"His father, Pat, worked at Affco Moerewa and was a former captain of the Maori All Blacks.
"His mother, who everyone called Aunty Beatrice, should have been a princess she was such a lovely person. She could have worn a crown on her head with no problems at all."
The only problem with recruiting Paddy was that he was aged 20 and had gained School Certificate passes in only te reo Maori and woodwork.
"I saw the woodwork and engineering teacher, who spoke highly of Paddy and liked the idea of him joining the police as he had been wondering if Paddy was ever going to leave school," Mr Gillespie said.
"Then I had a yarn with Paddy, who said he had never thought of joining the force but would like to as the only place where he could be sure of finding work was Affco."
In those days, there was a pre-entry test for police recruits. Mr Gillespie sat Paddy down with the test papers, but when he returned 45 minutes later the young man said he couldn't answer the questions.
"I helped him out with some of it and sent the papers off to police headquarters in Wellington with a note saying Paddy might not be academic but he would make a wonderful policeman," Mr Gillespie said.
Paddy scored only 22 out of 100 and the brass in Wellington said he needed to do better.
Mr Gillespie persevered for two years, finally telling Paddy to sign his name on the test papers then filling them out himself.
Off Paddy went to the police college at Trentham, where the chief training officer was Sergeant (later Chief Superintendent) Teddy Hopham, who had served at Kaikohe in the past.
"I told Ted to look after Paddy, and Ted was so impressed with him he took the unbelievable step of inviting him home to have dinner with his wife and two boys," Mr Gillespie said.
"When Ted was having a cup of tea at the college with Gus Sharp (Police Commissioner Sir Angus Sharp), he told him about Paddy and Gus said 'Call him in'.
"So Paddy was in there having afternoon tea with these two top officers. The other recruits couldn't believe it."
After graduating in 1973, Paddy was posted to Whangarei and was among a northern police contingent Mr Gillespie led to work in Christchurch during the Commonwealth Games there in 1974.
"We were in the arena and there was lots of noise when over the racket I could hear this shout 'Paddy Whiu!' and Paddy was roaring 'Commissioner!'
"They ran and embraced like rugby players and Gus told me Paddy would be his escort for the day and I could proceed without him."
Around this time Paddy was showing he had inherited his father's rugby skills, excelling on the wing in the Combined Services team.
"He was a fine sportsman. He had a great swerve and no tackler could bring him down by holding on to his hips," Mr Gillespie said.
The rest is history. Paddy was transferred to the one-man station at Kaeo and went on to become Northland's first iwi liaison officer and later facilitated liaison officer training courses at the New Zealand Police College.
In 2001, he received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the public, followed in 2004 by a Commissioner's Commendation for his role in the foreshore and seabed hikoi from Northland to the steps of Parliament.
Since 2007, he was integral in the Maori, Pacific and Ethnic Services (MPES) team at Police National Headquarters.
On Waitangi Day, just days before Paddy died, Police Commissioner Peter Marshall, presented him with a Silver Merit Award, the highest police honour for the performance of duties.
New Zealand Police "has lost a mighty totara", the commissioner said.
Mr Gillespie said Paddy might not have been academic but he was methodical. When he died at Waipapa, at 62, in February, he had planned his funeral with all costs covered including catering.
"He was a wonderful guy," said Mr Gillespie, who retired from the force about 30 years ago and now lives in Waihi.
