THE "TEXTBOOK" resolution to the Pakaitore occupation was a credit to police and to Wanganui, Alec Waugh says.
He was Wanganui police district commander at the time, but is now "delightfully retired and thoroughly enjoying life" in Auckland.
The occupation was a stressful time, and he said treading a middle line made for a constructive ending. He was proud of the parts played by police and Wanganui people.
"Wanganui as a community did themselves proud in 1995 and probably didn't quite get the recognition [it] deserved. If it had happened elsewhere I don't know what the result would have been."
Mr Waugh went into policing with a degree in history and some knowledge of land disputes. He noticed a "build-up" of incidents before and after the occupation.
There was the slow progress of the Whanganui River claim, heard at Putiki in 1994. On December 19 that year there were protesters opposing the monuments at Pakaitore/Moutoa Gardens. On December 21 the head and right hand were broken off the statue of former New Zealand premier John Ballance, who had come to symbolise colonial oppression.
Then on January 12 a group disrupted TV1 news, and on February 3 the same group blocked SH3. On February 13 the Ballance statue was damaged again. So Mr Waugh wasn't completely surprised when he was rung on the morning the occupation began to say Whanganui iwi had moved on to the gardens.
He quickly realised the occupation could have wide legal, community and historic repercussions. He wanted to make sure police were not blamed for any hot-headed actions by protesters, the Wanganui District Council or government.
He let everyone know, through the Wanganui Chronicle, that police would be enforcing the law but would also seek to maintain "community tranquillity".
Not everyone within the police agreed with this approach, and there was "some quite difficult debate internally".
But then-region commander Colin Wilson gave him free hand, and visiting government ministers seemed happy with police action or inaction.
There were conflicting calls from the community. Some people wanted the occupiers to be left to do what they wished, while others wanted police to "charge in and toss everyone off and damn the consequences".
Mr Waugh wanted to avoid violence and walk the middle line. That aligned with community sentiment and was always the most successful for police, he said.
He advised the council not to use trespass law, but to go to the High Court and get an order asking Maori to leave. He went to the occupiers and heard why they were there.
A forced eviction would have needed at least 600 police, he estimated. It was a "crude tool" that would provide no resolution.
During the time of the occupation he had 40 or 50 police reinforcements from Palmerston North and Wellington in Wanganui to help. There was taunting and abuse from people against the occupation, and police did use "excess force" at times. That was investigated, with no conclusion reached.
At one point, about 60 days in, police arrived in force with batons to look for weapons at the gardens. Asked whether Niko Tangaroa was hit with one of those batons, he didn't think so. He said there would have been headlines if that had happened.
He does remember an incident in which someone "silly" charged a horse into the gardens in an aggressive manner. "I decided to take no particular action on that occasion, though there was pressure to take a specific stand on that. No one was arrested, but if they had done it a second time they probably would have been."
He heard reports of gunshots fired at the gardens from across the river, but was unable to find any evidence for it.
Contingents of local, national and international media were waiting for a violent stand-off that never happened. Mr Waugh said the occupation got more publicity than any other single New Zealand event in a period of 15 years, including the Gulf War.
It was a highly charged and emotional time, with rumours flying. The pressure intensified as it stretched on. Mr Waugh was relieved when "everyone left with a smile".
"It was a demanding time, with a very constructive ending."
One of his overwhelming impressions of the occupiers was the influence of the women.
"They called the shots. The men did the talking."
He said Ken Mair's was the voice often used, and Niko Tangaroa was a calm and dignified person. Tariana Turia was "a more aggressive but more solid woman leader". He was aware of other leaders behind the scenes, including John Tahuparae and Archie Taiaroa.
"I think Wanganui grew up another level from Moutoa Gardens."