Stolen medal saga's difficult unwinding

Some time after Eva Helen Dickson's death, her son, Alistair, brought the George Medal, awarded to her for bravery in the Aramoana tragedy, into the Port Chalmers Museum and signed a long-term loan agreement.

Errors were made by the museum staff member when accepting this medal, with the most obvious no date on the loan form. Very few people were aware this medal had been accepted into the museum and apparently placed in a convenient cupboard.

Other evidence indicates this medal was accepted into the museum in May 2007.

After the first television screening in 2008 of the Aramoana tragedy film Out of the Blue, Kris Smith, no relation but seemingly a close friend of the Dickson family, went to the museum to view the medal.

I have not been able to find out who the museum staff member was who dealt with this matter and told Ms Smith that the medal could not be found.

This fact was not passed on to me or any other committee member.

There was absolutely no search made for the medal at this time.

With the luxury of hindsight, this medal was in all probability not now on the premises.

I believe on August 1, 2009, Out of the Blue was repeated on television and the following day Ms Smith came to the museum wanting to see the medal. This time, she dealt with a conscientious museum staff member, who immediately after this visit alerted me by email having had no success in locating this medal.

The same evening, I telephoned Ms Smith at her home, wanting to know more of what she knew, as well as informing her of the search for the medal I had organised for the next day.

On Monday, August 3, 2009, a methodical, careful and intensive search was made of the museum.

The same morning, I had the lock changed on the only access door to the museum, followed in the afternoon by making a complaint to the Dunedin police. (The Port Chalmers police station is frequently closed because of a reduction in staff.) The police at this time regarded this matter as one of "lost property", even though I insisted that I was sure this medal had been stolen.

About three weeks later, I received a call from Bill O'Brien, who had written a book on the Aramoana tragedy and, in the process, had formed a close working relationship with the Dickson family.

Mr O'Brien told me he had been approached by the Dickson family to act on their behalf concerning the medal, and requested of me as to whether it would be all right for him to come to the museum to do another search.

I agreed and we both undertook another intensive futile search of the museum that ended with Mr O'Brien now concurring with me that the medal should be treated as stolen.

At no time did Ms Smith take part or co-ordinate in any search.

Two strategies were suggested by Mr O'Brien to try and find the medal.

Firstly, the loss could be broadcast through the media and an amnesty made with "no questions asked", so long as the medal was returned in good condition.

The other was to inform dealers and wait and see what happened.

There were inherent risks with undertaking an amnesty, as the thief might take fright and dispose of the medal in a way it could never be found.

We were both fully aware that once the recipient dies no replacement medal can be issued.

Replicas can be obtained but, in my opinion, have absolutely no significance or value apart from looking genuine.

After the O'Brien search, another museum staff member and I were interviewed by the Port Chalmers police.

In the afternoon of January 13, 2010, I received an email from the on-duty museum staff member saying the medal had been found in good condition and in a place that had been searched many times before.

That same day, I left messages to this effect on the answer phones of Ms Smith and Mr O'Brien and was only to receive a reply from Mr O'Brien.

The late Mrs Dickson's George Medal was signed over by me to the Port Chalmers police on the afternoon of February 5, 2010.

Even this may pose some problems as in the agreement only the lender, Alistair Dickson, had the right to uplift the medal from the museum.