During his mayoralty, Mr McPhee had a brush with the police after an incident in High Street, Carterton, where he is said to have been involved in a fracas in a flat in which a door was damaged. A confrontation with others had resulted in police being called.
Later Mr McPhee said he had “rightly or wrongly intervened” when visiting the premises, forcing open a door and confronting those inside. No charges had been laid and no official complaints were made.
I remember that incident. There was a pad in downtown Carterton (above one of the main street shops) which was inhabited by a bunch of young fellas who were causing a lot of trouble, vandalism, etc., around the town. Word around Wairarapa is that late one evening, Gary was drinking in the bar at one of the local pubs when he received a phone call from a ratepayer complaining about these chaps damaging property around the town, and it was the last straw. Gary headed for the flat, kicked the door down, and dished out a bit of instant rough justice. The local “boys in blue” were not amused and he got a big lecture about how a Mayor should behave, but was let off with a stern warning.
After that incident, Gary McPhee became known around the district as the “Sheriff of Carterton!”