About 25 years later, Mr Walker (81) has just retired from managing communications at the Waitaki Civil Defence headquarters in Oamaru - and is amazed he lasted that long.
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton last week presented Mr Walker with a 20-year medal and certificate recognising his contribution to Civil Defence in Waitaki.
Mr Walker was a member of the New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters when he was approached to join Civil Defence as a radio operator and managing communications.
Over that period, drawing on his work as a carpenter, he has gutted and refurbished two caravans with communications equipment as mobile emergency command headquarters.
During his service, he also worked at large rural fires, including the six-day Herbert Forest fire in 2006, and search and rescue missions, managing communications between the front line and management team.
Waitaki emergency services manager Chris Raine said Mr Walker was meticulous and consistently reliable, undertaking weekly VHF radio tests for Oamaru and Civil Defence sector posts throughout the Waitaki district.
He was always available, day or night, in an emergency.
''Working with Civil Defence was a role Doug took up after he retired. As an amateur radio enthusiast, it was natural he would take an interest in the Civil Defence and Fire radio network across the district,'' Mr Raine said.
