Karamatura Heritage Farm, in Huia, has pigs, goats, sheep and calves for the public to interact with. It’s run by the Auckland Regional Council and is popular with local schools.
Maintaining and repairing the tracks around the 28-hectare farm is a regular task for supervised offender work parties. Head Ranger John Walsh says when the need arose for a new footbridge so visitors could safely cross one of the creeks on the farm, he knew he could count on the offenders to get the job done.
“While there was some resistance when we first brought them in to do the tracks, people soon saw what they could do and were impressed.
“The offenders have proven themselves to be trustworthy, and have done a superb job getting this bridge built in less than a day.” 
John says that while having a builder in the team helped a lot, the high standard of the work was largely down to supervisor Len Fretwell, who is well known to the staff at the farm. Len, who turns 74 in January, joined Corrections 2 ? years ago when retirement left him with too much time on his hands. He says he loves being outdoors and is popular with the offenders, who often request to be put in his team.
“I’ve never had any problems – I’ve never been let down. The important thing is to get a rapport going with the guys and earn their respect.”
Len will be retiring – again – in December, and while he’s sad to be leaving, he says seeing his crew successfully work together on projects like the bridge has made it all worthwhile.
Photo: Samantha Harding (right), who runs the farm, watches as offenders put the newly-built bridge in place. It was in use as the team packed up for the day.
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ISSN 1178-1327