It was a bittersweet farewell for Senior Constable Mark Elliott, saying goodbye to a long and prosperous career with the NSW Police Force spanning 42 and a half years.
For the past decade, he has been stationed at St Marys Local Area Command, where he was saluted by his colleagues for the final time last week.
Marched out by Superintendent Greg Peters, pride radiated from Senior Constable Elliott’s face as he was sent off to the sound of a bag piper at 1.30pm last Thursday, December 15.
“It hasn’t been all good, it hasn’t been all bad, but I have enjoyed what I did… hopefully
I’ve assisted the community,” Senior Constable Elliott said.
“I’ve lived the majority of my life in western Sydney… I enjoy the openness of it.
“Out here it’s a much more spread out community. There’s so much more to travel.”
In his final speech to his colleagues, Senior Constable Elliott struggled to get his last three words out, inspired from the conclusion of TV series ‘M*A*S*H’: “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”.
“I just couldn’t get the final words out… I nearly lost it a couple of times,” he said.
“I’m nothing special, I’m just me.”
Executive Manager, Le Alchin, disagrees and said it will be hard to imagine the command without Senior Constable Elliott.
“It’s been a very emotional day. It’s important that we recognise his achievements,” she said.
From having his foot run over to cracking the bottom of his knee in defensive training, Senior Constable Elliott has enjoyed a career full of anecdotes and positive memories.
“It was 42 years, five months and seven days, not that I’ve been counting,” he laughed.
Senior Constable Elliott has so far enjoyed his first week of retirement surrounded by family.
When asked about his future plans, he answered with a cheeky laughter that the station is sure to miss.
“I might do some washing and after that I think I’ll cut the back grass,” he said of his new daily routine.
Senior Constable Elliott is taking each day as it comes, but plans to move to the Southern Highlands down the track, to be closer to his youngest children.
Photo: Megan Dunn
Emily Newton
Emily Newton is the Weekender's police and political reporter. Emily is also the Weekender's Senior Journalist.