Policewomen scale the heights for anniversary (+ video)

Walking up Baldwin St yesterday in honour of the 75th anniversary of women in policing are (from left) Jackie Hibbard in a 1940s uniform, Senior Constable Tracy Turner (50s uniform), Constable Virginia Miller (60s uniform), Constable Rebekah Kitto (70s un
Walking up Baldwin St yesterday in honour of the 75th anniversary of women in policing are (from left) Jackie Hibbard in a 1940s uniform, Senior Constable Tracy Turner (50s uniform), Constable Virginia Miller (60s uniform), Constable Rebekah Kitto (70s uniform), Senior Constable Tracey Bransgrove (80s uniform), Senior Constable Helen Fincham-Putter (90s uniform), Constable Katherine Radford, Constable Gwen Brazier and Constable Charlotte Davies (present uniform). PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
The heights of Baldwin St took a toll but did not defeat Dunedin's police personnel as they transported the torch marking the 75th anniversary of women in policing to the top.

About 20 officers, men and women, walked or ran up the world's steepest street in honour of those women who paved the way for today's female police officers.

The highlight of the event yesterday came after the torch was officially welcomed to Dunedin by Mayor Dave Cull in the Octagon.

The attire some of the women wore during the ascent included uniforms from bygone eras.

Sergeant Kate Saxton, of Dunedin, said Baldwin St was a challenge but just a ``small sacrifice'' compared with what the earliest female police officers had to overcome.

"I think it's really an occasion to celebrate and recognise how far we've come since those early days and recognise what those women did for us,'' Sgt Saxton said.

The month-long event, culminating on August 1 with a national parade in Wellington, was an "extremely significant'' celebration, she said.

"It's also a fantastic opportunity to highlight policing as a career, especially to young women, and really to celebrate the fact that there are so many women in the police and the distance that we've come,'' Sgt Saxton said.

Yesterday's events also included a visit to the University of Otago and an afternoon tea at the Dunedin Central police station.

The torch would be taken by Coast Guard to Port Chalmers and then driven to Blueskin Bay and Palmerston before being handed on to police in Oamaru today.

It was in Queenstown and Middlemarch before arriving by train in Dunedin yesterday.

June 24 marked the start of the celebrations and the torch relay began simultaneously from Bluff and Cape Reinga.

rhys.chamberlain@odt.co.nz

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