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Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Father makes 50 dinners and gifts to Taupō Police after officer Matthew Hunt’s death

Rachel Canning
Rachel Canning
Taupo & Turangi Herald·
8 Jul, 2020 05:00 PM2 mins to read

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Taupō police officers Courtney Robertson (left) and Sheryl Mansell receive the home made dinners from Sean Wakelin (centre).

Taupō police officers Courtney Robertson (left) and Sheryl Mansell receive the home made dinners from Sean Wakelin (centre).

Sean Wakelin knows how to explain to your 8-year-old son why someone would want to shoot a police officer.

When news of the death of Constable Matthew Hunt reverberated around New Zealand, 8-year-old Coby Wakelin from Taupō asked his father why someone would want to do this? A man of action, Sean Wakelin said the question got him thinking.

“Was I content to just live in a community or did I want to be a part of the community?,” Wakelin said.

The former chef and restaurateur decided to make this a learning experience for his children Coby and Maya Wakelin, 6, and to give them a first hand demonstration about how important it is to be involved in your community and the importance of thinking of others.

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He said he could teach his children about making the right life choices, or at the very least teach them to avoid making wrong life choices.

Taupō man Sean Wakelin made and donated 50 dinners to Taupō Police to show the community cares.
Taupō man Sean Wakelin made and donated 50 dinners to Taupō Police to show the community cares.

“On the back of that, I came up with the idea of ‘Operation Kikorangi Kai’. A good wholesome Friday night dinner for police officers on the Friday late shift.’”

Sean Wakelin said the ingredients were donated by local businesses he approached and then with help from Coby and Maya, 50 meals were prepared at home and delivered to the Taupō police station.

He said he wanted to show the local police force that their community appreciates what police do for us every day, in tough times as well as good.

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