Judge Karen Broughton congratulates Tracey Friend JP.
At a special Dannevirke Magistrate's Court ceremony on Friday at noon, November 26, two new Justices of the Peace (JPs) - Tracey Friend and Andrew Cameron - were sworn in by Judge Karen Broughton.
Because of Covid restrictions, attendees were limited to close family and friends, but this made the whole ceremony more personal for those present.
Attending on behalf of the Central Districts JPs Association was its registrar, Rod Titcombe, and representing the local Dannevirke JPs Association were its president, Maureen Reynolds JP, and member Suresh Patel JP.
Tracey Friend JP has been a resident of Dannevirke for nearly 30 years, educated at Waitaki Girls High and acquiring diplomas in dental technology from CIT and funeral direction from Weltec before working for Dannevirke Family Dentists in Dannevirke.
She joined Tararua Funeral Services in 2005 and became its director in 2018.
Tracey said she was asked by Tom Castles JP to join the Dannevirke JPs Association because during Covid last year it was difficult to access a JP, who were mostly over 70 years.
Tracey says it made sense to join because in her current job she was an essential service and much of her work involved liaising with and helping people.
Andrew Cameron grew up in Hawke's Bay and came to nursing after several years working at a range of jobs.
He has travelled the world widely, helping in many of the war zones ranging from Afghanistan to Georgia. When not working in a war-zone or post-conflict zone, he was the sole medical practitioner in Birdsville, Australia, on the edge of the Simpson Desert and home of the famous Birdsville Races. He wrote a popular book called A Nurse on the Edge of a Desert.
He is also the recipient of many awards: The Florence Nightingale Medal, Western Australia Nurse of the Year, Australian Nurse of the Year, the Order of Australia (for services to the nursing profession), Massey University's Distinguished Alumni Medal, La Trobe University's Distinguished Alumni Award, and Queensland University's Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Excellence Award.
He currently farms at Porongahau and says that becoming a JP seemed a logical way to help the local population, having also been a community magistrate in Australia.
The ceremony began with each candidate swearing allegiance to the Queen and country and signing their commitment to serve as a JP.
Judge Karen Broughton briefly traced the origin of JPs back to England in 1361, when prominent members of the community were given the title, bringing it forward to New Zealand and saying her research into the current candidates showed they were both very well suited to the role with a history of service to the community.
It was then over to the president of the local Dannevirke JPs Association, Maureen Reynolds, to offer her congratulations to the new JPs, to outline their roles, describe the benefits of membership and conclude her belief that they will fulfil their roles.
"It is clear from your profiles that you each serve your local community in different ways. I am sure that you will also do the same as Justices of the Peace as we all volunteer our services to the wider community.
"Our association has had the opportunity to reflect on the demographics of JP's and has decided it needs to actively ensure our membership is reflective and representative of the community that it serves," she said.