Waimate comfy with fast-track ride to fame

Waimate does not often get noticed. Nestled in farmland at the foot of the Hunter Hills, the South Canterbury town boasts just 2703 people, a wild wallaby population, Labour Prime Minister Norman Kirk's grave and a white horse carved on a hillside.

Many New Zealanders had probably never heard of it until Prime Minister Helen Clark and her speeding motorcade roared out of the town on a fine winter's day last year.

It is a claim to fame that sits comfortably with the sleepy town with its Edwardian-style shops, about 50km south of Timaru.

At the end of the day, no news is bad news, says Waimate Mayor John Coles.

"Obviously Waimate has been put on the map and probably [the motorcade] is making people aware of just where Waimate does lie in the South Island."

With the motorcade drama in court this week, Waimate's name has once again been in the national spotlight, and even mentioned by media overseas.

Helen Clark was the special guest at Waimate's 150th anniversary celebrations on July 17 last year and mingled with locals until a flight cancellation at nearby Timaru launched the saga.

Hasty arrangements were made in Waimate's local government centre for the motorcade which whistled up from South Canterbury in a dash to Christchurch Airport. The 206km journey took just 96 minutes. One driver thought he clocked 180km/h.

The aim was to get Helen Clark to Wellington in time for a Bledisloe Cup rugby test that evening.

Waimate promoter Carolyn Johns jokes that "everyone now knows we are a quick drive from Christchurch Airport".

Five policemen and a civilian driver await their fate on driving charges arising from the motorcade. Helen Clark has been criticised for not taking some responsibility.

David Owen was Waimate's mayor when Helen Clark came to town and was famously quoted as saying the motorcade travelled "like a bat out of hell on the way out" - something he is still not happy about.

"I believe [the motorcade] has been good promotion for the town. We don't often see ourselves on the telly very much," Mr Owen says.

Mr Owen remembers talking to police and the Prime Minister's former press secretary, David Lewis, about what they should do when news of the flight cancellation came through.

"It was asked of me should they go to Dunedin Airport or should they go to Christchurch and how long it would take. To me it's a bloody great storm in a teacup, quite frankly, and while they probably did go too fast through the towns, I believe police had a job to do that day and did that."

After Mr Lewis and Helen Clark spoke on that afternoon, police hurriedly arranged a marked car to clear traffic for the motorcade. The aim was to reach Christchurch Airport in about two hours.

Helen Clark was rushed into the back seat of her gold Ford Fairlane Crown car alongside Cabinet Minister Jim Sutton as police manned an unmarked green police Holden Commodore to follow as security.

In the haste to leave, no instructions were given to the drivers about speed, although it was clear the speed limits would have to be exceeded to make the 4.50pm flight.

The irony is that Mr Lewis may have misheard the police officer who gave him the flight options and that a later flight could have got Helen Clark to Wellington in time for the rugby match she wanted to reach.

The two police officers heading the police operation for the Waimate visit, Inspector Dave Gaskin and Sergeant Mike van der Heyden, have since admitted they made an error by allowing the motorcade to aim for the 4.50pm flight.

All of the drivers admitted exceeding the speed limit in the journey that followed.

Lead vehicle driver Constable Simon Vincent says the speedometer in his police Ford Explorer may have got as high as 180km/h. He recalls seeing Helen Clark leaning to look ahead and smiling as if she was enjoying the trip.

Motorists and other witnesses testified the motorcade vehicles travelled too close together and made a series of dangerous manoeuvres which forced other vehicles to take evasive action.

Often those in the motorcade could not recall the manoeuvres, and defence lawyers for the men argued some of the speed estimates could easily be way off the mark.

To add to the critics' ammunition, the Prime Minister and her party had time to spare at Christchurch Airport before boarding the plane.

Mr Lewis recalls it was 20 to 30 minutes, but Mr Sutton puts it closer to 10 to 15 minutes.

The day's events took place against the backdrop of a threat against the Prime Minister's life which has been an underlying theme in the court case.

A man was arrested for making the threat on the morning of July 17 but released on bail later that day.

Police sharply increased their security around Helen Clark in Waimate out of concern that the man's associates could carry out the threat.

A court order prevents the man or his associates being identified.

Although it is unclear how much influence the threats had on the motorcade, Mr Owen believes it may have affected the public's thinking on it.

"I was just a bit saddened that perhaps police didn't come out with those threats against her a little earlier," he says. "The public rightfully doing some complaining about speed and what they saw as dangerous manoeuvres on the journey did not have anywhere near the full story at the time."

Mr Coles hopes the motorcade drama will not deter future prime ministers from visiting Waimate.

"I like to think it wasn't [Helen Clark] coming to Waimate that was the problem. It was her other appointment. And Waimate can't be held responsible for her travel plans."

Waimate Hotel owner Bill Johnson has a firm view on the matter.

"If the Prime Minister wants to get somewhere in a hurry, she should be able to get there in a hurry. It was a safe trip. What are they going on about? The police did a good job. It shouldn't be anywhere near a courthouse."

* Judge John Strettell will give his decision on the charges against the five policemen and the civilian driver next Friday.