He told me that nowadays the policeman is the only official in a place like Portobello. “The stationmaster andpostmaster are long gone. The minister, schoolteacher and doctor all live in town. There are supposed to be 40-plus doctors living in the area, but when I want one to sign a death certificate, half are away overseas, some are at golf and the rest are taking their kids to sport. I usually end up getting a police doctor from Dunedin. Anyway, I witness wills, notify deaths and accidents, conduct investigations, carry out searches—do just about everything.”