I te wā o Matariki - e mahi ana a Holli rāua ko Te Puhi Rudolph kia whakapai ake i ō rāua hapori.
Nō te whakapōtaetanga a te Rāngai 345, i whakamihia a Kātipa Holliday (Holli) Rudolph ki te Tohu a te Kōmihana mō ōna pūkenga hautūtanga.
I whakaatuhia e Holli (Te Uri O Tai - Muriwhenua) ērā pūkenga i tōna rā tuatahi hei ika tauhou, hei kaikōrero mō te rāngai i tō rātou pōwhiri ki Te Kāreti o Te Karauna mō Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa (RNZPC) i te Mei 2021.
Whai muri i ngā wiki e 16 - e rāhuitia ana te motu - Ka kōrero anō ia i te rā tohutoa me te whakapōtaetanga he ārai kanohi, he noho pāmamao ngā tikanga whakahaere.
He mea whai e ia ngā tapuwae a tōna teina a Te Puhi Rudolph, nāna te haka i tātaki ki te whakapōtaetanga o tōna anō rāngai - Rāngai 325 i te RNZPC i te tau 2019.
Nō te wehenga mai o Holli i te kura, he whāinga tōna kia uru atu ki Ngā Pirihimana. Ināianei, e mahi tahi ana rāua ko Te Puhi i Kaitaia, ki te rohe o Te Hiku-o-te-ika.
Hei tā Holli, “I tēnei wā, e mahi ana au ki Whiria Te Muka, he hononga me tō māua iwi i Te Hiku mō te kaupapa tūkino ā-whānau, nā reira i whai māramatanga anō mō tō mātou whakaaweawe i te whānau.
"Ko ngā kaupapa ki mua i te aroaro - nō te putanga atu i te kāreti tōna ono marama ki muri - he mahi tonu ki ngā mahi aroākapa, kia piki ake i ngā wheako me te whakatutuki pai i taku kopounga hākirikiri.
Ko ētahi o aku whāinga ara, ko te whai i taku teina ki te rōpū Armed Offenders Squad (AOS), ko te mātai i a Rapa Taiwhenua (SAR) rānei.”
Kua tutuki i a ia tētahi Akoranga Kaititiro Tauhou, kua whai māramatanga anō ia ki ētahi anō whiwhinga pito mata ki Ngā Pirihimana.
“Kātahi anō au kia whai mōhiotanga, kāore i ārikarika ngā whiwhinga ki roto i te tōpūtanga. Engari, mō te wā nei, e ngākau whakapuke ana au ki te ako, ki te wānanga.”
Ko tōna teina tētahi take nui i uru atu ai ia. Kei te whakamātau a Kairapuhara Kātipa Te Puhi Rudolph, (Te Uri o Tai - Muriwhenua) ki te rōpū Whakamaru Tamariki i Kaitaia, ā, e mahi ana kia whakawhiwhia ia ki tana tohu kairapuhara.
Ko Holli, mauī, rāua ko Te Puhi Rudolph e tātaki ana i te haka - Ko Holli i te rangi tohutoa o tōna rāngai i te tau 2021, rāua ko Te Puhi i tana whakapōtaetanga i te tau 2019.
I whakapōtaehia a Te Puhi ki te RNZPC i te Rāngai 325 i te tau 2019, ā, ko ia tētahi o ngā kātipa hōu e waru - tētahi o ngā rangapu nui katoa mō Te Tai Tokerau - i pōhiritia ki runga o Waikare Marae ki Pēwhairangi nō muri tata nei i te whakapōtaetanga.
I te tau 2017, i whakahaere te rohe o Te Tai Tokerau i tētahi rautaki rerekē mō te kimi kaitono Pirihimana me te āki i a rātou me ō rātou haerenga mai i te rā whiringa ki te rā whakapōtaetanga me te whakahorapa atu ki ngā hapori e whakaratongia e rātou.
I whai wāhi mai a Te Puhi i tēnei kōwhiringa, tērā i hoki atu ki te whakarato i te rohe i whakapakeke ia.
Hei tā Te Puhi, “I tēnei wā, ko te aronga kia māraurau au hei kairapuhara. Kei te rōpū AOS o Te Tai Tokerau au i tēnei wā, ā, e harikoa ana au, engari anō pea mō ngā whakamaheretanga ki mua, kei te wānanga tonu au.
“Kāore anō taku kete kia kī - e āhei tonu au me te whakakī ki te mātauranga, me ngā hua pai hei painga mō tō tātou iwi.”
Brothers in blue
Holli, left, and Te Puhi Rudolph, right.
In the last of our Matariki series, brothers Holli and Te Puhi Rudolph are doing the mahi to make a difference for the community where they grew up.
When Wing 345 graduated, Constable Holliday (Holli) Rudolph was recognised for his leadership skills with the Commissioner’s Award for Leadership.
Holli (Te Uri O Tai – Muriwhenua) showed those skills right from his first day as a recruit, speaking for the wing at their pōwhiri at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) in May 2021.
Around 16 weeks later – with the country in lockdown – he spoke again at the wing’s masked, distanced and combined attestation and graduation.
In taking the lead he was following in the footsteps of his brother Te Puhi Rudolph, who led the haka when his own wing – Wing 325 – graduated from the RNZPC in 2019.
Joining Police had been a goal for Holli since he left school. Now he and Te Puhi are both working in Kaitaia, in Northland District.
“Right now, I’m working with Whiria Te Muka, in partnership with our iwi in Te Hiku around the family harm space, which has opened another lens into the influence we have on whānau,” says Holli.
“Future plans right now - being six months out of college – are to do a bit more on the front line, to get a bit more experience and get my provisional appointment all completed.
“Some of my career goals would include following my younger brother into the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) or having a look at Search and Rescue (SAR).”
He has completed a Basic Investigators Course, opening his eyes to other potential opportunities in Police.
“As I have come to learn, there are endless opportunities within the organisation. However, right now I am just keen to learn and learn some more.
Holli’s brother was a good reason for him joining. Detective Constable Te Puhi Rudolph, (Te Uri O Tai – Muriwhenua) also in Kaitaia, is a constable on trial in the Child Protection Team in Kaitaia and is working towards getting his detective qualification.
Holli, left, and Te Puhi Rudolph leading the haka - Holli at his wing's attestation in 2021, and Te Puhi at his graduation in 2019.
Te Puhi graduated from the RNZPC in Wing 325 in 2019 and was one of eight new constables - the largest ever single intake for Te Tai Tokerau - who were welcomed on to Waikare Marae in the Bay of Islands shortly after graduating.
In 2017, Northland District implemented a different approach to how they attracted Police applicants and then supported them through their journey from selection through graduation and to deployment to the communities they serve.
Te Puhi was part of the selection, who returned to serve in the district where he had grown up.
“At the moment the focus is to qualify as a detective,” Te Puhi says. “I’m currently on the Northland AOS squad and enjoying every second of it, so as for future plans, I’m still figuring that out as I go.
“My kete is only partially full – I’m still trying to fill it with matauranga, knowledge and any positive outcomes that can benefit our people.”