An ‘emotional moment’ for Raglan stalwart
Abandoned in the corner of Clint Baddeley’s dining room sits a brown leather satchel.
It was once a tool of his trade, packed with agendas and reports churned out by the various bodies he served on.
Today, the well-worn satchel is a gentle reminder of past days, of years spent toiling for others. Good times.
Its brown weathered surface carries a fine layer of dust – and that’s all right.
‘‘I’ve come to the realisation that you are allowed to relax,’’ the 70-year-old said.
‘‘Sitting on the deck, enjoying our environment that I’ve created by hand, is significant.’’
This week Baddeley was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government and the community. His achievements include serving 12 years as Waikato District Council’s Raglan Ward Councillor and 18 years spent on the Wintec Council.
Baddeley received an email from the Governor-General and the Prime Minister about two weeks ago congratulating him on the Queen’s Birthday honour.
He told no one, apart from his wife Jackie.
Sharing the news on Monday with friends and family, including their two adult children, Jamie and Sarah, made for an ‘‘emotional moment’’.
‘‘It’s a nice thing to happen and I just feel fortunate that it’s happened to me, particularly in my current circumstances,’’ he said.
Baddeley retired from local government politics in 2016 to care for Jackie.
Two years later he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.
He’s receiving treatment for the stage four cancer and was initially told he had anywhere between six months to six years to live.
His message to others battling cancer is never give up.
‘‘You’ve got to fight it, you’ve got to carry on as if nothing’s wrong. And you’ve got to listen to your doctors, listen to your body, exercise. Overall, it’s just don’t give up, don’t give up.’’
Retiring from his various community roles has kept Baddeley largely out of the public’s eyeshot, but not earshot.
He still hosts a music show on Raglan Community Radio every Sunday, a gig he’s had for 20-plus years.
He even hosted the show from his Raglan house during the recent Covid-19 lockdown.
The segment is appropriately called Clint’s Music Show and is an outlet for his love of blues, jazz and
Americana.
Regular listeners will also know Baddeley isn’t shy about sharing his political views on air.
Baddeley was made a life member of the Engineering Printers and Manufacturing (EPMU) in 2006 and worked for years as a trade union advocate and convener.
‘‘What I’ve started to do with the radio show is use it as a platform and be a little bit opinionated to start conversations. It’s getting people talking about the issues, because people don’t.’’
He’s also trying his hand at being an ‘‘influencer’’, recently telling listeners of the culinary delights to be had from eating an Oxford Pie. One of the local dairies reported selling 800 pies in a week after his on-air plugs.
In all his community roles, Baddeley said he always made an effort to understand other people’s views.
His time spent working at the Horotiu freezing works in the 1970s and ’80s brought him into contact with all different types of personalities and gave him the perfect grounding for his future community roles.
And there have been many roles, including chairman of the Waikato Community Trust which saw him oversee about $400 million in investments.
‘‘I’ve always been the sort of person that people go to, to ask for assistance, and I’ve never been able to say no.’’
There have also been honours along the way, a highlight being a fellowship from Wintec in 2016. The Queen’s Birthday honour, however, is ‘‘the cherry on top’’.
In the coming weeks, Baddeley will undergo another course of radiation therapy. He’s also coping with the side effects of a new drug.
But his life isn’t one bordered in black. There are too many things to enjoy, such as the views from his deck out to Raglan Harbour, or the birdsong emanating from the native trees he planted in his backyard. And then there’s his music show. ‘‘You set yourself little things to achieve, each day and each week, and the radio [show] has become more and more important to me. I love music, and music is good for the soul.’’
A Waikato man held a knife to a threeyear-old’s throat before stabbing her father in the head as he tried to protect her during a night-time break-in at a Hamilton home.
Samuel Pearson, 26, was jailed for nine years and three months at the Hamilton District Court yesterday, for an ‘‘abhorrent’’ home invasion that impacted so much on a young family they were forced to move out of their house.
The Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia man previously pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated burglary and wounding with intent in relation to the incident that took place in a home in Pukete on October 18, 2018.
The home invasion happened while Pearson was on bail for attacking a car with a scooter and repeatedly punching a man during a separate incident two days earlier. He previously admitted to intentional damage, assault with intent to injure and male assaults female in relation to the first incident on October 13 that same year.
It was not long after midnight on the Thursday in October when Pearson snuck into the home in Oakfield Crescent either through a bathroom window or ranchslider.
He snatched a 30-centimetre butcher’s knife from the kitchen before creeping into the bedroom where two girls aged three and four were sleeping.
Asleep on the couch in the lounge at the time, the children’s father woke to the girl’s fearful screams. His wife and ninemonth-old baby were asleep in the other room.
He rushed to the bedroom where he was faced with Pearson wielding the knife at the child.
Pearson pushed the three-year-old’s face into a pillow and held the knife to the back of her head.
He then threatened to hurt the girl, who was distraught and crying.
The girl’s father lunged at Pearson to protect the child, tackling him into a wall and a struggle ensued. Pearson lashed out, inflicting stab wounds to the father’s temples and arm.
The father pinned Pearson, who also suffered cuts, until police arrived to find him lying in the bedroom.
‘‘I couldn’t conceive in any physical violence parameters much more frightening circumstances than what you put this three year old through,’’ Judge Noel Cocurullo said in sentencing.
‘‘She was entitled to be safe and secure, cared for and protected in her own home. Her parents were entitled to know they had placed her in that room to sleep in the sanctuary of their own home.
‘‘It is clear to me your offending broke their life.’’
The court heard how two days earlier a woman then in a domestic relationship with Pearson phoned her family asking for help as Pearson was being abusive.
When the woman’s brother arrived, Pearson ran up to the vehicle and smashed the windscreen with a scooter.
He then punched the man in the face and while the victim was the ground, Pearson repeatedly punched him in the head and ribs.
Judge Noel Cocurullo said the family in the Pukete incident were impacted so badly by the invasion they had to move out of their home.
‘‘You should be disgusted in your behaviour. It was an extreme and abhorrent invasion of privacy.’’
Crown Solicitor Jacinda Hamilton sought a starting point of 12 years jail with a totality uplift of nine to 12 months for the Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia offending. She also sought a minimum non-parole period.
Pearson’s lawyer Gerard Walsh sought a starting point of seven years for the Hamilton offending with a further uplift of nine months for the assault and three months for offending while on bail. He also sought a 20 per cent discount for early guilty plea.
Cocurullo noted Pearson’s long history of offending including previous convictions for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and male assaults female.
Pearson had committed burglaries as a youth, which had to be taken into account, he said.
In regards to the aggravated burglary and wounding charges he began with a starting point of 11 years jail. He added a further nine months for the assault, three months for offending on bail and three months for previous convictions, ending at 12 years and three months.
He then reduced it by 15 months for a cultural report which showed Pearson had an impoverished upbringing and was exposed to horrible acts that a child should never be exposed to. He allowed 15 per cent discount for early guilty plea ending at nine years and three months.
Cocurullo then ordered him to serve at least half of his sentence.