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MAY 14, 2026
Getting Bruce rolling By Viv Posselt
Wouldn’t it be interesting if we could be truly transparent for just one day… so that our well-concealed smugness, intolerance and sometimes downright nastiness could be as easy to spot as the visible disabilities others must endure for a lifetime? Would it, in that short window into our own character, be as easy to patronise or dismiss, to simply walk past or ignore them? Are disabilities worn on the outside somehow worse than those carried inside? Sparking those musings was a chat with two men. One of them physically mostly immobile, quietly polite, gritty as hell, determined to squeeze as much out life as his limitations allow. The other, a caring and understanding individual doing more than most to help, in a way that is couched in respect and admiration. Hamilton-born Bruce Polglase has lived with spina bifida throughout his 64 years, almost 40 of them in Cambridge. Despite having the use of just one arm, he has worked as much as possible through the years to maintain his independence. Yet where his uncomplaining courage should attract admiration, he is often misunderstood, marginalised, taunted. Now semi-retired, Bruce has been doing weekly deliveries of Cambridge News around parts of Cambridge East, with people more than dogs testing him. Before that, he delivered the now-defunct Cambridge Edition and worked at Achievement House. Murray Smith, the second man in that interview, well-known Cambridge News columnist and Bridges Church man, has been part of Bruce’s journey since 2003. A steady friend and supporter, he recently launched an online campaign to replace the ageing electric scooter that is Bruce’s lifeline to leaving the house. By medical standards, his scooter is a necessity, not a luxury.
Bruce brought it in 2017. “I use it every day, but it has real problems now,” he said. “It keeps breaking down. I go through heaps of tyres, heaps of batteries.” The frame has been twisted by low hanging branches Bruce can’t avoid along some footpaths, and the canopy only just covers his body, not his basket, usually full of papers. He checks the weather forecast before setting out, but when it rains, “I just get wet… nothing I can do.” Travelling those paths and sometimes navigating his way at perilous angles to reach post boxes is taking its toll. The scooter has stopped dead on the ramp leading to his home, meaning he had to call in mates to help get him indoors, then there was the accident a while ago when a motorist knocked him off on the crossing between the SuperLoo and the Cambridge Town Hall. “I got a bump on the hand on that occasion but was mostly OK … they checked me out in hospital for three to four hours,” he said. Murray sees Bruce as someone trying to have a meaningful existence in a world where people are challenged by difficulty at various levels. “Bruce never complains but gets on with making the best of whatever life serves up. He has shown himself to be a battler, persevering courageously in spite of significant constraints.” The online campaign to raise the $8500 needed to buy a new scooter has been live for about four weeks and ends on May 20. Murray is keen to muster as much support as possible to reach that figure. He would like to see Cambridge get behind a bloke who enjoys being useful in his own community. “The new scooter initiative has been a great boost to his sense of morale,” Murray said. “It conveys a message to him that there are people who notice and care.” • For more on this story, go online to goodlocal.nz
Bruce delivers the Cambridge News in Cambridge East.
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