I told my daughter, she cracked up - she laughed because she knew well enough that I haven't
been looking forward to this.
Why not?
Because I'm a private person.
That's why.
No time for nonsense, 86-year-old Peggy Hughes is as strong and sharp as a taiaha and she
doesn't mince her words.
I'm very skeptic about some of the reporters because of some the stuff they put in to suit
themselves.
Peggy is straight up.
And although she's been interviewed by media several times she's never even read a single
article about herself.
So we showed her one.
...Ohhh God...for goodness' sake (laughs) well do you like the photos?
yeah, they alright…
.....yeah, that's not too bad....I remember that part.
That's nice.
I'm glad you like what's been written about you.
Oh God...I don't know.
I'll be glad when this day is over.
The humble Peggy Hughes is in fact a legend on Auckland's North Shore having lived there
for the last 6 decades.
She helped found the Maori Women's Welfare League on the Shore in the 1960s and, around
about the same time, she began serving as a volunteer.
In 1973 she was asked to officially register as a Maori Warden and was recently honoured
by the Auckland District Maori Council for her 48 years of service.
She did it all while raising 4 children with her husband Michael Hughes, a former Petty
Officer in the Navy who died in 2015.
One of her daughters also now serves as a Maori Warden.
As we follow her on the beat, she tells me it's an important job she's always enjoyed.
Hello - everything alright?
Just making sure everything alright ….thank you.
Very friendly people and it's very good to work in.
You're quite well-known in the community obviously.
Yeah, every time I'm here they usually wave out.
They see me walking through here.
There are days like this where the job is friendly and kind but there are other days
where Wardens have had to call for extra help.
We work a lot with the police, they're pretty good.
They're pretty good.
Some of them.
It's a community that's changed a lot in the 60 years she's been on the beat.
Before all of this really bad stuff actually came out it used to be the LSD and all this
sort of thing and children...children...they see a parked car, especially a truck and it's
sort of out sight and you see these kids sitting down there sniffing from the diesel and all
that...
Now the drugs are differen't aren't they?
They're different now.
They've promoted to the worst ones now.
The worst drugs And what's it like seeing that on the streets?
The effects of those drugs?
They're like zombies eh, you know they're walking around like Zombies and you dare to
talk to them because they just lash out and they don't know what the hell they're doing.
But having worked at the Springbok tour protests in 1981 and the recent Black Lives Matter
protests, there are some things she says have stayed the same.
I don't think it's going to go away.
We're stuck with it.
(Racism?)
yeah!
Whether we like it or not.
(How do you feel about that?)
We'll we can't do nothing about it you know.
I've been in a situation when we were at primary and it never bothered us because we come from
a farm and all the white farmers and all the dark farmers we helped each other there and
we never thought about racism.
But at school we never realised why the teachers put us on that side and all the white kids
were on that side.
Never made any difference to us though.
And yet I look at all the forces.
You take the army, navy and airforce and look at our marae - our navy marae.
That's made up of all different nationalities, culture, you name it and they get on very
well and that's quite an example.
And why can't the world carry on like that.
Peggy's service as a Maori Warden in Christchurch after the 2011 quakes stands out as an experience
she won't likely forget..
And then there are the many Waitangi Day celebrations.
I've been in the real worst there and I could remember one part there I had some new wardens
and everytime I get new wardens that's the first place I take them is up there to see
whether their nervous system is right for it or not.
So I had one say to me "Look, I'd like to pull out, very frightened you see."
So I said "Okay."
And then there was another two and I say "Well, how are you lot going down?
How are you feeling?"
And they said "Oh, do you mind if we sit this one out?"
And I said, "Yeah, sit out."
So out of that group there were five that sat out.
They're very frightened you see because it's not like how it is today.
It wasn't good.
It was more of a danger really for different ones in there, especially when it's happening
from the protesters side
There was a lot of learning to be there.
It's amazing how now, it's really great going there and finding it's free-er, much more
happier.
This is a nice place I like coming into.
The Dollar store?
Yeah.
Hello - just coming in to say hi.
Okay.
Everything ok so far?
Do you have any problems with any young children?
You know a lot of the people in this community think you're a local hero, what do you think
about that?
I don't know!
I don't know! look...all I know, I know what I am.
What are you?
Myself! (laughs) just a mother, grandmother, great grandmother.
that's it.
I'm pleased that I've achieved everything that I've done.