Hundreds farewell Hokianga fire chief, prankster, 'father figure'

Pallbearers led by Christopher Foley (Kaikohe brigade, left) and Robert Ball (Ōmapere) carry Dene Preston’s casket past a firefighters’ guard of honour to the gates of Waiotemarama Cemetery. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A former Northland fire chief has been remembered for his lifelong commitment to his community, his love of pranks, and literally giving others the shirt off his back.

More than 400 people, including firefighters from every corner of Northland, turned out to farewell Dene Preston at Waimamaku, South Hokianga, on Saturday.

Preston was a volunteer with the Ōmapere Fire Brigade for 38 years, 10 of those as chief fire officer. He died at home on April 24, aged 73.

The service reflected all the things he loved, including family, the Fire Service, pranks, straight talking, guns and everything cowboy-related.

Pallbearers carry Dene Preston's casket down Waimamaku's main street, past the store where he spent much of his working life. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Apart from a few years in Auckland, where he met his wife, Preston spent almost his entire life in Waimamaku. He lived in a house built by his father, spent much of his working life at the nearby Four Square, and celebrated his 21st in the same hall which hosted his funeral.

MC Bill Hutchinson, Kaikohe's fire chief, said Preston's love for Waimamaku and commitment to South Hokianga was "beyond reproach".

He loved nothing better than playing tricks on people and never lost his humour, even at the end of his long battle with illness.

Over the years Preston morphed from grocer to fire chief to "a cowboy who looked like Wyatt Earp" when the town staged its Wild West Fest every February.

"In another era he really would have been a sheriff," Hutchinson said.

Rawene Fire Brigade station officer Nopera Pikari, left, and Ōmapere firefighter Timera Korewha, 19, centre, lead a haka as Dene Preston's casket is carried to Waiotemarama Cemetery.

Waimamaku Four Square owner Bruce Lomas said Preston started working at the store in 1958 and, with a few breaks including national service and a stint in Auckland, stayed until he retired.

"He was Mr Reliable. In fact, we had trouble prising him out of the place."

Lomas said Preston was "right in his element" during the Wild West Fest, holding up motorists and collecting donations. It was largely thanks to him that the festival went from barely breaking even to raising money for causes such as defibrillators and Rāwene Hospital.

June Ross, Ōmapere's current fire chief, said Preston left big shoes to fill.

"Whenever Dene arrived on the scene we knew it was going to be okay, he was encouraging, he was a father figure to many of us."

He was also the kind of man who would literally give you the shirt, or the jacket, off his back.

She recalled a incident when the brigade was called out to secure a roof in a ferocious storm. There weren't enough rain jackets to go around so he gave his to one of the firefighters, then improvised a raincoat out of a black plastic rubbish bag and joined them on the roof.

A TV crew interviewed him while he was still wearing the rubbish bag; Fire Service bosses weren't happy but Preston was unfazed.

Members of the Mid North Rifle and Pistol Club fire a salute at Waiotemarama Cemetery. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Ross said she had a dream a few weeks before Preston died in which she was responding alone in the fire truck to a medical call-out at his home, fearing the worst. However, when she turned around he was sitting beside her in the cab.

"He's gone now but when our siren goes and our pagers go off, he'll be right beside us," she said.

Preston's casket was taken to Waiotemarama Cemetery on a vintage Jeep J20 fire truck followed by his family in a four-wheel-drive he dubbed "The Beast" and fire appliances from Ōmapere and Kaikohe with sirens wailing.

Firefighters formed a guard of honour and performed a haka at the cemetery gates. Members of the Mid North Pistol and Rifle Club, dressed in Wild West garb, fired a volley of blanks in a final salute.

Preston is survived by his wife Robin and children Clint and Korina.