Gatton murder scene with police trackers at work, alongside Constable Murphy of Brisbane in the wattle scrub covered paddock belonging to Mr. Frank Moran. The Sulky belonging to the Murphy’s siblings (middle of the image) was part of the Police Museum collection but sadly it disappeared sometime after 1938.
The original image and the words describing it were first published in the Queenslander. Image No. PM0756 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The Crime: On the night of Boxing Day 1898, Michael Murphy, 29, and his sisters, Norah, 27, and Ellen, 18, were returning home in a sulky to their parents’ farm outside Gatton. They had been to a cancelled country dance in Gatton after spending a day at the races at Mount Sylvia. About 3km outside Gatton the three were murdered in what is still one of the most baffling unsolved murders in Australian history.  The next morning their brother-in-law William McNeill set out looking for them.

The area in which the Gatton murders took place.
Image No. PM1027 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Two miles out of Gatton on Tent Hill Road, he followed the sulky’s tracks, characterised by one wobbly wheel, as they veered through sliprails into Moran’s paddock. He found the bodies of Michael, Ellen and Norah. The girls’ clothing was torn and they had been raped. Michael and Ellen’s skulls were crushed. It was later found that Michael had been shot in the head. Nearby was the horse, also shot in the head. It was a horrible crime by any standard, but for it to have happened in an Australian country town in 1898 was almost incomprehensible to a shocked public.

Michael Murphy, aged 29. Image No. PM0759 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Michael Murphy, shown at left, was a quiet, good-natured man of about 5ft, 10inch tall and powerfully built, an expert bushman, and Sergeant in the local corps of Mounted Rifles, of which he was one of the most capable members, and in the uniform of which he is shown.  He was home for his holidays from the Westbrook experimental farm.  Michael’s body was found with the skull battered in, lying on its front, but with the head turned aside.  In the right hand was an empty purse. The hands were folded behind the back, and the wrists abraded.  Evidently they had been tied there and the binding removed after death – probably the breeching strap from the harness, as it was lying between his body and that of his sister.  It was stated at the inquest that Michael was killed by a blow to the head which had crushed in the skull, but subsequent exhumation and further post mortem showed he had been first shot dead, the bullet having entered behind the right ear.  The original image and words describing it were first published in the Queenslander.

Nora Murphy, aged 27. Image No. PM0753 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Nora Murphy, shown at right, must have made a terrible fight for her honour.  From head to feet she was a mass of bruises and abrasions, and her clothing was torn to shreds. Around her neck the hame strap from the horse harness had been drawn tightly to still her screams – tight enough to in itself cause death.  Her hands were tied behind with her own handkerchief, which had been first knotted around one wrist and then the other.  In her struggles the skin and flesh was torn from her wrists.  Both the Murphy girls were described as having been bright and capable girls, strong and well set-up, fine-looking, and held in much esteem.

Ellen Murphy, aged 19. Image No. PM0758 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Ellen Murphy, shown at left, and the younger of the two Murphy sisters was described as having been an exceptionally bright and happy country girl. She had attended three schools and distinguished herself at all, with her teachers described Ellen as having been the most popular and exemplary girl under their charge. Her hands had been bound tightly behind her back during this crime, and she was terribly bruised and her clothing torn in resisting the ravishers and murderers who had finally killed her by a blow on the head which crushed in the skull.  The original image and words describing it were first published in the Queenslander.

The Investigation: Numerous setbacks – which would most likely never occur today – hindered the investigation. Due to communication breakdowns and reliance on telegrams to relay information, Brisbane police did not learn of the crime until two days later. The crime scene was not immediately secured and many people passed through, possibly obliterating valuable clues. At that time, there was only one police photographer who was responsible for covering crimes throughout the state. Bodies were moved before photos could be taken. The press criticised the police for bungling the investigation while Inspector Urquhart criticised the press for its ‘silly and unreliable’ reporting. Over the course of the investigation, the police interviewed more than 1,000 people.

The funeral of Michael, Nora and Ellen Murphy was held on 28 February 1898 in the Gatton Church. After the inquest the three bodies were removed to the church, where the coffins extended down the aisle, and the service was conducted in the presence of a crowded congregation, which was affected to tears by the Rev. Father Walsh. The funeral was the largest ever seen in a Queensland country district. Over 1000 were present, and there were between 300 and 400 horsemen, and over 200 vehicles of all descriptions. The procession extended for a mile.
The original image and the words describing it were first published in the Queenslander. Image No. PM0761 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Among the main suspects were Richard Burgess, a recently discharged prisoner and bush vagabond who had an alibi, and Thomas Day, a stranger to Gatton who was working for AG Clarke, the local butcher, at the time of the murders. Police found blood on his clothing but in 1898 there was no way to test if the blood was from an animal, as Day claimed, or from a human. In any case, Clarke warned Day against washing a particular jumper after the murders but a day or two later Day proceeded to wash and boil the jumper twice and scrub it with a scrubbing brush. No further action was taken against Day and a few weeks later he left the district.

Inspector Frederic Urquhart, on the right, was in charge of the Gatton Murder investigation. He was widely criticized during and after the enquiry for running an inconsistent and ultimately unsuccessful investigation.
Image No. PM0785 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Although there has been endless speculation over the years about this complicated and compelling case, it has never been established who committed the crime or what the motive behind it was.

‘We have failed because from the very outset we had no chance of success’
Inspector Frederick C. Urquhart in his police summary for the Gatton Murders

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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. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – The Gatton Murders, 26 December 1898”  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

Warning: Readers are advised this article contains an image of an Aboriginal Police Trooper, now deceased.

We’re thinking a lull in criminal activity in the Coen area around 1897 is the best explanation for this photograph.  It appears to be a staged scene of police officers capturing bush rangers.  A check of the Queensland Police Gazette for 1897 reveals only six apprehensions recorded in that year, so  there was plenty of time to practice apprehension and arrest techniques.

A staged scene of police officers capturing bush rangers. Pictured is Constable 1/c Charles Bateman, Senior Constable George Inkerman Smith, one Aboriginal mounted Trooper, two unknown actor bush rangers, c1900.
Image No. PM1326 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

There are five people in the photograph; Constable 1/c Charles Bateman sits on his horse with his revolver pointed at one of the so-called bush rangers; Senior Constable George Inkerman Smith is in the foreground, handcuffed to the other so-called bush ranger.  We don’t know the name of the mounted Police Trooper calmly controlling the horses unfortunately.  We also don’t know the names of the acting bush rangers.

Coen Native Mounted Police Camp in the Cooktown District opened on October 27, 1885 with Sub-Inspector Frederick Mergetts in charge.  The station staff included two Constables and nine Indigenous Troopers and Trackers.  The Coen Township Police Station opened on April 20, 1895 with Constable James Kenny in charge.

Coen Police Station buildings, 1925.
“A view of the house paddock at the Station”.
1. the Cell
2. the Store
3. our Quarters
4. the Station
Image QP3842a believed to be taken by Constable William Spencer Osborne.

Charles Bateman was sworn into the Queensland Police on October 24, 1888 and served at Port Douglas, Montalbion, Herberton, Cooktown,  Musgrave, Piccaninny Creek and Cooktown before being transferred to Coen Township Police Station in 1895. Constable 1/c Bateman spent four years at the remote station before moving on in 1900 to Mount Morgan then Emu Park then Woodford in 1900.  Charles remained at Woodford for twelve years, before being Superannuated in 1912.  He lived out his days there and is buried in the Woodford Cemetery.

George Inkerman Smith was sworn into the Queensland Police on September 19, 1884 and served at Glenroy, McIvor and Laura police stations before the transfer to Coen Native Mounted Police Camp as Officer in Charge in 1894. Senior Constable Smith spent four years at Coen before moving on to Cardwell in 1898, Roma in 1900, Normanton in March 1901 and finally Turn-off Lagoon just one month later, where he died in September of that year and is buried at Egilabra, between Doomadgee and Burketown.

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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 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 – How to Capture Bush Rangers”  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

In 1895, William Parry-Okeden, succeeded Queensland Police first commissioner, Thomas Seymour. During Parry-Okeden’s relatively brief commissionership (1895–1905) the organisation expanded and underwent structural changes. In his report for 1897, Commissioner Parry-Okeden detailed the new developments that aimed to increase the education levels of the men in the service. He indicated that every effort was made to teach the police their duties, to fit them to perform their work credibly and to maintain discipline. Weekly classes of instruction in general knowledge and police duties were established and held on Wednesday nights at the Police Depot.

Police Depot, Petrie Terrace, 1901. Image No. PM0137 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

These were attended by all the members of the Force stationed at the Depot, as well as the recruits.

The first lecture introduced the office of constable:

• his influence on the community personal bearing
• demeanour towards public
• personal habits
• improvement in education, including study of law
• advice to parents neglecting children.

The lecture also addressed key topics such as muscular training (shooting, swimming, running, rowing and riding); temperance; self-respect; courtesy; thrift; coarse language; swearing; uniforms, religion and the Magistracy.

Group photograph of recruits in Petrie Terrace Police Depot, Brisbane, March 1899.
Back Row, L-R: Sgt T.McGuire; H R. Kenny, M Grady, L. Bell; F. Kingston, McEvoy, Kennedy, H. Clancy, J.J. Molloy, Front Row, L-R: D. McGrath, H. Young, W. Sloan, Shelford, B. Brimstone, Lester, McKenna, F. Hoge; P.W. Cowley. From a note found in file regarding photographs of Philip Webster Cowley, donated on 15.08.1996 by Robyn Raymond.
Image No. PM2366, courtesy of photographer Philip Webster Cowley and donor Robyn Raymond, 1996.

The lectures were published in 1899, the period the author claimed that witnessed changes of public attitudes to the police, noting that ‘the old prejudice against a constable just because he is a constable, is now seldom met with’, excluding the ‘pushes’ and the larrikins, of course. It emphasised that ‘many opportunities to do good work happen to the Police by the effect of their example and judicious advice, or remonstrance, upon the community.’

Cotter, Lectures Addressed to Police Recruits on the Powers, Duties, and Conduct of Police. Sydney: William Applegate Gullick, Government Printer, 1899.

Recruits’ training also consisted of drill, both squad and company, physical and dumb-bell exercises, and fatigue work as was necessary. Every afternoon the men read aloud, and were instructed in the various duties that they, as constables, would be called upon to perform. Those men deemed suitable were taught to ride the bicycle and care for the same. In addition, the Police Museum was used to educate recruits in the various methods employed by criminals. And finally, a course of ten ambulance lectures on ‘First Aid to the Injured’ was given to the city and Moreton Bay Division police by a medical doctor. The lectures were attended by 69 sub-officers and men, who now were considered capable to treat injured persons and if a situation required to instruct others.

The lecture series concluded with a quote from Sir Andrew Reed, the Irish Inspector-General and author of The Policeman’s Manual, Intended for the Use of the Royal Irish Constabulary, which urged the young constables to embrace the ‘spring-time of life and manhood’; aim high; ‘and if you decide to cast your lot with the Service for good, resolve that if for a few years God spares you, you will be amongst the sergeants, inspectors, and superintendents of the futures, or the fault will not be yours.’

Further Readings:

Dukova, Anastasia. A History of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and its Colonial Legacy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

‘First Lecture’, Cotter, Lectures Addressed to Police Recruits on the Powers, Duties, and Conduct of Police. Sydney: William Applegate Gullick, Government Printer, 1899.

Report of the Commissioner of Police for the Year 1897.

It is 35 years ago today, Deputy Commissioner Thomas Sydney Atkinson retired after a long and truly distinguished career in the Queensland Police Force.  Commencing as a Cadet on July 16^th, 1945, and preferring to be known as Syd, he progressed to the rank of Constable in 1948 and transferred from the Petrie Terrace Depot to Roma Street Police Station.  It was the first of many promotions and moves which took the young policeman to regional and coastal towns, and various city stations.

On April 19^th,1952, just 4 years after his official swearing in, Syd was recognised as a promising candidate for the Crime Investigation (CI) Bureau and joined the Brisbane contingent as a Plain Clothes Constable.  The next two decades brought transfers to various CI Bureaus including in Warwick, Charleville, Southport and back to Brisbane on May 17^th, 1975.  During the same period, promotions were granted, finally to the rank of Detective Inspector Grade 4.  Many prominent cases were investigated by Syd and the CI Bureau crews including the still unsolved murder in Mackay of 14-year-old Marilyn Joy Wallman in March 1972*, and arson and consequent deaths of 15 people attending Fortitude Valley’s Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in March 1973.

Whiskey Au Go Go fire and multiple murder investigation, March 1973.
From left to right : Inspect Les Bardwell, OIC Scientific Section, Detective Sergeant 1/c Thomas Sydney Charles Atkinson, unknown witness.
Image No. PM1903 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Promotion to the rank of Superintendent Grade 2 on September 4^th, 1978 coincided with taking on the challenging role to lead the entire South Eastern Region.  Further promotion to Assistant Commissioner on March 23^rd, 1981, also placed Syd in the position as head of security for the XII Commonwealth Games, held between September 30^th and October 9^th, 1982.  Confidential security planning commenced more than 4 years prior to the opening ceremony in Brisbane, with studies of security methodology employed during the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, in 1978, complementing methods employed to secure Queensland’s delivery of the event.  The highly ranked policeman candidly recalled being “ very relieved when I saw the Royal Highnesses jump into the car at the end of the Games.”

Mounted Police Unit during the XII Commonwealth Games QEII procession, Brisbane, September, 1982.
Image No PM2546 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

AC Thomas Atkinson was promoted to Deputy Commissioner on October 18^th, 1982 and awarded the Order of the British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of his work to co-ordinate security at the Games.  DC Atkinson retired on January 14^th, 1985, notching up almost 40 years employment with the Queensland Police Force since becoming a Cadet, 35 years as a police officer, made Gold Coast Father of the Year in 1980, and enjoyed 20 years retirement prior to his passing in 2005.

*A $500,000 reward is currently offered for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Marilyn Wallman.  Further information about the circumstances and who to contact with leads are contained here: Queensland Police Service / Help solve the murder of Wallman

Detective Constable John Kolence (left) and Detective Sergeant Thomas Atkinson travel to Mackay to investigate the murder of Marilyn Wallman, March 1972.
Image No PM1931b kindly donated by the Courier Mail.

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Written by Queensland Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier 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- Deputy Commissioner Thomas Atkinson” 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

Queensland Police ANZACs
William Harold Kenny (20 August 1887 – 15 May 1949)

168 Queensland policemen volunteered in the AIF, Constable William (Bill) Harold Kenny survived the war and resumed service upon his return in 1919. He retired in 1943.

William Harold Kenny. Image HO5515 courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.

William (Bill) Harold Kenny was born on 20 August 1887 in Guyra, New South Wales to parents Mary Kenny (neé Moore from Wollombi) and Michael Kenny, a farmer from Kilkenny, Ireland. Bill had two sisters, Rachel and Elizabeth, as well as an older brother Henry Butler, who also served with the Queensland Police Force. Elizabeth Kenny was a member of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) and later became famous for her methods for treating the victims of poliomyelitis.

Reference letter, courtesy of Queensland State Archives AF 4720

Prior to joining the Queensland Police Fore, Kenny served with the Citizen Forces. On 28 April 1914, supernumerary Bill Kenny was sworn in to the Queensland Police Force (Reg No 1852, QSA 4720), aged 26 years and 8 months. Constable Kenny was just over 6 feet tall, with brown eyes and hair, and of dark complexion. Before volunteering in the AIF, Constable WH Kenny received only one transfer, to Roma Street Police Station.

On 21 August 1914, the day after his 27th birthday, Private Kenny was appointed to ‘A’ Squadron at Enoggera, Regimental Number 171 (NAA AIF B2455, Item No 11563912). On 24 September 1914, he boarded the HMAT Star of England from Brisbane, as a member of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment.

HAMT Star of England. Image CO2483 courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.

Pte Kenny landed in Gallipoli with the 1st Division’s Mounted Military Police, ‘many of whom had been recruited from men who were civil policemen and good horsemen.’ (Police Bulletin, May 2016, p. 15) According to the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police centenary publication, the Military Police was raised from the corps alone with a formal approval for creation of the ANZAC Provost Corps granted by General Birdwood on 9 March 1916. A week later, Kenny arrived in Heliopolis and soon after was transferred to the Army Police Headquarters, where he was assigned to General Birdwood as a bodyguard.

On 18 May 1916, Pte Kenny was awarded “Medaille Militaire” by the President of the 3rd French Republic, Raymond Poincaré, in recognition for his distinguished service during the campaign. (Com of Aus Gazette, No 60, 18 May 1916). In June of the same year, Pte Kenny of 2nd ANZAC HQ, was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal ‘for conspicuous good work throughout this campaign frequently under shell fire.’ In July 1916, he embarked overseas with the 2nd ANZAC Police Force from Alexandria. Kenny continued to serve as a military policeman with Royal Australian Corps of Military Police (RACMP) on the Western Front in France until the end of the war.

Kenny continued to rise through the ranks and in January 1918 he was awarded a rank of Senior Sergeant. He was discharged on 4 March 1919 and returned to Brisbane four days later resuming his police duties, which he continued to perform for another 24 years.

Queensland Police and the Great War Effort, is a project by a policing historian Dr Anastasia Dukova, which connects personal, police and war service stories and histories of the Queensland Police who left active police duty to volunteer in the Australian Imperial Force.

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“Queensland Police ANZACs: William Harold Kenny” was written by Dr Anastasia Dukova, Crime and Policing Historian and Queensland Police Museum volunteer,  from the best resources available at the time of writing.

Further Readings:
Dukova, Anastasia. A History of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and its Colonial Legacy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Keith Banks BM VA and Bar served in the Queensland Police Service from 27 January 1975 to 10 February 1995. He was the recipient of 2 Police Valour Awards and the Bravery Medal and is one of the few police officers in Australia to have received the Valour Award twice. He was presented with the Valour Award and Bar by Commissioner of Police Jim O’Sullivan on 29 July 1994 at the Queensland Police Academy. To date he is the only police officer to have received both Valour Awards on the same day.

Detective Sergeant Banks being decorated with the Queensland Police Valour Award and Bar by Commissioner O’Sullivan at the Queensland Police Academy on 29 July 1994.
Image courtesy of Keith Banks

His first Valour Award was presented for his actions during Operation Flashdance on 29 July 1987. Then Senior Constable Banks was part of a Tactical Response Group assault team which entered a house in Virginia, Brisbane to arrest Queensland’s most wanted criminal, a violent armed robber and escapee from Long Bay Gaol. On entry the team was fired upon at close quarters by the offender which struck Senior Constable Peter Kidd and Constable 1/c Stephen Grant. Senior Constable Banks and another assault team member entered the bedroom where the offender was located and returned fire. The offender died at the scene and Senior Constable Banks went to the aid of Senior Constable Kidd who later died in hospital.

His second Valour Award was presented for his actions during a siege in the CBD of Brisbane. On 23 September 1993, a man entered the foyer of the MLC Building in George Street Brisbane armed with a rifle, hand grenade and an improvised explosive device consisting of 16 sticks of gelignite and 3 electronic detonators. He fired shots at random around the foyer and the situation quickly developed into a siege situation. Detective Sergeant Banks was nearby and responded to requests for any unit to attend. On arrival he entered the building and approached the man who was seated on the floor of the foyer. He commenced negotiating with the male and was joined by another Police officer. During the next hour and a half Detective Sergeant Banks successfully persuaded the male person to surrender the rifle, the hand grenade and the explosive device and surrender to police custody. During this time the male continually threatened to detonate the device to kill himself, Detective Sergeant Banks and the other officer.

Former Detective Sergeant Banks being decorated by the Governor of Queensland, Mrs Leneen Ford AC at Government House, Brisbane in 1995.
Image courtesy of Keith Banks

Keith Banks was also later awarded the Bravery Medal for his actions during the MLC siege. By this time, he had resigned from the Queensland Police Service. This medal was presented to him by the Governor of Queensland in 1995.

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This article was written by former Detective Sergeant Keith Banks for the Queensland Police Museum’s FROM the VAULT series.  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

In response to numerous reports of drunkenness and disorderly conduct among the miners and requests for police protection, on 21 April, 1895 a Police Station was opened at Coen. In the 1890s the township had a population of about 150, and consisted of post and telegraph offices, public house, stores, butcher shops and several residences.

The long road to Coen. Image Reference 7676 Courtesy of Pastor Roennfeldt Slides, John Oxley Library, SLQ.

The Police Station was located across the river, a quarter of a mile outside of the town proper.  As the Station was located on the opposite side of the Llankelly Creek, prisoners had to be taken over the suspension bridge, during all hours of day and night including the drunk and disorderly offenders.

At the time the Station had no cell, only ‘a log to chain prisoners up to for safety’. For the most part, offenders were either committed to Cooktown or discharged. In cases with sentences under one month, the term would expire before the prisoner and the escort would even reach Cooktown.

Police Station House at Coen, 1 August 1928. Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

On the night of the 1^st February, 1932, a fire broke out in the office at the Coen Police Station, caused by the accidental overturning of a kerosene lamp by the Officer in Charge, Acting Sergeant Watson. According to his report, Watson was finishing up on his day’s work, when his arm struck the lamp and overturned it, breaking the bowl and globe of the lamp, and causing an explosion. There was little damage done to the office, but the correspondence, which was then on the table, was destroyed.

In September, 1933 a wire notified the District Inspector at Cooktown of another fire at Coen Station. A benzene tin, used by A/Sergeant Watson for sponging his clothes in the kitchen not far from the cooking fire, exploded. The building and all the property it contained were destroyed. The whole lot of Watson’s personal belongings, including all his clothes, Underwood typewriter, and two gold watches perished in the fire. He estimated his total losses to be no less than £100. The reimbursement claim he later submitted was denied. The inquest into the accident yielded no conclusive results as to how the tin was ignited, being a fair way away from the stove.

Article from The Courier-Mail, Tuesday 27th March 1934.

The Station office and living quarters were temporarily moved into a previously deserted cottage situated on the police reserve.

In September, 1937 the Station was relocated to Coen proper. Having weathered the hurricane of 1943, the Police Station was moved once again in 1945.  After the final move in 1950 the station underwent a series of modernisations, such as electricity. The 1965 inspection report noted that the station was very well run, and particularly clean and tidy; while the town of Coen was very quiet and well conducted.

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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

“FROM the VAULT – The Long Road to Coen” was written by Dr Anastasia Dukova, Crime and Policing Historian and Queensland Police Museum volunteer,  from the best resources available at the time of writing.

Further Readings:
Dukova, Anastasia. A History of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and its Colonial Legacy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Sunday Lecture Series:
Fingerprints – Unique ID

Sunday, 23 February 2020
11:00am to 12:30pm

Police HQ,
200 Roma Street,
Brisbane  QLD  4000

FREE ENTRY

Matching fingerprints from a crime scene to an offender or using fingerprints to identify deceased persons such as disaster victims is a small part of Sergeant Tony Martinez’s role at the Queensland Fingerprint Bureau.

Sergeant Martinez is stationed at the Queensland Police Service Fingerprint Bureau and is the guest speaker for the Police Museum Sunday Lecture on February 23.

Sergeant Martinez has attended serious crime scenes, conducted countless laboratory examinations for fingerprint evidence, and is actively involved in continually identifying offenders by analysing and identifying latent fingerprints collected from crime scenes. Sergeant Tony Martinez is a qualified Fingerprint Expert, a qualification that is awarded by the Australasian Forensic Science Assessment Body and is recognised worldwide.

During his presentation, Sergeant Martinez will outline that fingerprint identification has been around for more than 100 years and is a cornerstone to the forensic discipline. The use of fingerprint identification helps identify offenders and place them at crime scenes, identifies disaster victims, and is a valuable biometric tool in busy airports all over the World.

Sergeant Martinez will also discuss the recent advances in fingerprint identification technology and image transmission, which provides Queensland police officers with valuable information to help solve crimes.  These advances, along with comparisons to past techniques will be discussed and examples will be given.

The one-and-a-half hour presentation will begin at 11am on Sunday, February 23 and will provide educational and up-to-date content suitable for all audiences.

oOo

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 February 23 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

The central district of nineteenth-century Brisbane boasted an array of public houses, shops, and hotels. Pugh’s Queensland Almanac listed an extraordinary number of businesses in the area. The city police court records reveal Queen Street, North Quay and the immediate streets, especially Albert Street, as notorious for number of public order offences as well as assaults. Male defendants on average outnumbered females four to one. Typically, women were brought up on charges of drunkenness, vagrancy and solicitation, and less frequently assaults.

With the rise in prominence of culture of sensibilities, Victorian-era women were fashioned as gentle creatures, incapable of aggression and violence. An ideal woman then was virtuous and pious. This simultaneously redefined previously commonplace sets of behaviours as felonious, and the Victorian-era police organisations, including the Queensland Police Force, were tasked with enforcing these morals and social norms. Female criminals were judged and penalised for profligacy and sexually depravity as well as criminality, betraying the gendered nature of the justice system. As a result, female offenders were often assigned harsher sentences than males for comparable offences.

Plan of the Fortitude Valley Women’s Prison, colloquially known as the Fortitude Valley Police Gaol.
In 1904, it became the Fortitude Valley Police Station. (Queensland Police Museum Collection PLFV01)

Susan Hegarty, alias McGowan also M’Gowan, aged 18 years first appeared before the police magistrates in July 1880 for using obscene language in a public place and was sentenced to a week in prison in default of paying the £2 fine. Between 1880 and 1890, she made 29 appearances in the police courts and prison records.[i] McGowan’s life trajectory that followed was common for a nineteenth-century working-class woman, who was unsuccessful in securing a domestic service job or factory employment or getting married. When faced with social persecution, these women often took control of their situation using any means available, including vagrancy. Since McGowan was already well known to the local police as she just became an adult and it would have been almost impossible for her to break out of the cycle of petty crime which also increased her chance of being victimised.

Between 1883 and 1885, McGowan was repeatedly assaulted by Joshua Stead, her pimp or boyfriend, or both.[ii] In The Larrikin Girl, cultural historian Melissa Bellanta asserts that ‘the violence dealt out to women by rough working-class youth known as “larrikins” lends a chill edge to the history of relations between sexes in late nineteenth-century Australia.’[iii] In 1885 only, McGowan was assaulted quite severely six times.

Further Reading:
Dukova, Anastasia. To Preserve and Protect: Policing Colonial Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, 2020. <https://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/Book.aspx/1537/To%20Preserve%20and%20Protect-%20Policing%20Colonial%20Brisbane>

[i] Dukova, A. To Preserve and Protect: Policing Colonial Brisbane, UQP 2020, 101.
[ii] ‘Return of Prisoners to be Discharged from Her Majesty’s Penal Establishment, St Helena, During the Month of March, 1885’, Queensland Police Gazette, March 1885, vol. 22 , no. 6, p. 105.
[iii] Bellanta, M 2010, ‘The Larrikin Girl’, Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 34, no. 4, p. 499.

In mid-January 1885, Joshua Stead pleaded guilty to assaulting Susan McGowan. He accused her of getting him two months’ imprisonment for an earlier assault, then knocked her down and kicked her two or three times. Stead was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with hard labour and sent to St Helena.[i] Two months later, McGowan was assaulted by another man named Brittan. Notoriety within the legal system made redress virtually impossible, locking women like McGowan in the cycle of abuse and abusing.[ii]

Albert Street, Brisbane, 1883: ‘on the corner with Mary Street, is the Gympie Hotel.’ (State Library of Queensland 2543)

In July 1885, McGowan was beaten up again in Albert Street, this time by James Feeney. The two constables who witnessed the assault stated that ‘Feeney knocked the girl down two or three times, cutting her mouth’. Feeney was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with hard labour.[iv] Despite these numerous assaults McGowan, her infamy in the system gave her a level of strength and independence in the colonial society. As cultural historian Melissa Bellanta argues, female ‘rowdies’ (such as McGowan), also known as ‘donahs’ or ‘molls’, had a much larger social role and formed a subculture of their own, independent of men.[v] Susan Hegarty, alias McGowan, was ‘a brazen larrikin girl’ in her own right.

By 1890, McGowan was ill and living at the ‘Chinese den’ in Lower Albert Street, Old Frog’s Hollow. On the north side of the street there was a row of nine shop-houses under one roof between Charlotte and Mary streets, which were colloquially referred to as ‘holes’. The hollow was a low-lying area with a stream running through it, which frequently flooded and flowed into the basements, backyards and premises of the workshops and stores.[vi]  According to the reports of medical health officer Dr Joseph Bancroft from March 1890, the area where McGowan lived was ‘very unhealthy to the residents.’ Judging by the infrequency of her police court appearances after the 1890 flood, McGowan’s health was impacted by the poor living conditions.

McGowan was only 28 years old when she died in a cab on the way to a hospital accompanied by her friend Mary Burns. The official cause of death was given as phthisis and exhaustion. She was buried at Toowong Cemetery on 9 April 1891 (16-4-6).[vii]

IMAGE: Susan Hegarty is buried in one of the unmarked graves in plot 16, Toowong Cemetery.

Sadly, McGowan’s fate was not unique. The nineteenth-century ideals about morality and the position of women in society meant female offenders had few options and were policed much more harshly than men, while being given little opportunity for reform or rehabilitation.

Further Reading:
Dukova, Anastasia. To Preserve and Protect: Policing Colonial Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, 2020. <https://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/Book.aspx/1537/To%20Preserve%20and%20Protect-%20Policing%20Colonial%20Brisbane>

[i] ‘City Police Court’, Brisbane Courier, 17 January 1885, p. 10.
[ii] Dukova, A. To Preserve and Protect: Policing Colonial Brisbane, UQP 2020, 109.
[iii] Cohen, K, Donoval, V, Kerr, R et al. 2014, Lost Brisbane and Surrounding Areas 1860–1960, Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Brisbane, p. 80.
[iv] ‘City Police Court’, Brisbane Courier, 4 July 1885, p. 6.
[v] Bellanta, M, ‘The Larrikin Girl’, Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 499–512.
[vi] Boomerang, 14 January 1888, p. 8.
[vii] Grave location: Toowong Cemetery 16-4-6

In the early decades of the force’s existence, a Brisbane city policeman was truly a jack-of-all-trades. Apart from the extensive policing duties (peace preservation, crime prevention, prosecution, beats) he was expected to fill the gaps in the civil service system. These were far from traditional police duties and they occupied a considerable portion of a policeman’s time. Even well into the twentieth century, the extraneous duties list contained on average fifty to seventy tasks.

Cartoon re extraneous duties of country police officers. Printed in Queensland Police Union Journal 1924.
Image No. PM1411 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

In his first report to the Parliament, Commissioner Seymour alluded to these duties, namely ‘summons-serving, acting as Clerks of Petty Sessions, rangers of Crown lands, inspectors of Slaughter-houses, district registrars of births, deaths, and marriages, and bailiffs of Courts of Requests — none of which duties are legitimately those of constables.’

In the two decades between 1904 and 1924 the list more than doubled. In 1904, police held thirty subsidiary appointments that included such diverse tasks as ‘customs officer’ and ‘secretary to marsupial board.’ By 1924 the list grew to seventy items, which ranged from more or less police related work as a ‘superintendent of prison or police gaol’ to a ‘ranger of reserves for the protection and preservation of native birds’ and an ‘observer at stream-gauging station for hydraulic engineer’. 

Consecutive commissioners voiced their dissatisfaction with the numbers of subsidiary duties and their impact on ‘legitimate police functions’. In many places, actual policing activity was superseded by the performance of these extraneous activities, the Police, as such, existed only in name.

Cartoon showing the burden of extraneous duties – printed in Queensland Police Union Journal 1932.
Image No. PM1367 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Towards the final decades of the century the range of these extraneous duties has decreased. However about one-third of man-hours still were taken up by work for the civic agencies.

The list of additional duties has further shrunk in the twenty-first century. Contemporary regulations at large reduced police responsibilities to only those duties that half a century prior would undoubtedly be deemed ‘legitimate police duties’: obtaining warrants, gathering evidence, making arrests and enforcing laws – or in a nutshell crime detection and prevention.

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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

 “Extraneous Police Duties”  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

We’d like to express our very best wishes to you during this challenging time from the team here at the Queensland Police Museum.

With the current status of COVID-19, our greatest priority currently is the health and safety of all our staff and you, our cherished Blog followers, Sunday Lecture listeners and visitors.

We have been directed to CLOSE the exhibition space and have made the decision to SUSPEND all booked visits and public programming from Wednesday 18 March for an initial two-month period.

We have also CANCELLED the next two Sunday Lectures scheduled for 29 March and 26 April and hope to be able to reschedule these topics for early 2021.

We encourage you to also follow our twitter feed @qpsmuseum for further updates. We are very grateful for your understanding.

Please look after yourselves.

Constable Oliver Peters with injured joey at Flaggy Rock Police Station, 1921. (QPM Image PM1123)

Last but not least, be kind to others.

We will get through this if we all work together.

The community is being reminded to adhere to social distancing principles and new restrictions in relation to indoor venues.

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is providing ongoing support to Queensland Health as part of a co-ordinated whole of government response to the COVID-19 situation.

A multi-agency taskforce operating under Task Force Sierra Linnet will ensure compliance with the new Chief Health Officer directions now in place for all pubs, registered and licensed clubs, gyms, indoor sporting venues, casinos and night clubs.

These measures are aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring overall public health and safety.

Police have certain powers under the Public Health Act 2005 (Qld) to ensure compliance with the intent of the legislation, and penalty provisions apply.

For more information regarding new regulations and health advice visit www.health.qld.gov.au.

The responsibility for road safety was shared by the Queensland Road Safety Council and Queensland Police which commenced a joint initiative in 1947.  In 1952 the Queensland Police rolled out a school-based education program about road safety, and in 1956 a Vincent HRD motorcycle was gifted to the service by the Department of Main Roads, the side car used to carry a projector and other equipment, transported to class rooms throughout Greater Brisbane.

Vincent HRD motorcycle with side car, c1956.
Pictured left to right: Fred Markwell, Chief Inspector Fred Palethorpe, Constable Bill English, Jack Duggan, Constable Eric Newman, Constable Tom Laurie, Police Commissioner Patrick Glynn and Sergeant Banjo Paterson.
Image number PM1075B courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In the early 1960’s, Triumph Saint motorcycles with a windshield fitted were used by police in Queensland.  The efficiency of solo motorcycles, their ease navigating heavy traffic and when parking, prompted a larger investment, and in 1972 the Traffic Branch took ownership of a fleet of Honda CB750 motorcycles, all bearing a wide cowling, solid panniers and police decals, several used by the Road Safety Bureau.

The following photographs show police officers of the Road Safety Bureau trying out these Japanese machines at the Police Garage, Petrie Terrace Depot, Brisbane.  The images were donated to the Queensland Police Museum by the family of Clifton Robinson. Clifton Robinson joined the Queensland Police on August 12, 1959 and was transferred to the Traffic Branch in 1960 and then the Road Safety Bureau in 1961, ending his career as a Constable 1/c in 1972.

Issue of new Honda CB750 motorcycles to the Traffic Branch Road Safety Bureau at the Police Depot Motorcycle Garage, 1972.
Image number PM34440e courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Image number 3440f courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Image number 3440g courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

This article was written by staff of the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone.  When reopened,  hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month, and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“New motorcycles for the Road Safety Bureau, 1972”  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 offence was Trespassing.  The location was an agricultural property 43 miles south of Mitchell named Albany Downs.  The homestead and acreage of Albany Downs met the Maranoa River to the east.  Tindal and Son owned the large parcel of land along with many others, including in Coolum and Grafton, New South Wales.  Hereford cattle was the focus for Charles Tindal and his family, with beasts processed by the Australian Meat Co. for distribution in Queensland and New South Wales, and a steady export of preserved meat to London, England.

Image ‘The Albany Downs Trial’. Pictured outside the Roma Courthouse, the defendant, witnesses and a police officer, c1910. Owner Queensland Police Museum.

Albany Downs was managed by John Keable in 1909, and it was on May 14 Mr Keable was proceeding from the homestead to the road when he met a drover named Clanchy.  The drover was herding approximately 1000 sheep along the river bank on the Albany Downs side.  Mr Keable approached and advised Clanchy he and the sheep were trespassing, and that even accounting for the inevitable spread of a herd, his actions were contrary to Section 230 of the Land Act.  Clanchy claimed to be following the stock route.

Donald A. Cameron, grazier and owner of the neighbouring property East Woodland, nearer to Mitchell, where the sheep had originated, was sued for trespassing and consequent depasturisation.  The case was heard in the Roma Supreme Court and described by newspaper Queenslander as an ‘Important Pastoral Case’ owing to the question of the stock route.  Witness testimony highlighted many variations to the terrain from fire which destroyed fences, gates and sheep brakes (approved resting places).  Drover Clanchy was questioned at length about his knowledge of the local stock routes.  Hillsborough grazier, Thomas Marsh, testified of his experience traversing the routes with and without stock.

Front page of The Wester Star and Roma Advertiser, June 12, 1909, courtesy of the NLA via Trove.

John Taylor, Roma Stock Inspector, provided a map obtained from the Chief Inspector of Stock. The map clearly indicated the district’s stock routes.  Theodore Reinhold, Surveyor, testified he produced maps of Queensland stock routes using records from the Lands Department.  The case was finally heard at Mitchell and after more witness testimonies, more controversy over the path of the stock route, and more discussion about the creation of maps, Mr W. Harris, PM, surmised the stock route to be unclear, the defendant therefore unwittingly depasturised the property.  Donald A. Cameron was fined 1 shilling, £2 2s professional costs, and £11 17s witness expenses as reported in The Western Star and Roma Advertiser, 12 June 1909.

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This article was written by Georgia Grier of the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone.  When reopened, hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month, and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- Depasturisation at Albany Downs” 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

Back by popular demand, more images from the Queensland Police Museum’s collection.  Here are four favourites chosen by our Museum Assistant, in chronological order.

A MOBILE PHONE
Sergeant Cecil Trower on his two-way radio equipped BSA motorcycle, c1956. This type of slow revving motorcycle was found to be most suitable for the rigors of motorcycle escorts. Image No. PM0414 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

AT EASE ON THE WATER
Senior Constable Richard Bartley, Constable Patricia Garnaut and Senior Constable Eric Webster, on the deck of Vedette 3, 1974. Image No. PM0304 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

A DOGS LIFE
Dog Squad Constable 1/c Terry Hawkins and Rex on a job, c1975.
Image No. PM1026 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

‘STOP, IT’S THE POLICE’
Constable Diana Hotchkis models the new female summer uniform consisting of a light blue safari jacket with dark blue pockets and bell bottom slacks, 1979. Note her matching blue eyeshadow. Image No. PM3642 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

RESCUE DOG
Sergeant 1/c Arthur Zillmann from the Traffic Branch protects a furry friend rescued from a car involved in a traffic crash on the Warrego Highway, Ipswich, c1985. Image No. PM1874b taken by an unknown newspaper photographer and donated to the Queensland Police Museum by Mr Zillmann.

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These are a few of Georgia Grier’s favourite images.  The museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone.  When reopened, hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month, and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT- My Favourite Images” 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

A delightful track, the Samford Cycle Link, is well tarred, line marked, sign posted, and winds through a cutting between Ferny Grove and Camp Mountain.  Great for social distancing exercise, the path in a dense bush setting follows the footprint of an old railway line which snaked from Ferny Grove to Samford between the official opening in June 1918 and May 1955.  Part way along the track, a plaque pays tribute to passengers and crew, both injured and killed, in a horror train derailment and crash on the section of line in 1947.

Newspaper clipping from the Queensland Times, 6 May 1947, courtesy of Trove.

It was to be a picnic lunch for employees of the Customs Department arranged by their Social Club for the Labour Day public holiday.  The Queensland Times described the crash and quick reaction by emergency services in their edition printed on May 6^th, 1947:

‘The train left Brisbane at 8.57am, and consisted of seven carriages and a water gin.  Its total load was estimated at 500 [people], including 150 children.  At Ferny Grove, last stop before the crash, about 100 people alighted, most of them from the two front carriages which bore the brunt of the crash.  Passing the crest of Samford Range, the train began to run down a two-mile grade at 9.53am.  Within a minute it reached a high speed.  Swaying and rocking, with women and children starting to scream in several carriages, it approached a sharp bend.  Half-way round the bend, the leading carriage jumped the rails.  Between this point and the end of the cutting, the engine rolled over and ploughed into an embankment.  A coal tender followed and dug in nose first.  The 20-foot water gin was wrenched free from the tender and struck by the leading carriage, the body of the tank being telescoped back through the centre of the carriages sweeping the entire fittings and mangled bodies before it.

Fourteen ambulances and five police wireless cars, police cyclists, and three trucks loaded with police raced to the scene.  By nightfall, searchlights had been rigged and the search was being continued for the missing people, a few of whom are believed to be dead.’

The following images are a small selection taken at the Camp Mountain crash scene in 1947.  Images are supplied by the State Library of Queensland via Trove.

Police maintain watch as crowds gather. Image courtesy of the State Library of Queensland.

Uniformed officers attend to a female survivor. Image courtesy of the State Library of Queensland.

Rescuers including a policeman inspect the wreckage. Image courtesy of the State Library of Queensland.

Police and rescue workers stretcher a body from a carriage. Image courtesy of the State Library of Queensland.

An inquiry commenced, the members on the Board included Brisbane Justice Alan Mansfield, Queensland University Engineering School’s Professor Hawken and Australian Federal Union of Locomotive Employees State President, Mr Trewin, and attended the scene to view the train wreck. The inquiry established excessive speed not accounting for the curve, downhill run and camber of the railway track caused the locomotive and attached carriages to sway alarmingly, derail and crash.  The inquiry heard testimony over the ability of a driver to judge speeds as ‘speedometers were extremely sensitive instruments, and if placed on locos were apt to become out of order and register incorrectly.  It was obvious that a speedometer not registering correctly would be more of a danger than a safeguard if the driver relied on it’ (Cairns Post, Wednesday 2 July 1947, Pg 5).

The Court heard evidence that the driver, fireman and guard in charge of the locomotive were all competent in their respective duties including judging speeds, and were competent to support one another in the joint operation of the locomotive.  The Court heard witness testimony from train passengers who relayed details of the journey, including their observations of the speeds travelled over the terrain covered, the movement of the carriages and the mechanical and impact noises they heard.  This evidence was used to examine the actions of the crew, and later to determine the compensation payable to passengers and staff who survived the crash and settle on payments to the estates of the deceased.

The disaster caused the deaths of sixteen passengers and crew, 38 people sustained serious injuries.  The deceased train driver, H.C. Hind, fireman A.C. Knight and surviving train guard, G.E.Evans, were found guilty of a lack of care and breach of duty.  The section of track outbound from Ferny Grove was decommissioned in 1955.

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This article was written by Georgia Grier of the Queensland Police Museum with resources gathered from TROVE.  The museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone.  When reopened, hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month, and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – A Reflection on the Camp Mountain Derailment Disaster” 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

168 Queensland policemen volunteered in the AIF. Constable Patrick James Moynihan joined the war effort in October 1914. He was assigned to the now legendary 9^th Battalion.

Patrick James Moynihan (pictured right). Image PM2277 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Patrick James MOYNIHAN was born in Allora, Queensland to Patrick and Kate, neé Carolan (also Catherine Carolin). (Reg 1888/C/2655) In addition to Patrick James, his parents had 11 children, 8 girls and 4 boys; two of the children died in infancy.

Moynihan worked on the railways at Wallangarra for two and a half years before joining the Queensland Police Force on 20 February 1913. In April, Supernumerary Moynihan had to be hospitalised with typhoid fever, which extended his training period by more than a month. On 4 July 1913, he was sworn in four and a half months after his recruitment (Reg no 1749). The application described Moynihan as just under six feet tall, measuring 40 inches across the chest, of ruddy complexion with fair hair and blue eyes. He was single upon entry. His policing career was brief, and he received only one transfer. Constable Moynihan was stationed at Fortitude Valley in Brisbane when Australia joined the War.

Constable Moynihan enlisted in the AIF (No 1130) on 17 October 1914, and was assigned to the 9th infantry Battalion, 1st Reinforcement. The 9th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF. It was also the first battalion recruited in Queensland. On the 22 December 1914, Private Moynihan boarded His Majesty’s Australian Transport (H.M.A.T) A.32 “Themistocles” at Melbourne and sailed to Egypt. (NAA Item 7985473, p. 21)

9th Battalion A.I.F. marching through Queen Street, Brisbane, 1914. Image is from the collection of the State Library of Queensland, negative number 65586.

Private Moynihan arrived at Mena Camp on 9 February 1915 joining the rest of the contingent for training. On 25 April 1915, the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead.

According to Joseph Moynihan’s statement, his brother Patrick James ‘was among the first to make the landing at Anzac Cove on the morning of 25/5/15 and with a great many others advanced overfar towards the Narrows. It was then found necessary to retreat and in the retreat he was supposed to have been shot in the head but his mates had not had time to obtain his identification disc.’ (NAA Item 7985473, p. 62)

‘Killed in Action’, courtesy the National Archives of Australia Item 7985473, p. 26.

Following the inquiry and official confirmation of Patrick’s death, Joseph Moynihan lodged a request to receive the military honours on behalf of his brother. However, he was informed as a closest living relative, Patrick’s daughter was to receive the medals. Mary Malcolm Cameron was born on 12 June 1915, just 3 weeks after Patrick was killed in Turkey. It is likely Patrick did not know his sweetheart Ruby Cameron was pregnant when he left Australia in December 1914. Mary lived with her mother in Brisbane’s inner-city suburb of Greenslopes

Moynihan’s name is listed on the Queensland Police Service Memorial, which was opened on November 2018 and is located at 80 George Street, Brisbane.

The new Queensland Police Memorial, Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Queensland Police and the Great War Effort, is a project by a policing historian Dr Anastasia Dukova, which connects personal, police and war service stories and histories of the Queensland Police who left active police duty to volunteer in the Australian Imperial Force.

Further Readings:

Norman K. Harvey. From Anzac to the Hindenburg Line: the history of the 9th Battalion, A.I.F. Brisbane: Willian Brooks & Co. for the 9th Battalion A.I.F. Assoc., 1941.

1919. M. Wrench. Campaigning with the fighting 9th: (in and out of the line with the 9bn A.I.F.) 1914-1919.Spring Hill, Qld: Boolarong for 9thBattalions Association, 1985.

29785 James Dundee Bostock Diary 1915, John Oxley Collection, SLQ.

In the last months of 1918, Australia was preparing for an outbreak of a novel influenza. The Commonwealth Government became aware of the new virus in July that year. Locally, it was known as ‘Pneumonic Influenza’ but internationally, it was called the ‘Spanish Influenza’. Spain was mistakenly identified as the origin of the outbreak when the Spanish king fell ill, and reports of his sickness emerged. In reality, pockets of disease were registered at the London Hospital and Aldershot barracks from 1915 onward. The disease first reached epidemic proportions in garrisons throughout the US in 1918. It then travelled with the American troops to France and eventually across Europe.[i]

In November 1918, the federal conference in Melbourne regulated Australia’s response to the looming health-threat. Ships that arrived with an infected person aboard were mass-inoculated and quarantined. The first case on shore was registered in January 1919, in Melbourne. Soon after, the virus spread to Sydney. Anticipating an outbreak, the Australian states gradually closed borders. While trying to curtail the spread, the Commonwealth Government ordered compulsory inoculations of its staff. Some refused to comply.

G.1521/19 Memo. Inoculation of Public Servants Against Influenza. NAA Item 48707

In February 1919, Queensland applied to the Commonwealth Government for a restraining order to prevent returning troops from landing at a mainland quarantine station. Nevertheless, on 4 February, 260 soldiers landed and were quarantined at Lytton. Four soldiers broke quarantine that very night.[i]

The disease was extraordinarily virulent, with a mortality rate of 2.5% among the infected. There were reports of people seeming healthy in the morning and dead by evening. It was more common for the illness to last 10 days followed by weeks of prolonged recovery. A range of sources all described the early signs of infection as ‘a chill or shivering, followed by headache and back pain. Eventually, an acute muscle pain would overcome the sufferer, accompanied by some combination of vomiting, diarrhoea, watering eyes, a running or bleeding nose, a sore throat and a dry cough.’[ii] Cyanosis, a bluish tinge to the skin, was a tell-tale sign of this infection. The flu, or grippe, infected roughly 2 million Australians in a population of about 5 million.

Despite a range of preventative actions, widespread infection and quarantine measures lead to significant food and medical supplies shortages. Brisbane saw its water supply installation interrupted (every link in the work chain broke down because of the virus). Telephone exchange was disrupted, telegraph, postal services, banks and gas supply.[iii]

Annual reports presented by Police Commissioner Urquhart to the Parliament indicated Queensland police resources were stretched. Although the department nearly caught up with the personnel shortages following the war, there were still not enough officers ‘to meet requirements and carry a full 8-hour day’.[iv] Commissioner Urquhart attributed it to the stress and strain ‘due to the requirements of the Border Patrol during the Influenza Epidemic and the prevalence of industrial troubles in the state, as large groups of men had to be deployed at various localities’.[v] Wallangarra, Goondiwindi, Killarney and Stanthorpe were among key border entry points, with Wompah, Hungerford, Wooroorooka and Hebel added later.

H. Rickard. ‘Women on the bridge photographed with an official. A tent is erected probably during the influenza epidemic. Restrictions due to the epidemic hampered interstate trade.’ JOL 194297.

During one of these patrols, Constable George Ruming (Reg No 1217) was seriously injured on duty. Constable Ruming was ‘patrolling the borders to enforce the quarantine regulations in the vicinity of Hungerford, when his horse fell and he was badly hurt, being knocked unconscious.’ [vi] He resigned from duty in October.

Between March and June 1919, 16 men were charged with breaching Pneumonic Influenza Regulations with fines ranging from £2 to £20.[vii] Most men charged were locals with the addition of two sailors from British Columbia, Canada.

An outbreak among the police stationed in Petrie Terrace and Roma Street barracks in Brisbane followed in mid-May 1919. In Petrie Terrace 25 out of 44 policemen had to be hospitalised and 20 out of 117 men got sick in Roma Street.[viii] The total strength of ordinary constables in Brisbane stood at 269. This means a third of that number, or approximately 90 constables, would have been available for the round-the-clock 8-hour-shift to police a population of 190,000. A loss of nearly 50 men to infection would have been an extraordinary strain on the department.

Constable Michael Joseph Flynn (Reg No 988; 2231), who was stationed at Petrie Terrace depot when he got sick,  was the first police officer to die from influenza. He died  few days after hospitalisation at the Isolation Hospital set up in the Exhibition Grounds. Constable Flynn’s family was also hospitalised, a week earlier. Michael’s wife, Mary Beatrice, succumbed to the disease soon after being admitted, on 12 May. One of their two children was reported to be in critical condition.[ix] Mary Agnes was 4-years-old at the time and Michael was 6. They both survived the infection.[x]

Page 25 of the Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander, 1 March 1919. JOL Image number: 702692-19190301-0025

The following month, on 10 June, Constable Herbert James Kelly (Reg No 863; 710) also married with two children, died from influenza in Roma.[i] Both constables were Queenslanders and long-serving policemen.

On 11 June Acting Sergeant Hennessy and Constable Muir of Toowoomba Police Station were taken to the hospital suffering from influenza.[ii] They both recovered. The total death toll for the force was two officers, Constables Flynn and Kelly.

The same week, on 14 June 1919, Dr Clark inoculated the Cairns police contingent,[iii] most likely with little effect, as agreed-upon standards for vaccines were still lacking.[iv] However, if nothing else, these vaccination attempts helped ‘to deconstruct existing biomedical knowledge’ which undoubtedly aided epidemiological advances that benefit us today.[v] In 1997, the 1918 pneumonic influenza was identified as the H1N1 Influenza A of swine and human subgroup. It is now part of a routine vaccination programme.[vi]

[i] Oxford, JS (2000), ‘Influenza A pandemics of the 20^th century with special reference to 1918: virology, pathology and epidemiology’, Reviews in Medical Virology, Vol 10, pp. 120-21.

[i] ‘In the Country. Reports from Various Centres’, Brisbane Courier, 11 June 1919, p.10.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] ‘Influenza. Inoculation of Police’. Cairns Post, 14 Jun 1919, p. 5.

[iv] Eyler, John M (2010). ‘The State of Science, Microbiology, and Vaccines Circa 1918’, Public Health Reports, Supplement 3, Vol 125, p. 33.

[v] Ibid., p. 35.

[vi] Taubenberger, J., Reid, A., Krafft, A., Bijwaard, K., & Fanning, T (1997). ‘Initial Genetic Characterization of the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza Virus.’ Science, 275(5307), 1793-1796.

[i] Hodgeson, Patrick G (2017). Flu, Society and the state: the political, social and economic implications of the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic in Queensland. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/52042/1/52042-hodgson-2017-thesis.pdf, p. 122.

[ii] Bongiorno, Frank (2020). ‘How Australia’s response to the Spanish flu of 1919 sounds warnings on dealing with coronavirus.’ The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-australias-response-to-the-spanish-flu-of-1919-sounds-warnings-on-dealing-with-coronavirus-134017

[iii] Ibid., p. 254.

[iv] Annual Report by the Commissioner of Police, 1919, p. 1.

[v] Ibid.

[vi] ‘Mishap to a Patrol’, Darling Downs Gazette, 19 Mar 1919, p. 5.

[vii] Queensland Police Gazette, January-December 1919.

[viii] Annual Report by the Commissioner of Police, 1919, p.

[ix] ‘Influenza. Death of Police Constable. Whole Family Affected.’ Telegraph, 17 May 1919, p. 7; Mary Flynn 1919/B/29369

[x] Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages 1915/C/7337; 1913/B/33522

The article was researched and written by Dr Anastasia Dukova. The Queensland Police Museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone.  When reopened, hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month. QPM is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

‘FROM the VAULT – Queensland Police and Pneumonic Influenza, 1919’ 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 will soon feature in Season 2 of My favourite item: unravelling Brisbane’s history piece by piece, a collection 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’ve made the tough decision to choose a favourite and fascinating item to be examined with presenter Kirsten Murray, the conversation to be released on Soundcloud and Apple Podcasts.

Did we choose horse tack?  See the saddle peeking up from the base of this display cabinet?  This equipment came from the team previously known as the Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad.  Now known as the Major and Organised Crime Squad (Rural) the specialist squad investigates and prevents major and organised crime in rural Queensland.

Will we chat about swords?  We have a collection of genuine Queensland Police Force ceremonial swords, and more recent commemorative swords including these limited editions; the Queensland Police 120^th Anniversary sword, the Bi-centennial sword of 1988 and the World Expo 88 sword.  This image (PM2255), c1912, shows fourteen members of the Brisbane Mounted Police outside the Petrie Terrace Police Depot complete with ceremonial uniforms and swords.

Perhaps we’ll showcase a crime; the 1949 murders on Ocean Island including the lethal weapon located by Queensland police which helped to convict the offender; the Wickham Terrace bombing in 1955 with grisly images and pipe bomb remnants; or the case of a gem stone fraud, valued at $900,000 in 1983.

Keep a look out for the release of our segment, and whilst you’re there, have a listen to other episodes in My favourite item: unravelling Brisbane’s history piece by piece.

Find us on Soundcloud or Apple Podcasts, with links to both here;
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/my-favourite-item/id1476359023
https://soundcloud.com/blhn/myfavitemintro

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Brisbane’s Living Heritage Network connects the community with member sites located across the greater Brisbane area.  The story of Brisbane is a journey of discovery and each member site listed on the BLHN website, of which the Queensland Police Museum is one, adds a special chapter to Brisbane’s story.  It is the vision of BLHN to inspire residents and visitors to value, enjoy and share Brisbane’s rich heritage and unique stories.

The Queensland Police Museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone.  When reopened, hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month, and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au