Boy finds Northland identity's medals dumped in Arnold Rae Park

Two year-old Trystan Latimer, with his big sister Maraea and mum Gaylene West, and some of the medals he found at Arnold Rae Park in Kaitaia. Photo / Peter Jackson

A 2-year-old boy playing in a park in Kaitaia has found a swag of medals belonging to a Northland identity.

Charlie Smellie, a shopkeeper, founding member of the Kerikeri Fire Brigade and one of the town's best known citizens, died last February at 79.

At the time his family wondered what became of his many Fire Service medals — and while it's still unclear how they disappeared, at least they now know where they are.

On Monday Gaylene West, of Kaitaia, took her 2-year-old son Trystan Latimer and his 11-year-old sister Maraea to Arnold Rae Park in Kaitaia to burn off some energy.

There Trystan's sharp eyes spotted a black plastic bag — exactly where he was not able to say, being just 2 — but the contents very quickly found their way to the police station.

The collection included a watch, a New Zealand Defence Force medal, a Royal visit of 1953 commemorative medal, and NZ Fire Service honours including a gold star awarded in 1986, a long-service medal with seven bars, and a medal conferring life membership of the Kerikeri Fire Brigade, also awarded in 1986.

It didn't take police long to identify the owner. Many of the items were engraved with the name CA Smellie, better known throughout the Far North as Charlie.

Charlie Smellie arrived in Kerikeri with his family as a toddler from Whakatane. He spent almost his entire life there and opened the town's first supermarket, although he also resided in Kaikohe and for a short time late in his life in Kaitaia.

He was a volunteer firefighter from 1955-87, reaching the rank of station officer. He was also a long-serving member of the Lions, a Justice of the Peace and a two-term local politician, and continued to serve Kerikeri in practical ways in his later years by weeding traffic islands and helping to clean up after vandals.

Charlie's younger brother Bill Smellie, who lives at Pahi, on the Kaipara Harbour, was surprised to hear the missing medals had been found in a Kaitaia park.

Bill said he didn't know when or how his brother's medals disappeared, but he did wonder why they weren't among the possessions the family received after the funeral.

He was pleased to hear they had turned up and commended the young boy who had found them.

Bill said he would donate the medals to the Kerikeri Fire Brigade if they were interested.

''He was one of the brigade's founder members. He was always very involved.''