first
hatched – and later at Rockinghorse
Rd, South New Brighton.
After a series of earthquakes
in 2010 and 2011 left their
two-storey South Shore villa
unrepairable, the McCombe’s
thought about buying land and
starting afresh on the West
Coast. Instead, through family
circumstances, they ended up
visiting Thames.
As McCombe told the New
Zealand Herald in February 2015,
the four-year anniversary of the
big quake, he and Cheryl spent
the night in Whangamata and,
on a whim, called a real estate
agent and found themselves inspecting
a lovely home overlooking
the harbour.
Impulsively – or was it instinctively?
– they made an offer
and a few months later began a
new chapter in their lives in the
Coromandel.
McCombe said the speed of
the decision stunned family and
friends – “I think they must have
thought we’d gone off our rocker
a little bit’’ – but it proved to be
“the best decision of our lives.’’
He joined the local golf and
boating clubs and took a keen
interest in environmental issues,
eventually becoming an outspoken
chairman of the Whangamata
Harbour Care group,
leading the charge on mangrove
eradication.
In a Facebook exchange (he
ended up with three different
pages) in June last year, Mc-
Combe agreed it was a case of
“paradise lost’’ in Christchurch
but “paradise regained’’ in
Whangamata.
And it’s in that beautiful town,
at the golf club today that friends
and family will farewell the genial
McCombe, a big man with a
heart and a personality to match.
McCombe is survived by his
wife Cheryl, children Melody and
Kevin, three grandchildren and
one great granddaughter.
Treat Mum at Park Lane
Bring mum to Arvida’s Park Lane 65+ community for a Mother’s Day pampering session she’ll enjoy. Choose a
complimentary pedicure or massage from Sensory Therapy, enjoy a glass of bubbles on us and be serenaded
by a wonderful vocalist. There’ll be a special menu celebrating mums at 5 Acres Café too.
Pop in Sunday 9th May, 10am-2pm
Call Tara on 021 489 784 or visit parklaneretirement.co.nz
35 Whiteleigh Avenue, Christchurch.
An Arvida Living Well Community