August 2002 Volume 83 Number 8 "serving the protectors"
Long-serving police honoured
By John Ballantyne

Forty-two retiring police officers and their spouses attended a dinner held in their honour in the Adelaide Hilton’s banquet room on June 28.

The dinner – supported by the Police Credit Union – is part of an annual PASA tradition dating back more than 50 years.

The evening started with a rousing performance by the internationally-acclaimed Band of the SA Police.

The band paid a humorous tribute to the 1960s – a decade when many of the retirees first joined the police. An Austen Powers impersonator – complete with thick spectacles and buck-teeth – performed some daffy grooving to the tune of Soul Bossa.

Band members then donned AFL colours – half of them wearing the Crows’ colours, the other half the Power’s – and performed We’re the Pride of South Australia and We’ve Got the Power to Win.

Master-of-ceremonies, PASA secretary, Andy Dunn, then opened the formal part of the evening.

He spoke of the high regard in which the SA public held its police owing to their integrity and trustworthiness.

Referring to a Fort Largs graduation ceremony he had attended a few days earlier, he said: “That those new recruits are joining a service that has upheld such standards is very much owing to the example set by those we choose to honour tonight.”

PASA president, Peter Alexander, in his welcoming remarks, spoke of the unique way in which the police family looked after its members, through such things as shared sick leave.

He reflected on last year’s terrorist attack on America to underline the indispensability of police to the community. He said that, while September 11 had indeed changed people’s lives forever, what had not changed was “the readiness of police and emergency workers” to respond to life-threatening situations.

Commissioner Mal Hyde, in his speech, also spoke of September 11 and praised the Police Association for raising funds to aid the families of those tragically killed or injured in the New York World Trade Center disaster.

Police Minister Pat Conlon spoke highly of the courage, strength and commitment of SA police.

He said that he had never forgotten the words of Bill “Wags” Morris when they were practicing criminal law together years ago. Morris had reminded him on one occasion of what police had to endure in their profession. He said: “They do a dirty, horrible job that nobody else will do.”

Conlon concluded: “I unashamedly say we have the best police force in the world.”

The Police Credit Union vice-chairman, Paul Schramm, described how the PCU was born out of PASA more than 30 years ago, and has since established four branches in SA and one in Casuarina, NT.

He said that the PCU offered special services to retired police, acknowledging their role in making the PCU what it was today.

The PCU, Schramm said, prided itself on supporting the wider police family through such special events as the Adelaide International Tattoo, the Police Expo, the Blue Light Disco, Bluey Day and the Police Association delegates’ conference.

The evening concluded with Peter Alexander making special presentations on behalf of the Police Association to the 42 retirees.

Each of the retirees was invited to say a few words.

Peter Stanford recalled the time when he got his “first smack in the mouth”, and the occasion when he worked his longest shift – 36 hours – after an aircraft crash at Mount Remarkable.

Rick Landreth, formerly of the water police, spoke of the perils of the job. “The times I’ve almost been crushed,” he exclaimed, “by the hugs of the sailor I’ve just rescued!”

All retirees, however, made light of any adversity and hardship they had suffered. On the contrary, a number of them said that they had “enjoyed every minute” of their careers, and that policing was “the best job in the world”.

Many spoke warmly of the invaluable support PASA had given police.

A number of retirees paid special tribute to their wives who had shared their burdens of inconvenient hours and difficult postings.

Bryan Venning spoke for many when he turned to Commissioner Mal Hyde’s table and said: “Commissioner, you should present a long-service medal to our wives, not to ourselves!”

Trish Walkley quite stole the show with an entertaining retrospect on her career, delivered entirely in verse. Recalling her 14-and-a-half years working with cadavers at the Coronial Investigation office, she said:
I found I always got respect when in the mortuary Because the people on the slab would all “look up to me”.

The professional experience she gained there even proved an inspiration in evaluating the suitability of appointments to the upper echelons of SAPOL:

Having served for many years, Commissioner Hunt had gone, So we needed a replacement to help SAPOL carry on And keep us to the forefront in the field of law and order So government took up the cause and looked across the border…

With my Coroner’s Office work, I could have helped them to decide, As I knew a good preservative would be “forMALdeHYDE”. So we got our new Commissioner, but one thing has turned out wrong, For I believe that, deep down, he still barracks for Geelong!

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