Shed-load of memorabilia enough to stop traffic
NZ Gardener Shed of the Year winner Glenn Cockroft says when he met his wife-to-be, he made it clear the deal was, ‘‘love me, love my collection’’. Thankfully, Brenda took it in her stride and the couple celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary this year.
Cockroft spent 24 years in traffic enforcement, joining Invercargill City Council’s Traffic Department as an 18-year-old cadet and leaving as a police officer, having also served in the Ministry of Transport. And, with his father spending 40 years on the force, it’s no wonder Cockroft has a deep interest in the history of ‘‘traffic cops’’.
Like all collections it started small but, when it would no longer fit in the end of the garage, Cockroft started to look for something he could shift on to the site, finding a steel shed for sale not too far away.
The 6 metre x 10m shed is now dedicated to New Zealand’s traffic law enforcement, beginning with the days when each council had its own force (Auckland’s first traffic officer was appointed in 1894), local authority forces being absorbed by the Ministry of Transport (Christchurch transferred its traffic enforcement in 1969, Wellington in 1970) and the merger of the ‘‘traffic safety service’’ with police in 1992.
The display includes uniforms from all eras and all over the country, hand-built scale replicas of traffic vehicles (made by Michael Thomas in Marton), radio-telephones, including a 1949 ex-Army issue RT that filled the entire back windscreen of a patrol car, and speed radars.
He often hosts visitors, such as vintage car clubs or model engineering clubs, and enjoys showing off the collection, which includes a couple of MOT motorcycles and an ex-MOT 1990 Mitsubishi V3000 in full livery.
‘‘They create a lot of looks on the odd times I take one of them out for a spin,’’ Cockroft laughs.
Another shed houses the car and a spare-parts car.
Many items have come from internet auction sites both here and overseas but Cockroft is also often gifted items. An alarm technician gave him a device for certifying the original speed radar which was accompanied by a request from Henry Gore, a retired assistant chief traffic superintendent, to pay him a visit in Oamaru. He had a full dress uniform and a greatcoat.
‘‘I said I would put the dress uniform on a mannequin but Henry was 6’ 7’’ and the uniform was too big, so I’ve got the jacket on a half mannequin.’’
Cockroft is working with ‘‘a couple of young people’’ to establish a database for his items. ‘‘There’s probably only one person who knows what everything is and where it came from. I want to get it all documented.’’ - NZ Gardener