Two new Justices of Peace sworn in at Levin, another honoured for service

President of the Central Districts Justice of the Peace Council Mary Chapman presents Waitarere Beach Justice of the Peace Peter Wright a certificate for 30 years of service.

A willingness to serve his community has seen a Waitarere Beach man recognised for 30 years of service as a Justice of the Peace.

The contribution of Peter Wright was formerly recognised at a ceremony at Levin District Court this week, which also included the swearing in of two new JPs, Celle Gore and Jill Hardy.

Wright, whose wife Vivian had also been a Justice of the Peace for the last 10 years, said he was originally endorsed for the role by then Labour minister Annette King, who tapped him on the shoulder on the retirement of Andy Hogg.

"They were looking for new blood," he said.

Much of his work as a JP was serving the Waitarere Beach community and he would often get a knock on the door at all hours of the day and night to fulfill a range of obligations.

"It's satisfying to be on the spot for the community at the beach. You know 90 per cent of the people you are dealing with," he said.

"People will knock on the door at all hours."

One of his first jobs in the role required certifying 40 documents for a member of the Merchant Navy who was foreigner, writing, certifying and signing every copy.

The next day he went out and bought a stamp.

"It's nice to be able to help, but you also make lifelong friendships," he said.

Wright was presented with his certificate by President of the Central Districts Justice of the Peace Council Mary Chapman, an area that covered Manawatū, Horowhenua and Tararua with 260 JPs.

Two new Justices of the Peace were also sworn in at the ceremony. Celle Gore will be based in Levin at Te Takeretanga o Kura-haupō, and Jill Hardy would be based at Ōhakea.

It was a good fit for Gore and complemented her role as Business Support Leader at Te Takere.

Gore had strong links with the Filipino and Chinese communities and had long been a trusted community advocate for those groups.

Associate registrar Rod Titcombe said the main criteria for becoming a JP was a willingness to serve the community and it also involved a character check process and training induction that took as long as nine months.

In their role a JP would perform a range of duties including certifying copies of documents, affidavits and statutory declarations.