Police News March 05.indd - New Zealand Police Association

January/February 2005Police News The Voice of PoliceObituary:Travis Brent HughesEarly in the afternoon of 29 January2005, the Rescue Co-ordination Centrein Wellington received a signal from anaircraft locator beacon. Initial indicationswere that it was in the Central Otago Area,and the RCC initiated a response.At this time, Detective Travis Hughes,of Queenstown, and pilot Chris Scottwere in the area carrying out the fixedwingphase of the national cannabisrecovery programme. When rescuepersonnel arrived on the scene it becameimmediately apparent that the source ofthe signal was Travis’ aircraft.Travis’ colleagues were soon on the scene.Over the following days Travis’ friends andcolleagues tried to come to terms with theloss of a respected mate and colleague.Nearly 11 years in Queenstown • Travis Hughes.Travis had been at Queenstown Stationsince May 1994, having initially served in New Plymouthupon graduation. He had come to the Police from theDepartment of Conservation and the Wildlife Service.His early working life had been spent on Stewart Islandcounting various forms of protected wildlife and ridding theisland of unwanted pests. For most part these pests were ofthe introduced non-human varieties. Many a humorous storyfollowed him from his time on Stewart Island. When asked toexplain his role, he invariably referred to himself as a “cattrapper”,in the process selling himself well-short. He wasfond of relaying stories of his exploits as a penguin counter,and on one noteworthy occasion, whilst stationed in a remotelocation, he attempted to combine a serious home-brewsampling session with the recording of birds coming on shore.His assessment was that while most enjoyable, the resultswere possibly somewhat skewed.Travis was known for his dry southern wit, which often wentover the heads of the less perceptive. In spite of this, his goodnature meant that he would not exploit the opportunities thatthis afforded. He was a dogged, determined character, knownfor seeing a job through, inspiring confidence in those aroundhim, and his conscientiousness.Great enduranceStories of his physical endurance were the stuff of locallegend. There is more than one story of hunting partnerssecretly praying that he would call a halt to the day aftercovering what they thought was far more ground thannecessary. Travis just didn’t seem to notice.Having met his family, it is obvious where he got his charactertraits and his two young daughters show every sign ofcontinuing in the same vein.His determination was reflected in the way he approachedhis sport. In addition to his outdoor pursuits, he was a keenrugby player and multi-sporter. He completed the Coast-to-Coast on three occasions, and the Kepler Challenge. Hunting,diving, fishing and climbing were amongst his outdoorpursuits. His aptitude for golf and the throwing of any objectresembling a ball failed to reach the standards he attained inother areas, much to the amusement of his colleagues.Throughout his time in the Police, Traviswas actively involved in Search andRescue. The outdoor skills he broughtfrom the Wildlife Service and his ownpursuits were put to very good use.Police colleagues, volunteers, specialistsand helicopter pilots, with whom heworked, showed the utmost confidencein him. You knew that when Travis wason the job, the job was going to get doneproperly. He worked as a member of SAR(Search and Rescue) at New Plymouthand at Queenstown Lakes and was acrew member on the Taranaki rescuehelicopter. At Queenstown, he was knownto drop one or both of his daughters onunsuspecting neighbours as he made hisway out the door to crew a helicopterrescue mission sometimes with vagueindications of when he would return.More often than not, this was on his daysoff, or during annual leave.Just made detectiveBy January of this year he had qualified as a detective, aftertwo years of balancing his study, his SAR commitments, ayoung family, and a full-time workload including a couple ofhigh-profile investigations. At Queenstown he held the drugportfolio and every year he was involved with the cannabisrecovery programme. As a spotter, his hunter’s eye waslegendary. He seemed to be able to pick up things where therest of us could just see scrub on the hillside. Of course, healso kept an eye on the hunting opportunities at the sametime. Having completed his CIB study and recently bought afour-wheel-drive vehicle, he looked forward to more free timewith his family and time in the outdoors.Travis and his wife Fiona were married in April 1997 andhave two daughters, three-year-old Sarah and five-year-oldAmey. Travis enjoyed recounting the story of one of his andFiona’s first dates, which involved the two of them spendingthe night sheltering under a log in Arthur’s Pass National Park.This didn’t seem to deter Fiona, and was probably regardedas quite natural by Travis. He was a dedicated family manand with a view to helping to secure the family’s financialfuture, he was considering applying for the Solomons andAfghanistan - notwithstanding the fact that he had to go homeand ask Fiona where Afghanistan was.His father, Dave, served in the Police for a time in Dunedin and hisbrother Callum currently serves at Queenstown. Mother Naomi andbrother Chris work in the family business with Dave in Te Anau.Travis’ sister, Frieda, studies at the Dunedin College of Education andanother sister, Raewyn lives and works in Queenstown.Travis was accorded full Police honours and farewelled by 900people at Queenstown Memorial Hall on Thursday the 3rd ofFebruary. His casket was airlifted by helicopter to Arrowtownwhere he was laid to rest.His irreplaceable loss has left a gaping void that his family,friends and colleagues still feel keenly.There is still an air of disbelief and sorrow at such a tragedy.There will never be another Trav.- by Travis’ Queenstown mates and colleagues.30