He worked as a courier driver for three years before joining the police in 1983 as a 20-year-old.
"The training in those days was different from now, very military-style with the discipline, but for a young fella it was awesome," he said.
After training, his first posting was to Porirua where he worked for five years.
From there he went on to the Diplomatic Protection Squad in Wellington and spent the next four years looking after the Prime Minister, Governor General and visiting heads of state.
"That was a great experience to work with people you only ever saw in the news or on TV. But it wasn't the life for a married man, with lots of time away from home, so a change was in the wind when I got married," said Gilbert, who has been married to wife Karen for 28 years.
He spent the next couple of years at one- and two-man stations in the South Wairarapa where he discovered that rural police work was what he really enjoyed.
"I went to National Park to a two-man station for five years and was working there for the last major eruption of Mt Ruapehu."
Though a "fantastic place to work", the weather was far from ideal, he said, with months on end of either rain or snow and very low temperatures.
That precipitated his transfer to Hastings where he was promoted to sergeant and ran a uniform section for eight years.
Then rural police work came calling again and Gilbert said he was "fortunate" to get the position of officer in charge in CHB. It would turn out to be the longest time he would spend in one place during his career. Spending 15 years in the same position was "not too common nowadays" in the police, he said.
"CHB is a magnificent place and the community has to rate at the top. Right from the start I was made to feel welcome."
Being a cop in a rural area he had no choice but to be "totally part of the community".
"That brings with it other challenges as you are not anonymous and you are one of the local policemen even when you are at the supermarket with family, out to dinner or at a sports event, but it is worth it," he said.
"In a small place, there is nowhere to hide if and when you muck up, you own your mistakes as well as your successes. It sounds a bit of a cliche, but the real reward of this job is knowing you are making a real difference to some people's lives."
Over his 35 years, Gilbert said he had seen "just about everything" — road crashes, aircraft crashes, volcanic eruptions, homicides and "all sorts of horror".
"These are the ones that get safely tucked away in a drawer labelled 'don't go there,' only surface on occasions and are never revisited on purpose. But on the counter side is great fun with colleagues, and opportunities to work in areas and with people that very few ever get the chance to."
Gilbert said an "undoubted" highlight was being deployed as a United Nations peacekeeper in Timor Leste in 2009.
"[I was] living in a very challenging environment and at times high-risk, but the people were just awesome and I made lifelong friends with people from Timor and from some police services from around the world."
His last day of duty is June 29 and he said he was looking forward to his new life as a civilian.
"I have been well supported in the past 35 years, firstly by my family, my close colleagues and the community. The CHB community is very lucky to have police of such high calibre, dedication and ability and I can't thank my staff enough."
But he said he wasn't ready for the "slippers in front of the fire just yet".
"I plan on spending time travelling with my wife and more time in the youth-at-risk area that I have been involved in for the past 10 years. So retirement will not mean slowing down, just a different road."
But there would be parts of the job he would miss "hugely".
"Mainly the people I work with and the unique relationship of those in uniform. I am sure at times I will also miss the excitement, but I will never miss the dark side of this job.
"Given hindsight and experience, would I do it all over again if I was 20? You bet I would."
