In August 1972, the Queensland Police Force formed a Corps of permanent Police Prosecutors. This came about because of the need to improve the conviction rate in the Magistrate’s Court. On 15 April 1974, the first official Prosecutor’s course commenced at the Police College at Chelmer.

Prosecutors Course No 1, 1974. (Police Museum Image)

Police Prosecutors Sergeant Sean Franklin and Sergeant Jay Wilson have worked in the section for a combined total of around 20 years. They will outline the role of a prosecutor and provide an insight into how the role of specialist Police Prosecutor has changed over the years.

This one-and-a-half-hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, 25 August and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for any audience.

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The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm from February to November in addition to the standard Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

The Police Museum will open Sunday, 25 August from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Queensland Police had always had a good reputation for sporting prowess, as a natural consequence of remaining fit while carrying out operational duties. Tug of war was a popular choice of sport for the police officers from early last century right up to the modern day. In 1906 the Queensland Police tug of war team competed in the Ambulance Sports Carnival which raised money for the Ambulance service. Regional police teams also competed for trophies and the reputation for team strength. In 1992 the Queensland Police Women’s tug of war team travelled to Washington DC for the International Police Games and came away with the Gold Medal.

Police Tug of War team posing prior to competing in the Ambulance Sports of 1906. Standing L – R: Constable Patrick Davis, Constable William Maloney, Constable 1/c Thomas Roche, Constable Wilhelm Salm, Constable John Rockett, Constable George Marsden. Seated L – R: Inspector John White, Constable Patrick McGreevy, Constable Thomas Smith, Constable Henry O’Loughlin (Captain), Constable John O’Brien, Constable Thomas Hennessey, Sergeant John McNeill. Image PM0295a Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Innisfail Police Team. Tug of War Champions of North Queensland, 1926.
Standing L – R: Constables Albert Muller, Cecil Risch, Percival Buckley, Andrew McElrea, William Gavin, Acting-Sergeant. Richard Roach. Seated L – R: Sub-Inspector James Murtha, Constables Daniel Dwyer, Donald Ferguson, Acting-Sergeant. Peter Gaffney (Captain), Constables George Selby, William Weise, Sgt. James Tuohy. Master Jack Ferguson (Mascot). Image PM0815b Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Police Tug of War team, Brisbane, 1936.
L – R: Harry Gray (Coach), Henry Falkenhagen; Charlie Knust, Vince Cumming, Jack Hooper, Jim Carmody, Cecil Risch, Arthur Meng and Henry Von Hoff. Image PM2149 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Newspaper Clipping: Carnival to Aid Ambulance, The Courier-Mail, March 21, 1938, page 7.

Queensland Police Tug of War Team in action, Sydney, March 1938.
L – R: Andrew Vogel, Henry Von Hoff, John Cashel, James O’Mara, Vince Cumming, Charlie Knust, James McNamara, William Weise. Image PM2171 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

A successful Queensland Police Tug of War team, c.1940.
Standing L to R: James Carmody, Arthur Wing, J. Hooper, Vince Cumming, Henry Falkenhagen, James Howard, Andrew Meng. Front L to R: D. Campbell, Reginald Woodbury, A. Perrin, James Gray, Cecil Risch. Image PM2054 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Queensland Police Service Women’s Tug of War team in action against the USA Florida police team at the International Police Games, in Washington D.C, August 1992. The QPS team won the gold medal in this event.
Image PM2899 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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The information in this post was pulled together by Curator, Lisa Jones, from resources held in Police Museum collections. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au.

“FROM the VAULT – Police Tug-O-War Teams”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

The fore runner to our beloved Queensland Police Pipes and Drums, is the original Queensland Police Brass Band which was in existence between 1895 and 1905. This 20 piece band included one drummer and 19 brass instrument players and was led by Band Master Professor Seale. We do not know much more about them but the images are a great reminder of this part of Queensland Police history.

The Queensland Police Brass Band, 1895. Image PM0147 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Full length portrait of a member of the Queensland Police Brass Band in uniform, carrying his cornet, c1895. Image PM0591 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Group photograph of Queensland Police Brass Band, Brisbane at the Petrie Terrace Depot, 1900. The Bandmaster, Professor Seale, is seated 5th from the left. Image PM0767 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Police Parade ” Under Arms” led by the Queensland Police Brass Band, Petrie Terrace Depot, Brisbane, c1903. Image PM0137 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The Queensland Police Brass Band leads a police march down Queen Street in Brisbane, c1905. Image PM1921 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Queensland Police Brass Band 1895 – 1905”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

VKR Brisbane police radio workshop test equipment, c1944.
Image No. PM3523 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

1. History class.  It was hard work.  All those dates, places, names to remember.  Museums make it enjoyable; there are no exams at the end of your visit, and in the case of the Queensland Police Museum, it’s a relatively short history commencing officially in 1864.  And because we’re focused on policing in the state of Queensland only, it’s a compact geography to discover.  We’ve had over 33,000 police officers in our 155-year history, so can’t possible display them all, but the featured stories tell of policing cities and towns in this tropical state, and they all make for fascinating reading.
2. How’s the weather today? Balmy and humid, or torrential rain?  Most museum collections are held indoors to protect them from the elements and this makes a visit during extreme weather a welcome retreat.  Museums make a trade-off between preserving their collections and keeping visitors and staff comfortable.  Objects require slightly cooler, dryer conditions to survive, and low light is best.  So please come on inside for mood lighting and an ambient 24 degrees.

   Clerical staff, possibly police cadets in training, type up Fingerprint Bureau paperwork and fingerprint cards, 1967.
   Image No. PM3656 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

3. Have you considered researching your family tree?  Did your ancestors join the defence forces, work in agriculture, raise their family full time, or provide a trade or service?  Many museum collections hold information related to our fore-bearers, particularly where record keeping was critical to ensure the safety and accountability of staff.  The Queensland Police Museum holds some records of sworn personnel, in paper form or electronically, and can also help direct you to resources held by the Queensland State Archives.
4. Museums hold unusual objects.  From weapons used to commit murder, confiscated gang paraphernalia, police safety gear worn during unique events, like boots which saved the life of their wearer when he was electrocuted!  Some museums display trees, trams, tropical diseases or tractors.  The exhibition space is the tip of the iceberg of most museum collections, and objects are alternated to keep displays interesting and encourage frequent visits.

   The C.M.I Speedgun with radar technology was introduced in 1976 as part of the police campaign against speeding on Queensland roads.
   Image No. PM3600 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

5. Entry is often reasonably priced, or even free.
6. Children love museums because of the strange, spiky, furry, dangerous, marvellous things on display and the ancient stories to go along with them.  Many objects we remember from childhood are no longer in use; the corded telephone with number dialling, typewriters, black and white televisions, record players … can someone tell us why they’re making a comeback? These relics can still be found in museums, and children are amazed at the different historic collections on offer, including objects their parents used to use.

   Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and the Princess of Wales during a walk through the Queen Street Mall to Brisbane City Hall in April, 1983.
   Image No. PM4153a courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

7. ACARA, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, lists knowledge and understanding of History as an important component of Humanities and Social Sciences.  The study of History provides opportunities to apply chronological methodology and the observation of tangible collections and intangible concepts developed over time.  Skills in questioning, researching, analysing, evaluating, reflecting and communicating will enhance a student’s abilities in all aspects of their life, and visiting your local museum will help students utilise these important ACARA and life skills.
8. Museums, art galleries and libraries, all part of the important cultural sector, work together to provide a different form of entertainment from that found on a sporting field or in a shopping centre.  Labels explaining the historic artefact, photographic collection or painted masterpiece, and volumes of well researched pages on a library shelf offer a unique educational experience different from the often-questionable data located on the internet.

   Police Photographer Kevin Darch, with his Mamiya RB67 camera, with Detective and a Fingerprint Expert, wait to see if a fingerprint will reveal itself on the bottle, c1985.
   Image No. PM3942 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

9. Been working or studying hard? Finding the inspiration to do so more difficult as you become tired?  Consider treating yourself to a well-deserved change of scenery by finding a museum or heritage site offering a history you’ve always been intrigued by, or with content relevant to your career or course.  It will feel like down time, all the while you’re learning new things and may just find the inspiration needed to progress your own projects.
10. Museums are everywhere.  You just need to know where to look.  Here’s where the World Wide Web does come in handy, and for those in Brisbane, check out Brisbane’s Living Heritage Network for a network of over 80 local museums, heritage places, historic homes and gardens.

    Canary yellow Commodore VL Turbo highway patrol vehicle, c1986.
    Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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This list was created by Georgia Grier, Museum Assistant at the Queensland Police Museum, to highlight a few reasons to visit a museum today.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“10 Reasons to Visit Your Local Museum” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

Since 1978, the Queensland Police Service Wildlife Response Unit (WRU) has successfully apprehended and prosecuted offenders and broken up illegal poaching rings. Individual operations required inter-institutional co-operation, however, these concerted efforts were occasionally undermined by human error and bureaucratic mazes.

Illegal poaching resulted in the deaths of many and varied bird species.
Image courtesy of Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

Members of the Unit were generally not expected to physically handle the wildlife, but deliver it to the nearest Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officer at the first available opportunity. Functions of the Wildlife Response Unit included coordinating police initiatives and investigating offences relating to the taking and/or commercial exploitation of wildlife throughout Queensland, as well as assisting police in matters relating to wildlife upon request. A member of the police service who suspected offences relating to commercial exploitation of flora and fauna was to forward to the WRU all information on the offence. As the failed Operation Birdman demonstrated these regulations were not always followed through.

In August 1993, the Department of Environment and Heritage involved one of the local police stations when it launched an Operation under the codename ‘Birdman’ to investigate alleged fauna smuggling in the north. Although a number of offences under the Nature Conservation and Wildlife Protection Acts were suspected, the Wildlife Response Unit was not contacted for assistance.  Although the Operation resulted in 35 fauna charges brought against the target of the investigation, after a three day hearing, all charges were dismissed. The defendant pleaded guilty to three minor book-keeping offences for which he paid a $600 fine, and was placed on a twelve month good-behavior bond. The failure of the Operation did not end there.

A Chondro Python, confiscated during an operation and later released back into the wild.
Image courtesy of Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

During the Operation, the defendant’s 27 Chondro pythons were seized. Chondro pythons, indigenous to Cape York and New Guinea, are extremely rare and valuable. The estimated commercial value of these snakes was approximately $150,000.  During the ten months it took to bring the case to court, nineteen pythons died in holding cases at the zoo. The whereabouts of the six additional snakes was unknown. According to the newsprint trail, neither of the parties involved had any comment on the matter.

An investigation was launched by a local police officer, by-passing the Wildlife Response Unit, when a man from Shelburne Bay was believed to be in possession of a stuffed crocodile, a protected animal. The embarrassing outcome revealed the item to be, in fact, a wooden carving.

Carved timber crocodile.
Image courtesy of Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

This article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova from the best resources available within the Queensland Police Museum.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- Operation Birdman” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

State Search and Rescue
with Senior Sergeant Jim Whitehead

Sunday, 29 September 2019 | 11:00am to 12:30pm

Police HQ, 200 Roma Street,
Brisbane  QLD  4000

FREE ENTRY

State Search and Rescue Coordination ensures that Queensland has a robust and capable Search and Rescue System. Queensland averages 3.2 search and rescue incidents daily and is responsible for the safe location and recovery of approximately 2,200 people annually, in marine, land and aviation incidents The Coordinator and Training Officer provides effective support and strategic direction to search and rescue services by working in partnership with all emergency services to ensure a safer Queensland community.

Senior Sergeant Jim Whitehead is the State Search and Rescue Coordinator and Training Officer within the Specialist Services Group. He will discuss the Search and Rescue System in Australia and how it works, talk about the methods of determining a search area and will look at some case studies of searches for missing people.

This one-and-a-half-hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, 29 September and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for any audience.

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The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm from February to November in addition to the standard Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

PLEASE NOTE: The Police Museum will open on Sunday, 29 September
from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of
Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Today, the variety of extraneous police duties carried out by the officers, for the most part is limited to civic commissions and enquiries with the exception given to specialist squads.  In the 1970s, a number of these were set up to provide targeted response to specific categories of offences.  In March 1978, the Fauna Protection Squad was organised. This later was re-named into the Wildlife Task Force. Originally, the squad only had two members: a Detective Sergeant First Class, who was seconded to the National Parks and Wildlife Services and a plain clothes senior constable.

Combined Fauna Protection Squad and National Parks and Wildlife Service patrolling the Simpson Desert in 1979.
Image No. PM0955 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.

The squad was responsible for protecting the State’s natural fauna from poachers, smugglers and vandals. It was formed following reports of large-scale poaching on Cape York Peninsula of rare birds, reptiles and illegal fishing. The range of their responsibilities came to include protection of places of archaeological significance in additional to protection of animals.

Wildlife Task Force Detective Senior Constable Gavin Ricketts and the Chief Investigator with the University of Qld’s Koala Study Program researching together in 1991.
Image No. PM0157 courtesy Queensland Police Museum.

A few years into the squad’s patrols, a major illegal operation of exporters of fauna was uncovered with a clearing house located in Brisbane. Organisation and levels of revenue were established to be similar to those of the drug trade.

Annually, the squad confiscated hundreds of birds, reptiles and kangaroo skins.  High black market prices kept the numbers of illegal suppliers up – a Diamond Python and a pair of Palm Cockatoos from Cape York fetched $3,500 and $100,000 overseas respectively.

Confiscated crocodile skins.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

In 1984, in a joint operation with the Bureau of Customs, luggage search at Brisbane Airport revealed a shocking discovery:  99 Australian birds disemboweled and wrapped in newspapers. The two perpetrators arrested confessed to trapping the birds while holidaying with friends at Ballandean.

Palm Cockatoo, confiscated during an operation, eventually rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

The squad was unique to the Queensland Police. The unit continued to operate until 2003, when the responsibilities of the Wildlife Response Unit were transferred to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

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This article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova from the best resources available within the Queensland Police Museum.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Fauna Protection Squad” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

The QPS Wildlife Response Unit, formerly known as the Fauna Protection Squad, was established on 17 April, 1978. In its two and a half decades existence, a significant number of offenders were prosecuted and millions of dollars of illegal revenue was seized. The exotic species of reptiles and birds, which made up the profit, did not always survive. The poachers entrapped the animals in thousands. Queensland Police Annual reports from the later years showed that in 2001 alone, thirteen persons were charged who were responsible for trapping over five and a half thousand birds and nearly a hundred reptiles, which were confiscated in the process. This amounted to just short of $8 million in revenue.

Chondro Python, confiscated during an operation and later released back into the wild. Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

In November 2001, a German national residing in Samsonville, who gave his occupation as an ‘invalid pensioner’ was charged under the Nature Conservation and Wildlife Protection Acts. The invalid pensioner had poached a total of 96 reptiles. Only 3 snakes (broad headed snakes, endangered reptiles native to NSW) were recovered, while 28 black headed pythons and 65 common and desert death Adders had already been exported. A total conservation value of these reptiles amounted to approximately $135,000.

During the same month the Detectives of the Wildlife Response Unit charged a group of individuals under the Nature Conservation Act Use of Protected Animals. There were over five thousand birds seized during the course of the investigation, which were later released into the wild. These included vulnerable or endangered species each valued at $6,600 and $8,800 respectively.

Various bird species confiscated during one of the Operations. Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

One of the offenders apprehended in November, 2001 was a known re-offender, a nearly seventy year old man from Neurum who appeared in earlier reports. The man owned and operated a large wholesale bird and pet shop business at New Farm called ‘Living Garden’, and was suspected of selling birds at illegal markets in the southern states. He was also the target of a major operation in 1991.

As a rule, the age of offenders varied between forty-five and seventy years old. Unfortunately, age did not slow down avid collectors and enthusiasts. In 2002, an 80 year-old-man was cautioned for entrapping rainbow lorikeets.

Rainbow Lorikeets eventually enjoyed their freedom. Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

A number of the operations by these specialist Detectives took over a calendar year to complete. The wildlife crimes crossed regional, interstate and international borders and required a co-ordinated, multi-institutional investigative approach. Since the early days, the resources from agencies such as Australian Customs Service, Environment Australia and Interpol were frequently utilised. In 1984, in a joint operation with the Customs Bureau two Italian nationals were apprehended at Brisbane Airport for smuggling a large number of native birds.  Search ‘Operation Birdman’ for that article.

It was not uncommon for the Unit to provide regional assistance as well. In 2002, members of the Unit assisted in the investigation and prosecution of persons charged with killing native waterfowl in the Gold Coast Waterways.

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This article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova from the best resources available within the Queensland Police Museum.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Wildlife Response Unit: The Later Years” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

On this day, October 15^th 1923, Inspector John Donnelly resigned after 23 years as a policeman in Queensland.  Sworn is as a Constable on 14 November 1900, Donnelly commenced duties at the Roma Street Police Station, and in early 1905 was transferred to the Brisbane Crime Investigation Branch (CIB) where he quickly showed promise as a Detective, successfully making a case against two offenders for committing grievous bodily harm towards a fellow officer, Constable Thomas James Heaney.

Whilst on duty on June 6^th 1905, Constable Heaney was patrolling Ipswich Road in the vicinity of the Norman Hotel, Woolloongabba, when he detected a suspected burglary in progress with a male person climbing out of a window at the hotel.  Efforts to question the man failed and as the Constable tried to make an arrest, a second male clobbered him with heavy metal blacksmith’s tongs which caused significant head and facial injuries.  With Heaney quickly carted to hospital for emergency treatment, Constables John Donnelly, Michael O’Grady and Henry Kenny plus the assistance of other police stationed at Woolloongabba and Aboriginal Trackers, a search for the offenders was commenced.  It took several days to decipher the evidence including the stolen forge tongs, the state of the hotel window and sill, and clothing splattered with blood.  Although Constable Heaney was in too grave a condition to give a description of the men, hotel patrons did provide witness accounts and William Blake and Henry Smith were finally located and arrested.

Queensland Detectives along with a few interstate police visitors, pose outside the CIB building in 1920 on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales.
Front Row L-R: Inspector Thomas Head; Detective Senior Sergeant Duncan Fowler; NSW Visitor; NSW Visitor; Inspector John Donnelly (CIB Officer in Charge); Unknown Visitor; Unknown Visitor; Inspector James Farrell; Sub-Inspector Michael O’Sullivan; Senior Sergeant Thomas McNaulty.
Also pictured: Michael O’Driscoll; Ted Dally; Frank Kearney; Alfred Jessen; James Henderson; Johannes Odewahn; Martin Moloney; Thomas McCarthy; Thomas Goggins; William Gooch; Michael Cahill; William Lipp; John Bookless; James Sproule; Percival Mullally; Stanley Bateman; Patrick Morahan.
Image No. PM0079 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Constable Donnelly was called to the stand in the South Brisbane Police Court on September 13^th 1905 and gave evidence of the arrest.  The Constable had detected blood on Blake’s coat sleeve which Blake fobbed off as being received in a fight.  Further questioning by Donnelly of the suspect confirmed this was inaccurate, the suspect could not describe where the fight took place and many inconsistencies in William Blake’s version were revealed by Constable Donnelly’s testimony.  Blake was charged with grievous bodily harm and gaoled for 10 years, Smith received the same charge with a 4-year custodial sentence.

Constable John Donnelly received a reward of £7 for his excellent service in connection with the case.  His career with the CIB continued during promotions to the rank of Senior Constable in 1907, Sergeant in 1910, Detective Senior Sergeant in 1912, and Sub-Inspector in 1922.

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This article was written by Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier using the best resources available from the Queensland Police Museum.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Inspector John Donnelly” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

Sunday, 27 October 2019
11:00am to 12:30pm

Police HQ,
200 Roma Street,
Brisbane  QLD  4000

FREE ENTRY

Year of Disaster by Oxley author, Duncan Richardson, tells the story of 1864, the worst year in Brisbane’s history. In that year, typhoid, cyclone and three major fires combined over nine months to make the citizens seriously reassess the way they were living and change the face of the city for ever. The cyclone wrecked buildings, sank ships and brought a flood that destroyed houses and farms forcing some people to abandon everything and move on.  The fires destroyed more than half of the town’s business centre, leaving many people homeless.  But typhoid was the killer, slipping through the quarantine system and striking at the heart of the settlement.

Duncan Richardson is an historian and author. He will discuss the causes, responses and long term effects of these disasters.

This 45 minute presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, 27 October and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for any audience.  Questions will be welcome and copies of Year of Disaster will be for sale.

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The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm from February to November in addition to the standard Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

PLEASE NOTE: The Police Museum will open Sunday, 27 October from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

We came across this article published in Brisbane’s premier broadsheet newspaper on 30 March 1936 and it’s so politically incorrect we had to share; imagine having your dimensions broadcast for a city to read?!  Titled “GIANTS” OF THE POLICE – Queensland Has Some Big Men – England’s Champion: Policemen are nearly always big men – so much the better for the peace and order of the community – but amongst big policemen can occasionally be found a giant dwarfing his fellows in blue.  Such was the case of Sergeant G. Hankinson, of the Leicester constabulary, who retired early this year from the force, and so is no longer “England’s biggest policeman.”

Sergeant Hankinson has a number of relatives in Queensland, amongst them three cousins, Messrs. W. Hankinson of Clayfield, W. Farley, chairman of the Boonah Shire Council, and J. Farley, builder and contractor, of Boonah, and they proudly boast that even Queensland, noted for the fine physical proportions of its officers, cannot produce one to equal their cousin’s record.  For Sergeant Hankinson is 6ft 10in in height and weighs 25 stone.  From 1912 until his retirement, with the exception of his years of war service, he was physical training instructor to the police force at Leicester, and during a long athletic career won more than 130 cups and medals for his prowess in field games.

Image is of Sub-Inspector Patrick Howard, later promoted to Inspector. Originally serving in the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force between 1908 and 1909, he emigrated to Australia later that year and joined the Queensland Police Force. Promotions from Constable to the rank of Inspector occurred during service at Roma Street, Gympie, Kangaroo Point, South Townsville, Cloncurry and Brisbane police stations. Inspector Howard was granted a medical retirement in 1943, due to failing eyesight, after 34 years dedicated police service. He passed away in 1965.
Article and image by the “Courier Mail”, 30 March 1936 edition.
Image description from Queensland Police Museum sources.

The Queensland police force however, has nothing to lose by way of comparison with Sergeant Hankinson.  One of the biggest men, and certainly the tallest at present in the force, is Sub-inspector “Pat” Howard, of Cloncurry.  He is 6ft 6in high, and weighs about 17 stone.  He was originally a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and he claims that in the morning roll call, at which the men are graded from the tallest down, he was at the bottom of a line of 25 men until two “midgets” of 6ft 5in were sworn in.  The next tallest present member of the Queensland force is Constable Albert Jentz, of Taringa, who is 6ft 5½in and weighs 19 stone.  Other “giants” are Sub-inspector B. McGrath, of South Brisbane, and Senior Sergeant Jim Roach, of the C.I. Branch, who are each 6ft 4in.  Actually the tallest man ever in the force was Constable Andy Cummings, who retired about 12 months ago.  Cummings was 6ft 8in in height, but did not carry proportionate weight.”

The virtual weigh in continues with… “SOME HEAVY MEN As far as heavy policemen are concerned the Queensland “champion” is at present Acting Sergeant Clancy, of Townsville, who weighs 22½ stone and is still growing.  At Tully is stationed Sergeant Selby, who weighs 20 stone, but both men are under 6ft in height.  Another 20-stone policeman is Constable W. Weise, who is shortly to take up a position in the Brisbane watchhouse on transfer from North Queensland.  Weise was anchor man in the all-conquering Northern police tug-o-war team, and is also a champion “scratch puller.”  The police tug-o-war team of 10 men weighed exactly one ton. 

So, it can be seen that while Queensland is unable to approach Sergeant Hankinson’s 25 stone and 6ft 10in, we are not without big men.”

Queensland Police Tug-O-War Team in action, Sydney, March 1938. Pictured left to right: Constables Andrew Vogel, Henry Von Hoff, John Cashel, James O’Mara, Vince Cumming, Charlie Knust, James McNamara, William Weise. Image from “The Sydney Morning Herald” or “Sydney Mail”.

Queensland Police Museum staff have questions: Did the named policemen offer their own statistics, or did colleagues nominate their giant friends?

Would you chuck your hat in for a transparent weigh-in?

Was does the scratch puller do in tug-o-war?  Even Google couldn’t provide us this answer!

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- “GIANTS” Of The Police” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

The 20^th anniversary of a Townsville Bulletin article this week brought back mystery and tragedy.  It was earlier that year, in January 1999, when 20-year-old Maria Soper intended to drive between the town of Julia Creek to Dalgonally Station, the place of her employment as a gardener.  The drive ended mid route when the vehicle overheated, and Maria made the fatal decision to leave her car and commence the hot walk towards the cattle station.  Without sun protection and failing to see several water sources; the running Julia Creek, an enormous tank and a long water trough, Maria succumbed to heat stroke and died hours into the journey.

Julia Creek Police Station and vehicle pictured in August 1973. The same building is in use today, complete with a coat of paint and modernised technology.
Image PM3147 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

A coronial inquest to examine the circumstances of Maria’s death included a test conducted by the Officer-in-charge of Julia Creek Police Station, Sergeant James (Jim) Whitehead.  Sergeant Whitehead knew the terrain, how devastating 40°C heat could be to a dehydrated person with little shelter who was becoming more disoriented as minutes ticked by.  The policeman decided that to best demonstrate this to Ms Soper’s family he would test the walk himself.  Wearing a hat, walking shoes, and carrying water to mitigate the effects when they became extreme, Sergeant Whitehead, then aged 37, set off for the trek on Old Normanton Road in similar weather conditions experienced by Maria.

Townsville Bulletin clip, November 9 1999.

The journey took 3 hours and 10 minutes, but the effects took their toll for much longer; suffering blisters on both feet, the Sergeant attended the Julia Creek Rural Hospital where discussion about his test the previous day prompted further examination which revealed renal failure.  A saline drip stemmed worsening kidney damage.  Sergeant Whitehead described the walk, “I could see the police car in the distance, but it would disappear in the heat haze.  I focused on cow pats and grass to keep walking.  The further you go the more your mind starts to wander, and it is hard to focus.”

The Townsville Bulletin articulated the extraordinary service performed by the Sergeant, identifying the re-enactment as evidentiary and suggesting the ‘lessons learned should become a textbook case’ and ‘serve to explain why Ms Soper, a novice in such an unforgiving environment, failed to see the nearby river and large water tank.  But the reasons why Ms Soper chose to leave her car, why she did not wear a hat and why she carried no water still remain a mystery.’

Now a Senior Sergeant, Jim Whitehead is the State Search and Rescue Coordinator and Training Officer providing support and strategic direction to search and rescue services in partnership with all Queensland emergency services.

Image courtesy of Senior Sergeant Jim Whitehead, on the case of search and rescue in 2019.

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This article was written by Georgia Grier, Museum Assistant at the Queensland Police Museum, from resources provided by Senior Sergeant Jim Whitehead.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- Sergeant Takes Calculated Risk For Coronial Inquest” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

Followers, we need you!  The Queensland Police Museum will be featured in the 2020 queue of podcasts delivered by Brisbane’s Living Heritage Network for its members, of which we are one.  My favourite item: unravelling Brisbane’s history piece by piece takes listeners inside different heritage collections to discover what is special to them.

With thousands of objects in the collection, we’re asking for your help to choose a fascinating item our Curators can examine with presenter Kirsten Murray, the conversation to be available on Soundcloud and Apple Podcasts sometime in 2020.

Maybe you’ve been pondering the history of police hats, wondering why in some Queensland towns, police were issued with woollen caps?

Perhaps you’d like to know more about an exquisite gift given to the Queensland Police Force by a Danish shipping company, for assistance rendered during a salvage operation of seamen trapped inside their upturned dredge?

Could it be much loved doggo Peter, the well preserved and presented pet, witness and hairy piece of evidence used in court to help convict a killer in 1953?  See Peter’s story here: An Unusual Piece Of Evidence

Rugby league lovers, have you ever seen a present of appreciation like our huge turtle shell?  We’ve got the provenance for this beauty all squared away and the story of how it came to be in our collection will warm your heart.

Is there something else?  Have a look through previous myPoliceMuseum stories or think back to your most recent visit for an item you’d like us to re-live in sound.  If your visit was too long ago, please come back to explore the changes we’ve made and tell us your favourite object for consideration in this quest.

Find Brisbane’s Living Heritage Network on Soundcloud and Apple Podcasts by using these links:

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/my-favourite-item/id1476359023

https://soundcloud.com/blhn/myfavitemintro

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This information was provided by Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier with the approval of Brisbane’s Living Heritage Network.  The Queensland Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – What’s Your Favourite Item?” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

The Queensland Police Museum is OPEN this Sunday.
There will be NO Sunday Lecture.

It’s our regular Sunday opening on November 24^th, however there will be no Sunday Lecture.

We trust you’ve enjoyed this year’s line-up of speakers.  A few speakers for 2020 have already been booked as detailed below.

For further information about upcoming events plus historic Queensland policing stories, please consider subscribing to myPoliceMuseum.  It’s FREE!

The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

The Queensland Police Museum makes every effort to provide visitors with up to date information about the Sunday Lecture Series and reserves the right to make changes at short notice dependent on speaker availability.
Please subscribe to the myPoliceMuseum for the most current list of lectures.

Perusal of early newspapers, dating back to the 1870’s indicate that a Police Cricket Club existed at Brisbane City Police.  The players travelled far and wide to participate in organised cricket matches of a calibre sufficient to warrant the attention of the local press;

The Queenslander, February 19, 1876: Police Club v Second Alberts in a match played at Queen’s Park,

The Brisbane Courier, February 10, 1902: Police Playing Cricket – the club connected with the City Police Force journeyed to Rocklea to play a match with the Rocklea Cricket Club,

The Brisbane Courier, February 5, 1903: Police Picnic at Dunwich – A cricket team representing the Brisbane City Police journeyed to Dunwich to play a match against an eleven chosen from the official staff at Dunwich and Myora.

Group photograph of the Queensland Police Cricket Club team of 1925-26. Back row: C Townsend, V Noonan, J Rochford, BC O’Sullivan, SP Sheehan, W Borghardt. Front row: MJ Aspinall, G Townsend, GL Lewis, William John Gooch, CD Sullivan, C Hagner. Image No. PM1839 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Official records reveal that a Queensland Police Cricket Club didn’t appear until much later.  In a letter dated November 12, 1920, from Plain Clothes Constable George Keeffe, representing several members of the police in the Brisbane District requested permission from Police Commissioner Frederic Urquhart to form a Queensland Police Cricket Club.  Permission was granted and the club played its first match against a team from the Light Street Tramway Depot.  The police team won by 5 wickets and 90 runs.

On October 22, 1921, a meeting of the QPCC unanimously elected newly appointed Commissioner of Police Patrick Short, Patron of the club.  The appointment was graciously accepted.  In July 1928 application was made for the laying of a practise cricket pitch at the Petrie Terrace Police Depot.  An inspection of the proposal revealed ample space on the oval in the depot grounds, and it would not in any way interfere with the use of the oval for police purposes, such as ceremonial functions, parading or police remounts.  Approval was granted.

Request by the Secretary of the Police Department Cricket Club to the Commissioner for a pitch to be laid at the Petrie Depot, 1928.
Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Mr Ivan Clark, Secretary of the QPCC wrote to Police Commissioner Cecil Carroll on September 22, 1945, advising that due to the exigencies of war the club had not operated since 1941, and with the end of hostilities the club had been revived and registered for competitive play in the forthcoming season.  A request for the Commissioner to become Patron was accepted and he returned with a donation of £0-10-6 for the club’s funds.

In 1975 the Queensland Police Cricket Association was established and has been running an outdoor competition on turf wickets for police teams in Brisbane since that time.

Team photo of Queensland Police Cricket Team on railway platform in 1961, some standing on a luggage trolley!
Image No. PM2990a courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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The article was written by Ian Hamilton, former Police Museum Assistant, from the best resources available at the time.  The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- Queensland Police Cricket Club” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

Senior Sergeant Thomas Warwick was a 30-year career police officer and enthusiastic cricket spectator, then umpire, when an opportunity presented to join the Woolloongabba Police Station in the summer of 1979, the duties of which included maintaining law and order at The Gabba, the Brisbane Cricket Ground.  The following anecdote was written by friend and fellow cricket umpire Robert (Bob) Crouch.

In the latter stages of his police career, Tom, for relaxation, became an avid watcher of cricket at the Gabba.

During this time, he was approached by a police colleague, Lou Rowan [Inspector Grade 3 Louis Rowan], who was currently a leading Australian cricket umpire, with the suggestion that he, Tom, might also consider becoming an umpire.

This obviously had some appeal for Tom for he joined the Queensland Cricket Umpires Association and became one of those strange people prepared to stand on the field in all sorts of weather conditions, for periods ranging from one afternoon to four days, and subject to the criticisms of players, spectators and the media.  He was also interested in administration and within a short time he became the Association’s secretary, a position he held for many years.  His work for the Association was rewarded in 1978 with a life membership.

On the field he progressed to first class level which means he umpired from domestic club cricket to interstate matches in the Sheffield Shield competition.  His Sheffield Shield career spanning the years 1973 – 1980.  It was a credit to Tom that he achieved first class honours having never ever played cricket.

A police officer’s view of cricket fans at the Gabba for the 1978 England verses Australia Test Match. Day 1 attracted 14,026 spectators.
Image courtesy of The Courier Mail.

On his retirement [as an umpire] from senior cricket he retained his interest in youth cricket and he and I enjoyed some happy days umpiring together in the secondary schools competition.

In these retirement years he again took up residence at the Gabba as a spectator.  Until his health deteriorated he had his favourite seat at the back of the members stand, where he knew everyone, and everyone knew him, where his lady friends regaled him with delicacies from their lunch baskets, particularly Maida Anstey with her Anzac biscuits and my wife Shirley with her crab sandwiches and, where, as the fountain of knowledge of the laws and regulations of cricket, he settled all disputes and discussions on the game he loved.

Inspector Thomas Humphrey Warwick, in reference to the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Brisbane, in charge of accommodation security at Griffith University and the Venue Commander, said in relation with what was needed, “tons of goodwill to help make everything work smoothly and make the Games a success.”
Image No. PM4167 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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This anecdote of Tom Warwick’s cricket commitment was written by Robert Henry Crouch and came to the Queensland Police Museum through the generous donation of the estate of Thomas Humphrey Warwick.  The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- Living Cricket, Policing Cricket” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

Kissing the Blarney Stone, 1897

Michael O’Sullivan was born at Grenagh, County Cork, not far from Blarney Castle. He left Ireland for Australia in the early 1880s, in an attempt to stay out of trouble for smearing the famous Blarney Stone with rotten apples; a group of American tourists there to kiss the relic were accidental victims of O’Sullivan’s practical joke. In Queensland, O’Sullivan found himself working odd jobs until one day he met Peter McDonagh, a Sergeant of police on holiday, at the Old Dunmore Arms Hotel, George Street. O’Sullivan mentioned that he wished to become a policeman but was three years short of the set entry age; the sergeant promptly told him to go back and say he was twenty years of age instead of his actual seventeen. This O’Sullivan dutifully did. In August, 1883 after three months’ training, Constable Michael O’Sullivan embarked on his distinguished career in the Queensland Police Force.

Having progressed through the ranks during his posts mainly in rural Queensland, in 1904, Sergeant O’Sullivan was transferred back to Brisbane and charged with re-organising the Detective Department. He was an outsider, and his promotion caused a minor strike at the branch. O’Sullivan took on the task of re-structuring the Criminal Investigation Branch with great enthusiasm; he found that men there ‘were utterly unsuited for detective work’. Major Cahill (the future third Commissioner of the Force), his direct superior at the time, advised O’Sullivan to try out men whom he thought possessed talent for Detective work: “It was on those lines that the staff was built up; but even then there were disappointments, as some men who were brought up in on six months trial failed to live up to the required standard, and had to go back into uniform.” These handpicked CIB detectives finally delivered the long awaited success. The Queensland Detective Service went from being ‘the most inefficient organisation of its kind in Australia’ (Royal Commission, 1899) to the most effective. O’Sullivan believed that teamwork and free exchange of information between the Detectives and the ‘uniforms’ were critical to the success.

CIB Staff, Brisbane. Patrick Short in group, Michael O’Sullivan (shown front row, 3rd from right) was OIC of CIB, c1910. Image PM0109 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum

‘We did not lay claim to any special genius in elucidating crime, but we were a body of men, usually numbered twenty-five, combined and working as a team, determined to keep the criminal element under, we found we could do it.’

O’Sullivan was a master and a strong proponent of dissemination of jiujitsu training in the Force. He felt that policemen never knew when they might be up against the class of man ‘who takes special delight in giving members of the force a rough time’. (Camoes of Crime) He ‘had known men in their quarrels with one another to fight it out in a perfectly fair way, but when it came to a policeman, two or three men would attack him and feel no shame in doing so.’ Consequently, O’Sullivan advocated the policeman should study defensive methods so that skill and resourcefulness might give him a chance to protect himself against odds and brutal ill-treatment.

In one such case O’Sullivan’s martial arts skills enabled him to neutralise an armed man in a crowded South Brisbane street without any assistance. Around 7:30 o’clock one Saturday evening, he was coming to his office when, approaching the south side of the Victoria Bridge, he heard two shots.  He ‘soon witnessed people in a wild state of excitement, rushing in various directions and some women and children screaming.’ (Cameos of Crime) Two men ran to a policeman who was on duty on the south end of the bridge. The policeman at first came towards the gunman flourishing the weapon and using some violent language, but then turned and walked into a fruit shop on Stanley Street, about a hundred yards away.

Chief Inspector Michael O’Sullivan just before retirement.
Image courtesy The Daily Mail, Brisbane, August 12, 1932

In the meantime, the armed man rushed across the road and into the hotel, scattering the people in the bar. O’Sullivan followed his heels and by executing his special hold, disarmed him in a few seconds. Almost immediately, he was joined by the policeman on duty in that area. In response to O’Sullivan’s questioning as to why he left a man that threatened to shoot people, the constable explained that he went into the fruit shop to telephone the South Brisbane Police Station for advice and assistance, as he did not know what to do in such a situation.

After three decades in the Service and many an ‘heroic act’, Michael O’Sullivan retired in 1923 at the rank of Acting Deputy Commissioner.

Further reading:
O’Sullivan, Michael. Cameos of Crime. Sydney: Jackson & O’Sullivan Ltd., 1935.
Criminal Investigation Division and Force Inquiry Royal Commission, 1899.

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“The Luck of the Irish” was written by Queensland Police Museum volunteer Dr Anastasia Dukova, Crime and Policing Historian, from the best resources available at the time of writing.

See more by Dr Dukova here: A History of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and its Colonial Legacy

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

The Queensland Police Museum will close on Friday 20^th December  2019
and reopen on Monday 6^th January 2020.

Staff wish all visitors a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.  We look forward to welcoming you back in 2020, to a refreshed exhibition space, reworked simulated crime scene and the same great service.

Don’t forget to keep track of our Sunday Lecture Series schedule; we have secured the following presentations and tours, and appreciate your ongoing support of these FREE events by promoting them within your networks and with your attendance.  To receive more information about upcoming events plus historic Queensland policing stories, please consider subscribing to myPoliceMuseum.  It’s FREE!

From January 6^th 2020, the Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday, and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month between February and November and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

The Queensland Police Museum makes every effort to provide visitors with up to date information about the Sunday Lecture Series and reserves the right to make changes at short notice dependent on speaker availability.
Please subscribe to the myPoliceMuseum for the most current list of lectures.

Police Media would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
With more than 75,000 calls and 69,000 emails to our media unit, it has been another busy year across Queensland.

We would like to thank our important stakeholders across media and our partner agencies who have worked closely with us throughout the year to provide important messaging to the public and ultimately help keep Queensland safe.

Police Media will continue to be available for media 24/7 over the Christmas and New Year period, however, some parts of the QPS will be scaled back and unavailable for media requests such as statistical services.

This year, the QPS will provide extensive road safety and enforcement snapshots to media on the following days:

• Friday, December 27, 2019 (Christmas road safety wrap-up)
• Wednesday, January 1, 2020 (2019 Road Toll review)
• Thursday, January 2, 2020 (New Year’s road safety wrap-up)

We hope everyone gets the opportunity to enjoy a break over the festive period and we look forward to working closely with you all in 2020.

The Police Media team

At the turn of the 20^th century the Queensland Police obtained its horses by purchase. In 1904 after Police Commissioner Parry-Okeden urged that the Police Department should breed its own horses, a stud farm with an area of 8.6 km² at Woodford was established. It was used for police mares and for growing feed. Stallions were hired for £30 and between them sired 26 foals. However, this small reserve was found to be both unsuitable and inadequate and so with the cost of buying horses ever rising, the Department looked elsewhere for a larger breeding establishment.

Four policemen (not in uniform) sitting beside a small river at Rewan near Rolleston. These men were sent to the stud farm to build houses and stables, 1909.

In 1908-9 Police Commissioner Cahill reported that he had obtained “a very fine reserve at Carnarvon (now called “Rewan”) of 78 000 acres (318 km²), resumed from the Consuelo leasehold.” The Woodford mares and foals as well as two purchased stallions, ‘Libertine’ and ‘Mack’, were sent by rail to Roma and then over the range to Rewan. Improvements to the property were also carried out to make it a habitable police station and breeding establishment. Rewan was proclaimed as a stud farm for breeding police horses in April 1909.

By 1912 the first 69 Rewan bred remounts were ready for police work. At that time the property was running 400 horses and over 200 head of cattle, under the control of Senior Sergeant John Campbell, two Constables and three Indigenous Trackers. The staff were also carrying out various improvements, erecting stables, stalls, fences and yards, and cutting out prickly pear.

The Stallion “Libertine” was sent by rail from the Woodford Stud to Rewan as one of the initial breeding stock, 1910.

For the 1915 – 1916 year, only 20 foals were born from 124 breeding mares, due to the lack of grass from a two year drought. By the end of the decade, however, the situation had improved and the authorities were expressing satisfaction with the experiment. For the 1919 – 1920 year, Rewan ran five stallions, 177 mares with 70 foals at foot, and 445 other horses, worth a total of £9104. There were also over 1000 head of cattle valued at £9735.

Rewan station buildings and garden, 1910.

Rewan was plagued by a series of droughts between 1926 and 1932 and in one of these years only two foals were born. Even the successful cattle section of the station was badly affected by  the dry conditions of 1931, which killed 1046 head including 38 out of 44 bulls. Apart from the droughts and fires, it was also felt that breeding practices had deteriorated. The best mares were being sent away for remounts so that stallions were being put with poor mares.

These buildings are still on the property even though the land has changed hands a number of times. Using Police Museum resources, along with the great work of retired Detective Sergeant Tom Mahon, Rewan, the former Queensland Police Horse Breeding Station, was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on on 31 May 2019. To read the full QHR entry click this link https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=650094

Rewan cattle on Bluegum Flat, 1910.

The press attacked Rewan for its cost in this time of depression and the Police Union asserted that a better type of horse could be purchased outside more cheaply. In 1933, Home Secretary Hanlon finally admitted that Rewan was a “distinct failure”. The property having made an overall loss of £27 000. The government decided to close it down, giving its reasons as inaccessibility and the unsuitability of Rewan horses for the work in the north.  In 1933 the Rewan stud farm for breeding police horses was closed.

The horse named “Brisbane”, selected from Rewan stock, was sent to London in the charge of Constable Fenwick Wilson (the office astride the horse) as a gift from the Queensland Government to King George V. in July, 1911.

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This information was researched by Curator Lisa Jones and sourced from the best Queensland Police Museum resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“From the Vault – Rewan: A Stud Farm for Breeding Police Horses”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode