In March 1979, Police Constable Maureen Maud Chantler (later Aspinall), registered number PW128, was subpoenaed to attend the Crown Court in Winchester, England, to give evidence in The Queen v Geoffrey Garner case.

After giving evidence, Constable Chantler was attached to New Scotland Yard, London, to obtain witness statements in Spear Creek triple homicide at Mount Isa.

Daily Mirror London, 30 March 1979

Unknown London Newspaper, 30 March 1979

Below is her recollection of the cases:

In 1979, I received a subpoena to attend the Crown Court, Winchester, United Kingdom to give evidence in the matter of The Queen V Geoffrey Garner. Throughout the previous months, I had provided statements of evidence to the Hampshire Constabulary regarding a complaint of Maureen Garner had previously made to me.

It was a long winded and convoluted process providing statements to the Basingstoke Constabulary due to the fact that they had to be forwarded by mail. Those statements were then vetted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK. The CPS intended that I could refute Garner’s assertions that he lived in the wild west of Australia where firearms were required by landowners. The accused asserted to Hampshire police that kangaroos and dingoes roamed wild in Wynnum North, and that he used his firearm to shoot them on his house block. Following the void-dire, Judge Ackner ruled that I had the ability to give this evidence.

In 1977, Garner’s wife and a male person made a complaint of domestic violence against him to me at the Wynnum CIB. During this interview, they indicated they were immediately moving to New Zealand and would not be returning to Australia. I conducted an interview with Garner at his Wynnum North residence during which he denied the allegations put to him. At this time, I took possession of his firearm.

In Basingstoke, Hampshire, Garner was charged with unlawfully wounding his ex-wife, some twelve months after I had interviewed him in Wynnum. Being aware that his ex-wife and partner had moved to England, Garner travelled there with the intention of finding her. Upon confronting her, Garner dragged her from a motor vehicle and stabbed her in the chest twice with a paper knife. He was charged with several violent offences.

Prior to the trial starting, there was a void-dire to test my evidence without the jury being present. The Judge, Sir Desmond Ackner, agreed with my ability to give evidence of similar acts/facts. Therefore, I was required to give my evidence twice.

Whilst Garner caused serious physical injury to his wife, she certainly bruised his ego with her evidence and subsequent reporting of the trial in English papers. Due to the salacious nature of the evidence given by the complainant, this case was widely reported in the UK. Garner was found guilty and Judge Ackner sentenced him to three years imprisonment.

I found giving evidence in this matter quite different to giving evidence in Queensland courts. When the judge entered the court, he wore an ornate three-cornered hat. Witnesses were required to remain standing whilst in the witness box. The defence barrister asked questions only once, and his voice was never raised. I found this so different to giving evidence in Queensland courts.

I learnt that Judge Ackner was a keen cricket fan. During a court break, when the accused was removed to the down stairs’ cells, Judge Ackner questioned me about Kerry Packer’s introduction of World Series Cricket. Not being a fan of cricket, I was unable to cast much light on the subject.

After I had given evidence, Judge Ackner took me on a tour of the Crown Court building, where I was introduced to other Crown Court judges. He also arranged a tour of Winchester Cathedral, where the Queen was intending to hand out purses of ‘Maundy Pennies’ to citizens of Winchester on Maundy Thursday, in celebration of Winchester Cathedral’s 900th Anniversary.

On 30 March 1979, I then travelled to New Scotland Yard, where I was required to interview potential witnesses to the Spear Creek triple murder which occurred in October 1978. The three murder victims had each been shot with a single .22 calibre bullet to the head. The decomposed bodies were found lying in the dry riverbed of Spear Creek, some 12 kms from Mount Isa. The victims were travelling by motorcycle from Alice Springs and Hermannsburg Mission to Mount Isa. On their journey, they met up with several British backpackers, who had agreed to provide witness statements. Some of these witnesses attended at New Scotland Yard, where I took their statements. Later, with the assistance of Detective Sergeant Yvonne Gratehead, I interviewed other witnesses at Bath and Bristol. To this date, no person has been charged with these murders.

On arrival at New Scotland Yard, I was assigned to a Criminal Investigation Squad. Shortly afterwards, I was horrified to hear a very loud explosion, which shook the building. This detonation was caused by Irish National Liberation Army supporters, who had positioned a bomb in the motor vehicle of Airey Neave, the Member of Parliament for the seat of Abington, in Northern Ireland. As he was departing the House of Commons’ carpark, the assassination was carried out and caused the death of Airey Neave. Whilst the Palace of Westminster was very close to New Scotland Yard, I was assured by detectives that the windows and curtains in the building [were] ‘bomb proof’. As this was an act of terrorism, security in London was on high alert.

New Scotland Yard was not an open police station for the reporting of crimes. To gain entry, I was required to produce my Australian passport which was checked for its authenticity on each occasion. Any vehicles entering the building were thoroughly checked with underneath mirrors, and passengers were not permitted in the car park. Detectives used their own vehicles and claimed a mileage allowance when police vehicles were not available. Unlike the Brisbane CIB in 1970-80’s, witnesses and defendants were interviewed in rooms in the basement of the building.

New Scotland Yard had a police club, known as ‘The Tank’, which was also in the basement. This club could only be frequented by serving police officers. There, I socialised with many bobbies (male officers) and WPC’s (female officers). Whilst there was no view, the company was excellent.

I was also given a tour of the Police Museum, known as the Black Museum, which was not opened to the general public. This museum was used as a CID training tool for prospective detectives. The exhibit pertaining to the Kray brothers, the notorious gangsters from London’s East End, was most interesting. The battering ram, known as Big Bertha, was proudly displayed, as this was used in a drug bust that involved the Rolling Stones.

Being required to travel to the UK to give this evidence and take statements in relation to the Spear Creek murders was, indeed, a unique experience for myself as a young female Detective. This memorable experience enhanced my ability as an investigator in the Queensland Police Force.

News of the World London, 1 April 1979

This story was written using materials provided by Maureen Maud Aspinall (nee Chantler), formerly PW 128.  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 by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

“FROM the VAULT –  Constable Maureen Chanlter at New Scotland Yard, 1979” 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

Police in Queensland have been tasked with enforcing liquor licensing and trading laws since before its centralisation in 1864. In the previous year, the Publicans Act reduced the licensing of public houses to publicans and packet licences (ship). It provided that ‘no spirituous or fermented liquors shall be sold without a license, under a penalty of £30 for the first offence, and £30 to £50 for every subsequent offence.’ In addition to attempts to control public intoxication, fines levied were a consistent stream of revenue for the public purse.

In 1900, the Truth newspaper criticised inadequate attempts by the police to curtail illicit distillation and sale:

The majority of these dens are sly grog shops, where the illicit rum and beer is dispensed as openly as in any licensed pub. The police officials have stated that they are not aware that any such sly grog shops are carrying on their unlawful trade. Well, if they are not aware of it, they are the most ignorant men in the community, for that things are as we say is well known even to the man in the street.

Enforcing licensing laws was an arduous job for the police, as seen from literal trials and tribulations of Constable Bennett and Bee (Part 1 and Part 2).

To ensure a successful prosecution, a witness was required of the sly grog sale. During the World War Two years and immediately after, it became a common practice for undercover police to complete the sale before their uniformed colleagues would execute the arrest. The following is an account by Albert Austin Montague, an American and former WWII Submariner and retired Sergeant Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, now deceased, of time spent in Brisbane, on sly grog patrol:

Submariner Albert A. Montague, c1941.
Image courtesy of Young’s Funeral Home, Tigard, Oregon

In the early part of 1945 I was transferred from the U.S.S. STINGRAY to the submarine relief crew based in Brisbane, Australia.  I spent a very short time in the relief crew before being transferred to the shore patrol, and was then loaned to the [Queensland] Police Department’s bootleg detail.  Our main function was to buy illegal whiskey from anyone who would sell it to us.  My partner and I would operate with four Queensland police officers and acting very drunk we would go to known bootlegger’s houses and buy bottles of whiskey.  After making the buy we would tip our hats and the four police officers would make the arrest.

Two of the arrests stand out in my mind as being somewhat unusual.  The first is when we made a buy from a female and when the officers arrested her, her husband went berserk.  It seems that he had just been released from a 6 month jail term that morning and low and behold they were taking his wife away for another 6 months!  I would have hollered too.  The second [memorable case] case occurred when we were attempting to make a buy from a group of men and had a marked patrol car pass by.  The leader of the gang accused us of being undercover agents for the police and pulled a gun.  We had not as yet made a buy so could only talk our way out of the situation.  We finally got clear of the gang and advised the officers of what happened and they arrested them.  We felt kind of funny riding next to them in the police car.

Sketch of a Spirit Still.
Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

My partner and I worked from 1500 hours to 2300 hours every other day.  Another thing that happened later on our tour with the [Queensland] Police Department was when we would encounter suspects that we had help arrest before and would again buy illegal whiskey from them which would lend to there being arrested once again.  After being in law enforcement for 20 years I can appreciate the professional way in which the [Queensland] police officers protected us during our tour on Brisbane bootleg detail.

The sly grog sellers were catching on and growing suspicious as well as more cautious. In 1947, women police were utilised for undercover work though they did not have full powers and could not arrest the perpetrator. In her recollections, Muriel Bath (later Beresford), 21WP, describes her experience working with the detectives in Fortitude Valley:

Muriel Beresford (nee Bath)

I was dressed casually and one of the young detectives was dressed casually and we were passing ourselves off as a young couple, you know. He had his arm around me and giving me a squeeze and all this business as we got near this place. And of course this was before mobile phones and we had to go in and see if there was any sly grog etc and see if we could buy any and if we were successful, when we got outside I was to stand under the nearest lamp and powder my nose. So we went into this awful place and the fellow sold us this stuff. Then we got outside, we went under the light which was quite near and I brought out a powder puff and was dabbing my nose like that and then the detectives closed in. One detective grabbed me and took me and put me in a car right away from the business and the others went and they got him.

The content was written by Dr Anastasia Dukova in collaboration with Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier using interviews with Albert A. Montague and Muriel Beresford (nee Bath) 21 WP. This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.

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 by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

“FROM the VAULT – Illicit Distillation and Sly Grog Patrol” 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 Native Mounted Police operated for over 50 years, from 1849 until 1904. It was organised along paramilitary lines, consisting of detachments of Aboriginal troopers led by white officers. It operated across the whole of Queensland and was explicitly constituted to protect the lives, livelihoods and property of settlers and to prevent (and punish) any Aboriginal aggression or resistance.

The Archaeology of the Queensland Native Mounted Police is a multi-institutional Australian Research Council-funded project, it investigates the range of historical archaeological evidence for Native Mounted Police (NMP) life, frontier conflict including their activities, living and working conditions, the domestic and hierarchical arrangements in camps, and the oral histories held by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people about troopers, officers, the camps and conflict.

Mapping surface artefacts at Boulia NMP camp

By investigating the material evidence for the range of responses to the presence and activities of the NMP, the project explored the relationship between the NMP and local Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal people. It charted this across key areas of Qld in order to examine the evolution of the NMP system and the unfolding of the frontiers it created. Additionally, the project compared and contrasted material culture and memory to explore a range of questions about how we understand frontier conflict, the process of colonialism and its effects, settler society’s relationships with Aboriginal peoples both then and now, and how such complexities may provide opportunities to reflect on our colonial history.

Excavation squares in the interior of a stone structure – Boulia NMP camp

As a result, 148 NMP camps were identified across Queensland. The archaeological excavation of seven of them lead to a successful PhD project  and 12 academic publications, as well as an extensive publicly accessible research data base https://frontierconflict.org/.  This database derived from this 4 year-long investigation and is the only publicly available historical and archaeological dataset of the lives and activities of the NMP in Queensland. The excavations conducted for this project were the first archaeological investigations of any Native Police force operating anywhere in Australia and have confirmed the extent and scope of NMP operations and the widespread and persistent Aboriginal resistance to European incursions from the mid 19^th century onward.

Compacted ant bed floor, interior of officers quarters Boralga NMP camp, Laura. Located using Ground Penetrating Radar.

This research was a multi institutional Australian Research Council funded project involving the following:

Associate Professor Heather Burke, Flinders University
Professor Bryce Barker, University of Southern Queensland
Dr Lynley Wallis, University of Notre Dame Australia
Emeritus Professor Iain Davidson, University of New England
Dr Noelene Cole, James Cook University
Ms Liz Hatte, Northern Archaeology Consultancies
Mr Col McLennon, Jangga Prescribed Body Corporate and Jangga Operations
Professor Larry Zimmerman, Indiana Purdue University

The Sunday Lecture hosted by the Queensland Police Museum on 27 September will provide an overview of the latest findings now that the project is nearing completion.

This post was written by guest contributor Prof Bryce Barker, an archaeologist from the University of Southern Queensland.  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 by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

“FROM the VAULT –  The Archaeology of the Queensland Native Mounted 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

Warning: Images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, now deceased, are located within this article and will be displayed during the presentation.

Sunday, 27 September 2020
11:00am to 12:30pm

Police HQ, 200 Roma Street,
Brisbane  QLD  4000

PLEASE REGISTER HERE

The Native Mounted Police were a crucial force for race relations and the main colonising instrument across all new mining and pastoral districts in 19th century Queensland.  Before the completion of the Archaeology of the Queensland Native Mounted Police project – a 5 year multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research project, we knew little of their domestic, workforce or disciplinary organisation, the hierarchical relationships between Aboriginal troopers and European officers, the roles played by Indigenous women and the interconnections between the NMP, local Aboriginal groups and non-Aboriginal transients and settlers.

This Sunday Lecture will be presented by Archaeologist Bryce Barker from the University of Southern Queensland, who, as part of the project, has most recently been out in the field excavating NMP Camp sites and talking to local Indigenous peoples. In a previous lecture, presented at the beginning of the project in 2016, he outlined how through archaeological research the project aimed to integrate and analyse the full range of information and documentation of hitherto unrecorded aspects of the frontier experience.  This follow up lecture presents the final results of this 5-year project culminating in the launch of the publicly accessible database which contains 11,000 documents, records for over 170 NMP camps, records 1800 different conflict events as well as primary archival documents on the lives of 400 officers and 850 Aboriginal troopers, highlighting the crucial role of the NMP to the colonisation of Queensland in the face of sustained Aboriginal resistance.

About the Presenter

Prof Bryce Barker has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and an Honours and PhD in Archaeology from the University of Queensland. His research focusses on reconstructing Indigenous pasts in the Australasian region through archaeology and anthropology with an emphasis on Australian Aboriginal Hunter-Gatherer Societies. This research is community-based and involves working in partnership with indigenous communities. Prof Barker has published widely in both national and international journals and currently have research projects in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, on the central Queensland coast and in the western Gulf of Papua in Papua New Guinea.

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, September 27 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Contact by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

Between 1914 and 1918, nearly 200 Queensland policemen volunteered to fight in the First World War, or nearly 20 per cent of the total contingent between 1914 and 1916, the year with the highest numbers enlisting. This number is significantly larger, by almost half, than was initially obtained from the lists circulated internally or quoted in the CoP Annual Reports, 128 men. Many of these men were assigned to the British Expeditionary Forces and fought and died in Turkey and Egypt, the battalions were heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. Many more perished on the Western Front.

Photograph of the landing on Gallipoli beach by ANZAC troops Turkey 1915, JOL, SLQ

The names of the 30 men, on leave from their policing roles, who were killed in action have been commemorated on the Queensland Police Memorial, which was opened on November 2018 and is located at 80 George Street, Brisbane, as well as on the memorial website https://www.police.qld.gov.au/police-memorial

The new Queensland Police Memorial, Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Just under 60 new names emerged following a painstaking research and cross-referencing of the sources held at the Queensland Police Museum with the database of AIF files held at the National Archives Australia (Series No B2455). Queensland Police recruits’ entries for the first two decades have been reviewed, the men that resigned or were dismissed before the war began on 28 July 1914 were removed, along with the recruits that were sworn in after November 1918.

Register of Members of the Police Force, QPM Collection

The remaining dataset of just under 600 names was matched against related records at the Police Museum as well as the Australian Imperial Force files held at the National Archives Australia. Previous research work showed some of the personnel files have already been identified as of policemen that have enlisted to fight in the First World War. An exhaustive, targeted but total, search of all recruits sworn in between 1899 and throughout the 1900s yielded 130 names, these were then also matched again the sample initially identified.

Members of the Police Force who have enlisted for Active Service with the Australian Imperial Forces up to 3rd Dec 1916, QP Museum Collection

Following the October 1916 Memorandum which suspended leave for future enlistments due to personnel shortages, a significant number of policemen chose to resign and enlist anyway without declaring their intent.

A few were dismissed and a small number indicated their plans to join the war effort. Recognising this fact, a window of six months has been applied to the date of separation from the Queensland Police Force to enlistment in the AIF.

The research project is ongoing, the final findings will be published next year.

The content was researched and written by Dr Anastasia Dukova using the findings to date. This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.

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 by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

“FROM the VAULT – Queensland Police World War One Volunteers, New Names Discovered” 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 1883, Commissioner of Police Seymour highlighted in his annual report to the parliament an increase of crime during the preceding 12 months, under ‘nearly every heading’.

This increase [was], however, slight in offences of a serious description, but in those that are chiefly comprised under the popular denomination of “larrikinism”, including common assault, assaulting and obstructing the police, drunkenness, obscene language, and other offences under “The Vagrant Act”, the growth is very large’, amounting to 1,036 that year.

Commissioner Seymour concluded that fines and short-term incarceration has no deterring influence on ‘this class’ of offenders, who never attack those able to defend themselves. The same year, Brisbane and its suburbans had 95 Constables patrolling the streets in shifts around the clock, who were responsible for 8,402 arrests.

Historically, ‘Queen Street, Adelaide Street, Albert Street, North Quay and their immediate vicinity, such as William Street, stand out for the number of drunkenness and petty assault charges, arrests for vagrancy, and a variety of offences against good order, such as using obscene language and indecent exposure.’  In the 1880s, Albert Street supplied nearly half of the defendants for the local police court. Case reports from 1883, 1884 and 1885 commonly describe male offenders as larrikins, and women that associated with them as ‘girls of ill fame’.  Shaped by the Victorian-period culture of sensibilities, similar labels were freely attached to women that did not fit rigid social paradigms; Cäcilia Bleck was one of these women.

Cäcilia Margaretha Borchert was born in Vaalermoor, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany on the 10 November 1858, to parents Johann Nicolaus and Antje Beate Borchert (nee Moeller). On 5 August 1865, a 7-year-old Cäcilia along with her parents and siblings (Claus, Johann & Anna) immigrated to Moreton Bay Queensland aboard La Rochelle from Hamburg, Germany. Having arrived in Moreton Bay, the Borcherts settled in Meringanda. Coincidentally, the Borchert family were on the same voyage as the Bleck family. August Friedrich Wilhelm, Caecilia’s future husband, was 20 years-old at the time.

In November 1877, Cäcilia gave birth to a son Wilhelm Carl Bleck in Toowoomba. Their first child was born out of wedlock, but Cäcilia and August were married soon after at the groom’s brother’s residence on Boggo Road, South Brisbane. In the next four years, August and Cäcilia would go on to have three children with only one surviving infancy, a son, Albert Johann Friedrich born in 1879.

Two years later, in 1881, Cäcilia was charged and found guilty of ‘Obtaining Goods Under False Pretences’. Having recently given birth, she had to have her daughter with her during the proceedings, which were conducted with a help of a German interpreter. In this case Cäcilia’s custodial sentence was commuted.  Soon after, she was back in front of a magistrate charged with ‘Keeping a Disorderly House’ in Toowoomba. Cäcilia was found guilty and sentenced to 2 months in Toowoomba Gaol. After her release in February 1883, she left her husband, August Bleck, and returned to Brisbane renting a unit above Dowridge’s Tobacconist, on the corner of George and Turbot Streets. It was owned by the famous boxer from Barbados Jack Dowridge ‘The Black Diamond’.

The North Quay Tragedy. Queenslander, 18 Aug 1883, p. 36

Little is known about her life in Brisbane but given her previous charge of keeping a disorderly house and recent separation, Cäcilia likely would have had to turn to prostitution to make ends meet. Sadly, a few months after her relocation, on 6 July 1883, Cäcilia ’s body was found on the banks of the Brisbane River at North Quay, near the Bishop’s House. Two young boys on a boat spotted her body face down and called the police. An autopsy revealed that she was five months pregnant and had a fractured skull. The time of death was estimated to be sometime on 2 July. Shortly, her husband was charged with the murder.

The Police Court proceedings lasted two months, Inspector Lewis and Nethercote prosecuted the case. On 22 September, Bleck was committed to stand trial at the Supreme Court during November sittings, however, no true bill was found. Cäcilia is buried in an unmarked grave at the South Brisbane Cemetery under the name Margaret Black (portion 6A grave 20).

Caecilia’s only surviving son, Albert, was raised by Cäcilia’s brother Johann and his wife Hannah Borchert. After Hannah’s death (39), he went to live with Cäcilia’s sister Catherina Dorries in New South Wales. Albert ‘Black’ never married and is buried at the Sandgate Cemetery, Newcastle with his aunt. Cäcilia’s murder remained unsolved.

The details of Cäcilia’s life were provided by Jillian Moore, a great-great-granddaughter of Johann and Hannah Borchert.

The content was researched and written by Dr Anastasia Dukova. This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.

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 by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

“FROM the VAULT – The Unsolved Case of Caecilia Bleck” 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

**Note the change of topic for this month’s Sunday lecture**

Sunday Lecture Series:
Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct

Sunday, 25 October 2020
11:00am to 12:30pm

Police HQ, 200 Roma Street,
Brisbane  QLD  4000

PLEASE REGISTER HERE

This lecture will also be LIVE STREAMED

In 1939 the King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct was Instituted by King George VI to acknowledge brave acts by civilians and members of the military in non-warlike circumstances during wartime or peacetime. In 1952 the award became the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. Between 1952 and 1987 the QCBC was awarded to 405 Australians including 286 civilians and of these 73 were awarded to Queensland police officers.

QCBC recipients, 1979 Left to right: Detective Constable Kenneth Cant, Constable Neil Mackenzie and Detective Senior Constable James O’Donnell. (QPM Image)

This Sunday lecture will be presented by Anthony Staunton a published historian with works on military history and awards. Anthony has researched all the Australian QCBC awardees and will speak about the history of the award and relate some of the stories with the awarding of this Commendation to Queensland police officers.

___________________________________________

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

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, October 25 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

In 1886, the Rosalie Police Station was established in a converted dwelling on the corner of Fernberg Road and Boys Road. It is first listed in Queensland Police Gazette on 1 January 1887.  The land on which the Police Station would be built was part of a large holding, measuring just under 19 acres and identified as Portion 224, Parish of Enoggera. This portion was initially purchased from the Crown by John F. McDougall. In September 1881, McDougall sold it, following the sale the plot was subdivided into over 290 suburban-sized 16 perch allotments. The land was marketed as the “Rosalie Estate” with sales commencing in October 1881.

In March 1886, subdivisions 17, 18, 67 and 68 of Portion 224 were again advertised for sale. These four allotments ran between Fernberg Road and Mary Street (now Beck Street) and were bordered to the west by an as yet unnamed road, which would be later christened Charlotte Street (today’s Boys Street). Included in the sale was a new, lined and ceiled 6-roomed house, with verandahs, a double brick chimney and a large stove. As later maps show, there was no residence on subdivisions 67 and 68 until much later. The house advertised was most likely the house that was purchased and converted into the Rosalie Police station and residence the same year.

Rosalie Police Station, 1890s, JOL Neg 86953

The Rosalie Police Station was a simple, low-set timber cottage with a short-ridge pyramidal roof clad in corrugated iron and an open front verandah with a curved corrugated iron roof.  This is consistent with the style of houses being built in Brisbane between the 1880s and the early 1900s, and congruent with many early homes built in the Rosalie and Paddington areas around this time.

Mrs Davis looking for a servant, 26 May 1897. Davis married Sarah Finn Cornelius Austin on 12 Dec 1885 (1885/C/1692)

Sergeant William Davis, pictured with his family above, took charge of the Rosalie Station in August 1896 and remained there until retirement in 1903. Sergeant Davis also served as the district registrar of births and deaths (QPG 1896, 294). In 1897, Rosalie was a four-men station staffed with an Officer-in-Charge, Sergeant Davis as well as his family, and 3 constables.

Davis was born in Ireland. Before he came to Australia, he served with the Irish Constabulary (post-1867 Royal Irish Constabulary), enlisting in 1865. He later resigned to emigrate to the colonies. Davis was appointed a constable with the Queensland Police Force on 23 April 1873. He was initially transferred to Beenleigh, then Wundah in 1890 and Pine River 6 months later. On 27 August 1896, he moved to Rosalie with his family. The North Pine community, where he was stationed between 1890 and 1896, was very sorry to see him go. At the end of October, a number of residents of North Pine paid a surprise visit to Sergeant Davis and his family:

They were accompanied by Mr Battersby, MLA for Moreton. During the evening Sergeant Davis was presented with a very handsome gold chain and pendant as a mark of the esteem in which he was held. The presentation was very felicitously made by Mr Battersby. After the healths of Sergeant and Mrs Davis had been honoured, the party returned to North Pine.

In the final years preceding his retirement, Sergeant Davis continued to tirelessly serve his local community.  In mid-January 1898, the area was flooded and the local Redjacket swamp overflowed. As the waters receded, Sergeant Davis assisted by his men and the Milton volunteer firemen was reported helping the residents to clean up.

On 9 November 1902, Sergeant Davis found a dying man in Gregory’s paddock around 10 o’clock at night. The man was taken to the General Hospital by ambulance, he died shortly after admission.

Davis retired on 6 June 1903, he was awarded the Imperial Service Medal half a year later, on 3 December 1904. Davis died in Spring Hill on 9 December 1916 (1916/B/24570).

The police station house in its original state was either demolished or moved by 1911. The plans from the year show another simple timber and tin cottage, a new Police Station built on a similar footprint.

Rosalie Police Station Plan, 1911

By 1935, a gabled projection had been added to the front of the building, facing Fernberg Road. Many other alterations and extensions have been undertaken since then, but the 1911 station building appears to remain at the core of the current house at 118 Fernberg Road, Paddington.

1927 map Rosalie PS cnr Fernberg and Boys or Stevenson St

DP774 1935

In September 1964, it was recommended the station close. The Rosalie Division was to be absorbed ‘principally in Torwood Division, but with small parts going into Bardon and Red Hill Divisions; that two men and Mini Minor car be transferred from Rosalie to Torwood; that the motor cycle outfit be transferred from Torwood to Roma Street for use by inquiry stuff’.

In 1964, ten Morris Minor 850s were purchased to patrol Hamilton and Banyo. Pictured here at the Petrie Terrace Depot. In suburban Brisbane in the early 1960s Morris Mini Minors were the usual station vehicle, but on Friday and Saturday nights Ford Falcons were also brought into action. PM3577

Presently, the house is a residential dwelling.

The house today. Photo by Marianne Taylor, www.housedetective.com.au

The content was researched and written by Dr Anastasia Dukova and Marianne Taylor, The House Detective, from the best resources available.

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 by email: museum@police.qld.gov.au | Subscribe: FROM the VAULT here

“FROM the VAULT – Rosalie Police Station” 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

Sergeant 2/c Alexander Cochrane (left) and Constable 1/c James Boyle in the act of rescuing a man attempting to jump off the Victoria Bridge on February 8, 1958. Photograph taken by Ray Saunders a Courier-Mail photographer.

On the 8th of February 1958, a twenty one year old man, intent on committing suicide, climbed over the railing of Brisbane’s old Victoria Bridge and out onto a wooden spar. Ray Saunders, a Courier-Mail Photographer, saw what was happening and called the Police.

When Sergeant 2/c Alexander Cochrane and Constable 1/c James Boyle arrived on the scene a short time later, they found the man dangling by one arm from the end of the spar. Thinking quickly, Constable Boyle grabbed the man’s arm and held onto him for over 15 minutes, until other Police arrived with ropes. Using skill and great care, the ropes were tied around the man’s legs and he was hauled to safety.

Police Commissioner Frank Bischof congratulates Sergeant 2/c Alexander Cochrane (left) and Senior Constable James Boyle (middle), on the occasion of the presentation of the British Empire Medal for Gallantry, on August 7, 1959. The medal was awarded to both officers for saving the life of a man who attempted to jump off the Victoria Bridge on February 8,1958.

Constable 1/c James Boyle and Sergeant 2/c Alexander Cochrane were both awarded the prestigious British Empire Medal for Gallantry for their courageous efforts on this day.

Obverse of British Empire Medal for Gallantry awarded to James Boyle. A British Empire Medal for Gallantry was awarded from 14 January 1958 until its replacement with the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 1974. It was awarded to people below management or professional level. In the uniformed services, it was awarded to non-commissioned officers of the armed forces, officers below superintendent rank in the police, and personnel below divisional officer level in the fire services. It was awarded for acts of gallantry (not in the face of the enemy) below the level required for the George Medal.

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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

“From the Vault – Quick Thinking Police Rescue” 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

Between 1861 and 1867 there were a number of gold discoveries at Clermont; Cloncurry; Cape River; Nanango, Gympie and Kilkivan. Gold was discovered in Central Queensland near Peak(e) Downs in 1861, with a rush taking place in 1862. This led to the development of the Clermont Goldfield which was proclaimed in August, 1863 covering an area of over 4044 km² (1600 miles²). The principal gold mining areas were those named The Springs, Black Ridge and Miclere. The alluvial deposits covered a large number of gold-bearing leads and have yielded many thousands of ounces of gold. They were considered at the time to be the richest and most extensive alluvial gold deposits in Queensland. There were at least four batteries working in the area as well as large dry-blowing operations.

Clermont, 1870. (Image courtesy SLQ RN21220155670002061)

As gold was discovered across Queensland the police presence in these areas increased due to the large influx of miners, their families and others involved with banks, stores and pubs. The death and crime rate in these towns and around the diggings was high. Gold escort duty in these early days involved the movement of gold nuggets from the diggings to the bank at a main centre for exchange into bank notes which were then back to the gold fields. Only a couple of men would have been in charge of the bullion. Later in the 1890s when large amounts of gold were being discovered and moved, a gold carriage with up to 6 mounted men and a Sub-Inspector would have been inspected to accompany the cargo.  In this instance gold was brought from the Clermont/Peak Downes area to Rockhampton.

THE PLAYERS…

Sergeant James Julian was a grave young Irishman known to his juniors as ‘Count’ Julian, in his early thirties, came from County Kerry, Ireland and had been on escort work for four years. He was meticulous in dress and had a grand manner. He had escorted the consignment of gold from Clermont to Rockhampton and had received instructions from Commissioner Griffin to return the bank notes to Clermont on 26 October.

Patrick William Cahill was born in 1840 in Waterford County, Ireland and was a school friend of members of the Power family. After coming to Australia, he worked in various positions in Victoria and New South Wales.  In 1865 he met up with Power in Brisbane and cemented the childhood friendship. He was 27 years of age, nearly 6 feet tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

John Francis Power was born in 1842 in the neighbourhood of Carrickson Suir, between the counties of Waterford and Tipperary, Ireland. When he was about 20 a desire for travel saw him follow his brother to Australia, arriving in November 1862. He lived a varied life – living in Ipswich for a time; travelling to remote Gulf of Carpentaria; going into partnership on a sheep run on the Fitzroy River and prospecting. John became very ill and after recovering discovered that his partner had taken advantage of his absence, and sold the stock to leave him without any cash and in need of a job. He was 25 years of age.

In 1865 Power and Cahill met up in Brisbane. In 1867 they travelled to Clermont and decided to join the gold escort. At the time there was only one remaining position so on 4 April Thomas Power was appointed as a Constable and Patrick Cahill was named as supernumerary until the next vacancy should occur.

Group image taken in Rockhampton L-R: Sergeant James Julian, Constable Patrick William Cahill. Constable John Francis Power and Gold Commissioner Thomas John Griffin. The two Native Police are not named. (Image courtesy QPM PM0680a)

Thomas John Augustus Griffin was born 27 July 1832 in Antrim, Northern Ireland. He entered Royal Irish Constabulary in 1852 and then volunteered for service in the Crimean war (1863 – 1856) where he won two decorations and a commission in the Turkish contingent. In 1857 he arrived in Victoria and on 29 April of that year married Harriett Klister, supposedly a wealthy widow. In May 1858 he deserted his wife and joined the New South Wales police working as a clerk and then Acting Sergeant on transfer to Rockhampton. In February 1859 he was appointed as Rockhampton’s Chief Constable. In Nov 1860 he became Brisbane’s Chief Constable and then promoted to Clerk of Petty Sessions, reputedly because of his friendship with the sister of a leading politician. In Oct 1863 Griffin was appointed Police Magistrate & Gold Commissioner to the Clermont gold field. He soon proved himself a unpredictable tyrant on the Bench. Spending money flamboyantly, he haunted the gambling dives of the camp and bet heavily to recoup repeated losses. Ugly rumours did the rounds that hinted at bribes for immunity from prosecution, or for a favourable verdict in civil claims. Griffin exhibited a very pleasant manner to those he desired to appease but was abrupt and tyrannical with anyone whom he regarded as inferior. He came close to destitution by heavy losses in Chinese gambling dens and the heavy demands from his wife whose discovery of his whereabouts also lost him the support of the leading politician’s sister.

In June 1866 the Chief Magistrate of Clermont, discovered that Griffin had stolen a letter addressed to him in criticism of the commissioner’s work. He asked for a civil service inquiry into this flagrant abuse of duty. The inquiry was held in Brisbane where few witnesses could attend, and Griffin was exonerated. Rumours that he had embezzled money entrusted to him by miners led to a public meeting in Clermont and a petition for his removal, but before it could be presented he was transferred to Toowoomba as Police Magistrate. In 1867 he was transferred to Rockhampton as the Gold Commissioner. In mid-1867 he was given custody of £252 by some Chinese gold diggers but when the moment for settling came in October he was unable to pay.

East Street in Rockhampton ca. 1887. (Image courtesy SLQ RN237283)

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 – Gold and Greed Part 1: the murder of Constables Power and Cahill in 1867” 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

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

 Thursday 17 October – Griffin arrives in Rockhampton from Clermont

6 Chinese gold diggers entrust him with £252 worth of money and gold, for safe keeping. Griffin subsequently gambles this away. The Chinese men make repeated demands for the return of gold or its value and even follow him to Rockhampton. Griffin, unable to pay the debt, finds himself in great difficulties, desperate and probably at this point conceives the idea of robbing the gold escort.

Chinese gold digger starting for work, ca. 1860s (Image courtesy SLQ, RN116084)

Thursday 24 October – Sergeant Julian arrives in Rockhampton with the Clermont gold consignment

Julian delivers the gold to the bank and receives instructions from Commissioner Griffin to make the return journey to Clermont with the exchange notes and coinage on 26 October.

Saturday 26 October – Mr T.S. Hall, manager of the Rockhampton branch of the Australian Joint Stock Bank prepares the money for transport.

4 packages containing a thousand £1 notes each; two bundles containing £5 notes equalling £3849 and £151 in gold, silver and copper coins. The numbers of the notes were ‘narrated’ (recorded) and then the whole amount equalling £8,151 was packed in 10 canvas bags.

Commissioner Griffin announces his intention to travel part of the way to Clermont with the escort

Griffin’s presence with the escort was quite unnecessary and unofficial. He told the Bank Manager that he would go no further with the escort than Bartholomew’s Hotel at Gogango, a few miles out, but he gave different stories to other people. Sergeant Julian appears to have been profoundly distrustful of Griffin. Coming from Clermont, he would certainly have heard of Griffin’s financial embarrassments, and probably considered the Commissioner’s presence on the escort to be both obtrusive and suspicious.

Sergeant Julian takes delivery of the money from the bank

However when  the escort Constable Patrick Cahill fails to arrive by 3pm, he promptly returns the money to the bank and rides back to the escort camp, located four hundred yards from the residence of Mrs Ottley, whose daughter Griffin was courting.  Cahill arrives at the camp.

 Sunday 27 October – That afternoon the escort travels 15mls (24kms) and camps off the road at Griffin’s suggestion.

Sergeant Julian takes to sleeping on top of the saddle bags containing the money.

Monday 28 October – 3am Griffin sends Constable Cahill after the horses.

Griffin moves himself and his blankets closer to where Julian is lying and appears uneasy and continuously keeps an eye on Julian. The Sergeant in turn keeps a sharp eye on Griffin until the Cahill returns to camp. Griffin asks Julian how much money he had received, and if the notes were signed, and then remarks that he now considers the party too small to travel with £8,000 to which Julian disagrees.

Griffin decides that the horses needed shoeing and that he will accompany Cahill to have them seen to. He instructs the Sergeant to stay with the money but in the end the whole party returns to the camp near Rockleigh, where they found Constables Power and Gildea.

At this point Julian becomes so suspicious of the shifts and devices of Griffin, that he resolves to get out of the job if he can. Leaving Gildea, Power and Cahill in camp, he follows Griffin to the Rockleigh residence and protests against being left alone with so much money. Griffin is furious and returns to escort camp with Julian. The 3 Constables leave to pick up the mail in Rockhampton, leaving Griffin and Julian alone in the camp.

Julian is accustomed to laying his blanket on the canvas treasure bags, and sleeping there but this night Griffin takes Julian’s place on the bags and an arguments breaks out; Griffin accuses Julian of not wanting to go to Clermont but that he would force him to go. Julian asks for his discharge and is refused and then asks for permission to go to town to see a doctor as he is ill, which is also refused.

Power, Gildea and Cahill return to camp, and Griffin goes off to Mrs Ottley’s, presumably to sleep there. When Griffin is gone, Julian moves the treasure bags to a different tent, and spread his blankets over them. Sleeping lightly, and in an apprehensive state, he hears Griffin arrive in the early morning and call out in a low voice call “Julian! Where are my blankets?” The Sergeant tells him that they are in the tent where he had been lying down the day before.

Griffin probably had intended on broaching the treasure bags that night.

Gold Commissioner Thomas John Griffin, c1864 (Image courtesy of the QPM, PM1923)

Tuesday 29 October – At daylight Griffin goes back to Rockleigh, telling the men to be ready for a start after breakfast.

Morning

At that meal the troopers thought that the tea had a bitter taste and they accused Gildea, who was known jokingly as ‘The Doctor’ (having been formerly a medical student) of putting salts in it instead of sugar. Julian saying, “There’s plenty of milk to drink”, empties out the tea, and sees a white sediment at the bottom of the billy. He thinks, unsuspiciously, that some bitter leaves or bark had given the tea the queer taste.

Late Morning

As the escort prepares to leave the Rockleigh camp Griffin tells the troopers that he will take them by a short cut across swampy country. He leads, but keeps looking backward, as if watching for something to happen or perhaps for the poison to work. 5 miles across the swamp, they approaches Archer’s Gracemere Station and Griffin says he remembers leaving behind, at the clubhouse in Rockhampton, a small parcel of gold which had come down with the last escort by mistake.

He orders Julian, Power and CahiIl back to Rockleigh camp with orders to unload the packhorses when they get to camp.

Late Afternoon

Once back in Rockhampton Julian returns the money to the bank – he is well and truly fed up with Griffin’s behaviour. Griffin sees the escort returning from the bank and confronts Julian demanding to know what he is doing in town to which Julian replies that he has returned the money to the bank for safe keeping.

Griffin, seeing his whole plan frustrated, goes into a furious rage, suspends Julian and appoints Power in his place.  Griffin explains to the Bank Manager that the money can now be handed over to Power. Mr Hall, says that he will only send half the money as Power is inexperienced with this new responsibility. The amount is reduced to £4000. In the afternoon Power takes delivery of the £4000 and Griffin meets the Chinese gold diggers and promises to pay them at the Clubhouse the next morning. When Power returns to camp with the money, Griffin takes charge of it, with the excuse that the boys can then have a worry free night’s rest. He takes the treasure bag to Mrs Ottley’s. That night Griffin steals £270 in notes.

Wednesday 30 October – Morning

Griffin goes into Rockhampton and pays off the Chinese gold diggers.

He returns the remainder of the money to Trooper Power, who notices that the parcel has a new covering which is explained away by Griffin as ‘for more careful conveyance’.  Power is not happy with this answer and says “Mr Griffin, as this is the first time I have been entrusted with such serious responsibility, I would like to see the parcel in the same condition as I got it from the bank. Will you please remove the outside cover?”  to which Griffin replies, “I assure you it is all right. It has not been out of my possession since you gave it to me.”

Power seems to have become suspicious of Griffin, and in order to gain time, draws his attention to a lame horse. Griffin tells Cahill to bring up the horses, but Power warns Cahill in Gaelic (which they both understood) not to do so but to drive them further off. Cahill does this, and on returning to the camp, tells Griffin that he could not find the horses. [It is unknown if Julian had warned Power the previous evening of his suspicions of Griffin but it certainly appears that there may have been some type of warning for Power to watch Griffin closely and to now question his actions.]

Power is allowed to take the lame horse back to Rockhampton, where he sees the Bank Manager and asks him to come out to the camp to see that the parcel is all right.

Thursday 31 October – Mr Hall, the bank manager, arrives at the escort camp.

Hall asks Griffin to seal the treasure bags, to which Griffin protests that this will be useless, as the seals will break through from the friction on the horses’ backs. To which Hall agrees.

After Hall departs, Power demands that Griffin seal the bags or he will not take charge of them. Griffin yields and seals the parcel from which the notes have been abstracted. There is no doubt that this action sealed the fate of Power and Cahill, as on the arrival at Clermont the notes will be found missing, and if Griffin’s seals are found intact, suspicion will fall upon him, as he has taken the money away from Power and kept it in his own room.

Friday 1 November – The escort starts out in earnest for Clermont after a week’s delay.

Monday 4 November – The escort reaches a wayside accommodation house at Bedord Dam. While the troopers go to escort camp, Griffin goes to the house and orders lunch from Mrs Ashcroft, the landlady.

While at lunch, Griffin ‘flashes’ his revolver, and asks some questions about Edward Hartigan better known as the ‘Snob’, a well-known criminal of the time.

Parker Cahill Hartigan alias ‘The Snob’, taken from the Queensland Police Gazette No. 57, 20 November 1897.

The troopers come up to lunch, and are shouted drinks by Griffin all afternoon.

Constable Moynihan from Dawson station, arrives. Power is greatly relieved and asks him to accompany them to Clermont. Power says to Griffin: “Here’s Moynihan, Mr Griffin, looking for police horses. Might he not come on to Clermont, and save you the trouble of going further?” to which Griffin replies, “Oh, certainly. How are you Moynihan? It is lucky I met you, but you will have to make an early start tomorrow.”

Griffin then drugs Moynihan’s drink. Early in the morning the escort cannot wake him and departs. To his good fortune Moynihan sleeps peacefully until 10 am.

THE MURDER OF THE TROOPERS

Tuesday 5 November

Early in the morning the escort arrives at the Mackenzie River crossing, 130 miles from Rockhampton.

Griffin leaves the troopers in camp, and goes the Bedford Arms Hotel for breakfast. He tells Alfred Bedford, the owner, that he will be leaving the escort here and going back to Rockhampton. Taking the trouble to explain that he had only come this far to try and make Mrs Ashcroft prosecute the ‘Snob’ who had shot at her.

As Bedford is also leaving for Rockhampton, it is agreed that he and Griffin will travel back together, while the escort goes on to Clermont. At Bedford’s, Griffin endeavours to get a supply of laudanum with the excuse that he is suffering from diarrhoea.

All day the escort party comes and goes between the camp and Bedford’s, drinking and socialising.

At 8.30pm the troopers leave Bedfords to head back to the camp with a couple of bottles of beer. Griffin, after purchasing a pint of brandy, follows them.

In the early hours of the morning, Bedford is awakened by the sound of revolver shots. One is heard about 2am, and the other at 3.30am (he looks at his watch to fix the time). Griffin returns to the hotel, carrying his saddle and swag at 3.50am, and awakens Bedford. Griffin appears tired and anxious to get away. Griffin tells Bedford that he had lost himself for an hour in the bush and only discovered the house by the crowing of the cocks.

Bedford tells Griffin that he has heard 2 shots but Griffin says that he had only heard one, which was fired by Power who had become lost himself while looking for the horses.

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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 – Gold and Greed Part 2: the murder of Constables Power and Cahill in 1867” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under 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

AFTER THE MURDERS

 Wednesday 6 November

Griffin and Bedford start for Rockhampton with Griffin keeping Bedford in front of him all the way. About 20 miles into the journey, Griffin rides off the track to rearrange his swag (at which point some notes escape and fly about in the breeze).

Thursday 7 November

Griffin and Bedford arrive at Rockhampton. Both the men and another named Hornby called at the Commercial Hotel. Griffin ‘shouts’ his friends and tenders a torn and tattered £1 (No.1440).

Extracted from the Queensland Police Gazette of 4 December 1867, pgs 88 – 91.

Same Day

John Petersen, an employee of the Bedford Hotel, was out looking for a horse and as he was going towards the river bank he noticed a kind of stench and followed its direction. He came upon the bodies about 200 yards from the river. He calls out “Good morning” but does not get an answer. He sees one body lying in a straight position with its head resting on a saddle. The body is covered with a blanket to about half way up the face, he lifts the blanket to see the face which shows some blood and evidence of worms and flies, but he does not recognise him. Peterson sees another body nearer the river with its legs drawn up, the face is not so disfigured as the other, but he still cannot identify him.

Petersen reports the finding of the bodies to Sub Inspector Stokes at the Native Police Barracks. The NMP attends the murder site and then place the bodies between two sheets of bark and buries them.

Friday 8 November – Meanwhile News reaches Rockhampton

Griffin asks Sub Inspector Elliott and if he has heard the rumour that the Clermont gold escort has been found dead. Elliott makes inquiries to authenticate the information of the death of the troopers. The startling official news is brought by the mailman via telegraph that the two escort troopers had been found dead at the Mackenzie River – initially the report stated that the men had been poisoned. Griffin, shows himself as both distressed and surprised at the news.

Sub-Inspector George L. Elliott (Image courtesy QPM, PM1616)

A party consisting of Sub-inspector Elliott, Tom Hall, Manager Australian Joint Stock Bank, Henry Abbott, Police Magistrate, Dr Salmond, a black tracker and Griffin made ready to start for the scene of the murder.

Griffin was loud in his demands for a ruthless hunting-down of the murderers, even before it was officially known that murder had been done. He protested so much which confirmed some suspicions in the mind of Sub-inspector Elliott that had been building since Julian was relieved of his command.

In protesting to Elliott about his suspension, Julian had reported the various subterfuges adopted by Griffin to delay the start, and his belief that an attempt had been made to poison him. Elliott had been inclined to dismiss the complaint until during the ride out, Griffin went out of his way to express surprise that the escort had been robbed. He also told Hall that the troopers would have been shot despite the report of poisoning and lack of reference to shooting at that stage.

Griffin tries to wreck the carriage in which he is travelling with Dr Salmon. As the journey continued Griffin showed visible signs of nervousness. Elliott suspiciousness grows and during the night he extracts the cartridges from Griffin’s firearm.

Sub-Inspector James Balfrey of Clermont Station, heads for the murder site and arrives 24 hours before the Rockhampton party. He visits the scene briefly to note the burial of the bodies and sees Sub Inspector Stokes who has all of the trooper’s effects from the scene. He sends a telegraph to the Commissioner advising of the deaths and the amount of stolen money.

Saturday 9 November – The Investigation

The Rockhampton party arrives the Mackenzie River crossing at 9am.

The bodies are exhumed, and a post mortem is conducted by Dr Salmon.

On arrival Griffin shows much nervousness and on nearing the scene of the murder, he exclaims, “My God! I cannot face this” and sits on a log 50 or 60 yards away from the scene.

The camp is well examined by the officers of the native police who with the aid of their bush experience and the dry characteristics of black loamy soil, find tracks leading to and from the camp and to the hotel.

Griffin’s small boot prints are a match to the tracks, they show that he moved from the camp towards a small lagoon, which was away from the both the camp and the public house, to a log where he sat down. He then retraced his steps from the log to a point of the track leading to the public house. There are no other tracks.

Sub-Inspector Elliott and Detective Kilfeder conduct interviews with:

Mary John Petersen – concerning the movement of the escort men and the discovery of the bodies

Alfred Bedford – concerning hearing shots that night and what he observed of Griffin

Sub Inspector Uhr has a conversation with Griffin, on the subject of poisons. Griffin speaks of his knowledge that while mineral poisons are easily detected in the human stomach, vegetable poisons, such as morphia, are difficult to trace.

Arrest of Griffin

When the first post-mortem examination is completed, Sub-Inspector Elliott confers with the other police at the scene, the doctor, and completes speaking with and interviewing the witnesses. He is now sure that Griffin is the prime suspect. At 11am Detective Kilfeder and Sub-Inspector Elliott arrest Griffin on the suspicion of murder of John Power and Patrick Cahill.

Monday 11 to Thursday 14 November

An initial Court sitting is held at the Bedford Arms Hotel at the direction of Henry Abbott the Police Magistrate. Depositions are taken from Sub Inspector Elliott, Detective Kilfeder, Dr Salmond, Mr Alfred Harding Bedford, John Petersen, Sgt James Julian, Mary Petersen, Sub-Inspector Charles Uhr, Sub- Inspector Richard Stokes, Jonathan Ashcroft, Inspector James Balfrey and John Reborah.

 Tuesday 19 November

Griffin’s arrival

On Tuesday 19 November crowds at the Rockhampton station awaited Griffin’s arrival, but police took him from the train at a nearby station and brought him inconspicuously in a cab to the lock up.

 First Rockhampton Court appearance

The Deposition Clerk reads the warrant, remanding the prisoner from the court held at the Bedford Arms, Mackenzie, on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14^th instant, and the depositions then taken. Sub Insp Elliott then told the magistrate that he was not prepared with evidence to go on with the case and requested a remand of eight days. The remand was given.

After everyone returns from the Mackenzie River, the case against Griffin continued with great care and judgment by Sub Inspector Elliott, who had shown that in addition to the courage and pluck required to knock’ over a bushranger, he possessed also the coolness and calculation of a first rate detective. The main links and mass of closely connected evidence was put together by him, and the case was subsequently completed. Detective Kilfeder joined him first the day of notification of the murders, Sub Inspector Stokes of the Native Police and Uhr at the Mackenzie Station, Sub Inspector Balfrey of Clermont and then Detective Slattery from Maryborough, and lastly, Sub Inspector Samuel Lloyd from Brisbane.

30 November

Dr Salmon describes his findings and 20 other witnesses give evidence at the committal proceedings against Griffin and he was duly committed to stand Trial at the Rockhampton Supreme Court.

 14 December – The Trial starts

The trial takes place in the Rockhampton Supreme Court before Justice Alfred James Peter Lutwyche, who was the first judge for the Supreme Court of Queensland, and a jury of 12.

Justice Alfred James Peter Lutwyche, was the first judge for the Supreme Court of Queensland (Image courtesy SLQ)

The Crown is represented by the Attorney-General, the Honourable Ratcliffe Pring, QC (afterwards Mr Justice Pring) and Mr Charles Lilley, QC, afterwards Chief justice of Queensland.

Mr Charles Lilley, QC, afterwards Chief justice of Queensland (left) and Attorney-General, the Honourable Ratcliffe Pring, QC (afterwards Mr Justice Pring) (right) (Images courtesy of the SLQ)

For the defence were Mr Edward MacDevitt, a clever Irish barrister, newly arrived, Mr Hely and Mr Samuel Griffith.

For the defence were newly arrived Edward MacDevitt (Left), a clever Irish barrister, H.L. Hely and Mr Samuel Griffith (right), a young Welsh born lawyer, aged 22. Later Chief justice of Queensland, Premier and Chief Justice of the Commonwealth. (Images courtesy SLQ)

At the trial, a total of 60 witnesses were called to give evidence:

Chinese gold diggers, as most were not from an English-speaking background an interpreter had to be used and because they were not of Christian belief, they were sworn by blowing out a candle.

Each gave evidence that they had given Griffin money and he gave each a piece of paper in return for their money. They stated they paid money to Griffin approximately 4, and some up to 8, months earlier for escort to the Rockhampton bank. Griffin after transferring to Rockhampton kept telling the Chinese that their money had not arrived from Clermont. They all stated in evidence that Griffin had paid them at the back of the Club House Hotel, and the date of payment coincided with the dates prior to the escort leaving Rockhampton and the evening that Griffin took charge of and had possession of the money from Power.

The bank tellers gave evidence as to how they had narrated the numbers on the notes and how the notes had been placed in the parcels, and how each parcel was packed and tied. The police all gave evidence and it appears that Julian was a main witness as to how the escort had three starts to commence the journey to Clermont.

Bedford and the Petersens gave evidence as to circumstances at the Mackenzie River and how shots were heard in the early hours of the morning. How Griffin had a ‘big awful swag’ and how Griffin went off the road to adjust the swag.

Mr Pitt gave evidence as to how he had located the one-pound note in the vicinity where Griffin had gone off the road to adjust his swag. Evidence was produced to show that the note located by Pitt was one of the notes that had the number recorded by the bank staff. The tattered note produced by Griffin at the Commercial Hotel was also confirmed as being another of the notes recorded by the bank staff and was part of the escort money.

The fact that his small shoe prints were found at the scene indicated a different version of events to what Griffin had stated, that Power went looking for the horses in the early evening. Griffin’s comments to others and his behaviour whilst travelling from Rockhampton to the Mackenzie with the investigating party, were all given in evidence during the trial.

All this circumstantial evidence led to Griffin’s conviction. At no time, to this point, did he admit to killing the police officers.

28 March Sentencing

The jury returns to the court room and the foreman announced that they had found Griffin guilty of the murder of Power and Cahill and is sentenced to death.

Queensland Police Gazette Entry Vol. V, No. 4, 1st April 1868.

 Execution of Griffin

Griffin remain in the Rockhampton gaol, until his appointment with the hangman. He maintains his innocence publicly the whole time to his execution, he did however confide in a turnkey at the prison during his wait for his execution on 1 June 1868.

The execution of Griffin was recorded in a spectacular article headed, ‘Execution of Griffin’ in the Rockhampton Bulletin on June 2, 1868.

 The executioner, having completed all his ghastly preparations, shook his victim by the left hand and withdrew to the entrance of the platform, where he said, “God bless you.” A painful pause of a few seconds here occurred whilst the executioner waited for a signal from the Sheriff. On this being given, the bolt was quickly drawn, the drop came clanging down, and the murderer – Griffin – passed into eternity. His death must have been almost instantaneous as there was fracture and dislocation of the second and third vertebrae. The body fell a distance of four feet six inches, reckoning from the floor of the platform to the rope as he hung suspended. As the body fell the right leg and thigh were drawn up, then there was a trembling and a quivering of the feet, the result of muscular action rather than pain, and all was still; he was dead. The body swayed about for several minutes and settled at last with his face to the wall. After the lapse of about thirty-five minutes, Drs Salmond, Callaghan, Thon, and Robertson, examined the body. Life was pronounced extinct, and the executioner cut the body down. It was placed in a coffin which had been placed under the gallows and must have been before Griffin’s eyes as he ascended to his death.

 Griffin describes a struggle between him and the troopers and that he shot them in the stomach and eye – however both were shot from behind. He told the principal turnkey where he had hidden the money, but it could not be found at that point.

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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 – Gold and Greed Part 3: the murder of Constables Power and Cahill in 1867” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under 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

AFTER THE TRIAL and EXECUTION

 June 2 – Location of the Stolen Money

The money was subsequently located after a search of the area surrounding Mrs Otley’s but it was damaged and rendered useless by damp. Griffin said that there was £3730 leaving £16 unaccounted.

 June 9 – Grave Theft

Sensation did not end with Griffin’s death at the gallows, or the finding of the valise of bank notes. The horrendous news was broken on June 9 that his grave had been opened and the head severed from the body and removed.

The Cemetery Board had suspected an attempt would be made to interfere with the body and so ordered the Sexton to keep watch for the first two nights.

During this period the sexton and Tucker, the undertaker, decided to bury the body of an unknown Chinese seaman in the same grave… to prevent people stealing Griffin’s body.

20 reward offered – no takers

It soon became known the grave robbers were men with an interest in the science of phrenology and that they hoped to find in the shape Griffin’s skull an explanation for his actions. Many were aware that William Callaghan, the town’s best known doctor, was the ring leader and that the skull remained in his possession, but it was not publicly acknowledged until long after his death. A man who assisted in the gruesome exhumation wrote from England in 1918 and told how Callaghan, R.D.H. White himself had carried out the plan.

Griffin’s Personal Property

Griffin’s watch was raffled and an ad was placed in the Bulletin on August 8, 1868, it read “Griffin’s watch to be raffled for! Only two more chances … for that invaluable watch which so long ticked in a murderer’s pocket,”the winner of the raffle was Mr Milford, a well-known solicitor who was the attorney for the defence. Griffin’s three saddles and uniform had already been sold at auction, and even tufts of his beard and pieces of the hangman’s rope were eagerly snapped up by the public. It is understood small lengths of the rope sold for one shilling each.

Sub-Inspector Elliott claimed Griffin’s sword.

June 9 – Skulls of Power and Cahill returned for Burial

July 13, 1869 Burial at Rockhampton

It was eventually decided that the bodies of the two murdered troopers be exhumed from their grave at the Mackenzie River and be interned in Rockhampton. A public collection was taken up for a monument to be erected in the Rockhampton Cemetery. A number of articles publicising the burial were placed in the Rockhampton Bulletin and a large gathering turned out to farewell the officers Power and Cahill.

A monument is erected at the old South Rockhampton cemetery for the murdered troopers, the inscription reads:

Of your charity

Pray for the repose of the souls of

JOHN POWER

and

PATRICKCAHILL

Members of the Gold Escort Corps murdered at the Mackenzie River

Whilst in charge of Public Treasures on the 6th day of November 1867

Rockhampton grave of John Power and Patrick Cahill, members of the gold Escort Corp murdered at Mackenzie River 1867 – Monument at South Rockhampton Cemetery. (Image courtesy QPM, PM2642a)

Evidence

It is believed that Griffin drugged the liquor which the troopers drank, and they vomited it up but the events of the night are wrapped in mystery. The probability is that Griffin drugged both men and that Power was unexpectedly awake when Griffin tried to remove the money, and fired at him, and then that Griffin shoot both men, so they could tell no tales.

As a pig had been found dead nearby. It was thought that the pig had eaten the vomit of the dead men.

He had a parcel described in Bedford’s evidence as ‘a big awful swag,’ probably containing the stolen money; and while in the bush away from Bedford’s observation, he readjusted the swag. The evidence for this is that a one pound note, identified by the number as one belonging to the bundle sent by Mr Hall was later found near this spot, by a person named Pitt, and this must have been dropped by Griffin in his repacking operations. Bedford remarked later upon the nervousness of Griffin, and how he had lagged behind him, subsequently as they neared Rockhampton, Griffin turned off towards the settlement where his fiancee lived.

Both the landlady Eliza Pearson and the barmaid Kezish Seymore, also known as Annie, gave evidence. Pearson stated that Seymore was given the one pound note from Griffin. When she got it, she turned around and said to Mrs Pearson, in Griffin’s presence and hearing, “look at this note, there is one number off the corner”. She said nothing to them . Mrs Pearson replied “you know who you got it from it’s all right,” and she put it in the till. No one had access to that till but herself and Kezish. Mrs Pearson further stated in evidence that she did not take the money out until between twelve and one at night. She took it out of the till and put it away in the drawer in her bedroom and locked the drawer. She left it there until Monday following, she then gave it to Kezish, with other notes, to pay into the bank on her account. There were no other notes with the corner torn off; both remembered this note, in consequence of a dispute whether they ought to change it in its mutilated condition. When banking the next day the bank official’s attention was called to the condition of the note. This was also one of the stolen notes.

On Wednesday, November 6, the morning that Griffin and Mr Bedford returned to Rockhampton, Mary Peterson, wife of John Peterson, and in the employment of Mr Bedford at the Bedford Arms,  Mackenzie, said at the original hearing that she had lent the two troopers a billy can to make tea. On the following morning about ten o’clock she went to the camp for the billy-can, and when she got about fifteen yards from one of the troopers lying on his back covered with a blanket; she called out but he did not answer. She said that she thought he was asleep, she stated in her evidence that she only saw one. She then returned to the house. Her husband asked about them and she said that they were fast asleep. John Peterson stated that on Wednesday the 6th he was awakened by Mr Bedford and told to give the horses a feed of corn, and Griffin told him to get the horses out of the stables. Peterson stated in evidence that Griffin appeared to be in a hurry and called for the horses a second time, he told him that the horses had not finished their corn yet. Griffin then went to the stable and they left for Rockhampton within the hour of waking Petersen. Mr Petersen did not see a swag on the prisoner’s horse at the time.

Sub Inspector Stokes was again present when the bodies were later exhumed for examination by Dr Salmond. Mr Peterson stated that he did not hear any shots fired the night before Griffin and Mr Bedford left for Rockhampton

The Doctor gave evidence at an examination into witnesses at the scene on November 11, 1867. On the examination of the victims by Dr Salmond, the bodies were found to be, of course, in a very extreme state of decomposition, but the heads had a shot through each of them proving thereby that if they were in fact poisoned, it appears the troopers may have been showing signs of recovery after their sickness from their overdose of poison and Griffin had deliberately shot them.

That certainly upset Griffin’s statements, because if Power was out looking for the horses his tracks would also be seen – Griffin’s boots had been measured and fitted exactly to the track. All the facts were of great consideration, these tracks combined with the whole of the circumstances showed a circumstantial case against Griffin.

Sub Inspector Elliott and Balfrey thought the first thing was to hold an inquest of death, but Mr Abbott would not have it. He stated that he should have the prisoner up at once. The case commenced that evening and was continued until 2 o’clock in the morning. One of the important matters of the case was that Griffin had been with the two troopers drinking at the camp and stated that he left them at lam on Wednesday, and Bedford had him arriving at the Inn at ten to four. Griffin claimed that he was lost in the bush for three-quarters of an hour, but had not been able to account for the other two hours. Bedford stated that he heard one shot about lam and another two hours later. Elliott was also suspicious of Griffin’s demeanour on the way out to the Mackenzie, especially his forecast that the men would be found shot – first reports had suggested poisoning.

In 2012 a new monument to the two slain officers was positioned at Bedford Weir and new plaques were placed in the Rockhampton Cemetery,

Plaques were placed for the two slain officers John Power and Patrick Cahill at the Rockhampton Cemetery in 2012. (Image courtesy QPM)

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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 – Gold and Greed Part 4: the murder of Constables Power and Cahill in 1867” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under 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

Please note the topic change, this was beyond our control. If you booked for the Forensic Imaging lecture please book again for this one as that event had to be deleted and the new one reinstated at the same date and time:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/queensland-police-museum-sunday-lecture-tickets-127958137233

This lecture will also be live streamed: https://livestream.com/queenslandpolice/events/9316692

The images are of a silver fluted vase given by the Royal Danish Ministry of Commerce to Police Diver Constable Ivan Adam, in recognition of his gallantry in the rescue of the crew from the capsized Kaptajn Nielsen in 1964 and a ceramic vase given by the Christiani and Nielsen ship owners to the Brisbane Water Police.

Treasures from the Collection

The Queensland Police Museum aspires to be an accessible and valued museum of national standing that collects and explores Queensland’s policing history. We actively document, collect and preserve the rich depth of history that describes policing in this state since 1859.

Through our collections and exhibitions, we enhance the public image of the Queensland Police Service and foster pride in its achievements in the wider community. The story we tell also describes today’s innovative, progressive and responsive Queensland Police Service. The Police Museum use its resources, exhibitions and public programs to investigate and compare issues faced by police officers of times past and of today.

The Curator will describe some of the more interesting collection items and their associated stories, from the oldest items in the collection to the smallest but most telling objects, to those that illustrate the story of the Kaptajn Nielsen capsize of 1964 and other notable events.

Painted window glass removed from the Fortitude Valley Police Station in 2014.

About the Presenter

Curator Lisa Jones

Lisa Jones has administered the Queensland Police Museum since 1997. She holds a Master of Museum Studies and uses her 35 years of museum experience to manage the Museum collections and exhibitions.

This one-and-a-half-hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, November 29 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 Sunday, November 29 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

These two plain clothed police officers from the Brisbane CIB (PC Constable Francis Voigt on the left) are disguised as “hobos” so they could ‘jump the rattler’ to detect breaches of the railway laws, 1926.

Throughout the early twentieth century, and not just at the time of the 1930s depression, police were called upon to act as relief agents for the unemployed and destitute. In some areas police acted as labour agents, where there was no clerk of petty sessions. From 1926 onwards police registered the unemployed and issued sustenance allowances. Police also issued train tickets to the destitute. Between 1905 and 1925 police gave rations only if the applicant worked – one day’s rations for one day’s work clearing noxious weeds from police paddocks, cutting wood and so on.

Through the 1930s the police continued these earlier tasks of issuing rations and travel cards and of helping to find relief work. If in the opinion of a policeman a person was destitute and in need of assistance ration relief could be immediately given to an unemployed person. A particular problem arose in the case of unemployed who in moving from one centre to another in search of work or rations ‘jumped the rattler’ (without paying the fare).

“Hobos” carrying swags and others camping out in Paramatta Park at Cairns during the Depression, 1932.

The vagrants legislation provided for the police to take action against these people, with the penalty of a fine or imprisonment. Such punishment aroused considerable comment, with calls being made for the police to have the right to issue free passes to people seeking work. The police were inclined not to be so liberal or tolerant in giving rations or work to known dissidents, such as Communists, anarchists or strike trouble-makers.

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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

“FROM THE VAULT – Jumping the Rattler” 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

Group photograph of recruits in Petrie Terrace Police Depot, Brisbane, March 1899. (PM2366)

Since July 1997 the Police Museum has been maintaining and adding to a database of Queensland police officers. In the lead up to the Queensland Police 150^th birthday in 2014 we made a concerted effort to make sure the list was accurate for the years between 1864 – 2014 and added any names into it that we found in the course of our research. We also hold information on officers who served between 1842 and 1863.

The information we keep on each officer can include biographical data; entry and separation dates; lists of rank attainment; station transfers plus other data such as reward and award information; family details; death and burial data.

QPServiceHistory AHERN John

A large percentage of the service histories for officers serving prior to 1900 are as complete as we can make them i.e. each service at least includes entry dates, separation dates, ranks and transfers.

To increase access to this information about the service of police officers we are using our online collection management site eHive to store this documentation as a PDF. Where an image such as a portrait or a copy of a swearing-in certificate can be found, it will also be added to the entry. Both the PDF and any associated image can be downloaded for future reference.

eHive Service History Page

Currently there are 25 officer service histories on eHive. They are stored under the Archive tab. 20 of these histories refer to pre-1900 officers with the surnames (Agen, Ahern, Apjohn, Armstrong, Ashton, Atkinson (2), Aubin, Barry (3), Beale, Beasley, Beggan, Blakeney (2), Cahill, Marrett, McCluskey and Power). The remainder represent the service of the first four Queensland police Commissioners Seymour, Parry-Okedon, Cahill and Urquhart plus that of the 12^th Police Commissioner Bauer. Additional pre-1900 service histories will be progressively added over the coming months.

Our site on eHive also hosts 208 of our objects and 1528 of our photographs so feel free to investigate those collections as well.

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This information was written by Curator Lisa Jones with information supplied from the best 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. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT: 19th century police officer service histories now online” 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 17 June 1932 the Cairns City Council asked unemployed vagrants living in Parramatta Park, to leave the grounds for the duration of the Cairns show. They refused to go and by July the towns people were getting frantic and angry because they could not set up for the show. On July 17 police were called in to forcibly remove the men from the park, many towns people also took part in the hostilities and a riot broke out. A number of people were injured and the majority of the vagrants were “run out of town”.

Unemployed persons with their swags are photographed in Parramatta Park probably prior to the riot of July 17, 1932.

This is how the event was reported in the Cairns Post the day after the riot (18 July 1932):

LAW & ORDER: Yesterday’s page in the history of Cairn will be regarded with some-pride but also with regret – pride that its citizens rallied so wonderfully well on the side; of , law and order, and regret that the necessity; for such an exhibition of solidarity was ever needed. For several weeks a large: encampment of unemployed had hurled defiance at Cairns citizens who desired to have the show ground for their own use for a abort period. The defiance, went further – it was a flick of the thumb to law and peacefulness. They had refused the offer of temporary shelter and made all sorts of impossible demands. When the gage was accepted 500 citizens and 34 police clashed with over 100 of the unwanted residents of the showground, and blood was spilled; in fact, within ten minutes, the scene of the melee might have been a slaughter yard.

Police watch on as a large crown gathers intent on moving the unemployed out of the encampment at Parramatta Park in 1932. This image was probably taken just prior to the riot taking place.

THE CULMINATION: The battle of Parramatta Park was fought and won by the massed forces of law and order, within ten minutes, and within another ten, incensed citizens had returned from chasing a body of fugitives nearly a mile off.

This image probably depicts the dying moments of the Parramatta Park riot at Cairns on July 17, 1932.

BARBAROUS WEAPONS: A large number of primeval but none-the-less deadly weapons were used by the defenders of the encampment to which they had no right, and in the melee, stones, bottles and pieces of iron flew left and right. When the reckoning came there were at least 80 injured, eight being detained in hospital. Included among the injured were a large number of influential citizens of the town, but the usurpers suffered most.

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This story was written by Curator Lisa Jones with 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. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM THE VAULT: Parramatta Park Riot, Cairns 1932” 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

Patrick and Ernest Hewitt, William Lilley, Walter Farrell and Charles Williams appeared in the Winton Court on December 30, 1905 charged with stealing 128 head of calves the property, of the Darling Downs and Western Land Company at Cork Station.

The accused had a camp and yard in the vicinity of the Cork and Brighton runs, from where they made several musters of Cork Station cattle. The unbranded calves aged 6 to 8 months, were taken from their mothers and driven back to the camp. Patrick Hewitt aged 12 years was discovered by Russell the head stockman from Cork Station, looking after the calves. Hewitt later confessed all to Sergeant Michael Brosnan.

Charles Williams one of the last men arrested, confirmed Patrick Hewitt’s statement, and Walter Farrell was brought in by Constable John Hanrahan of Diamantina Lakes Police Station.

John Farrell, father of Walter Farrell, offered Constable Joseph Doyle a bribe of £100 if the Constable would give Mr Chubb the solicitor of the accused, any information which would break down the case of cattle stealing against them. Constable Doyle did not succumb to the offer but was severely reprimanded for not reporting it immediately to Sergeant Brosnan. All of the accused except for young Patrick Hewitt, were found guilty of stealing calves and were sentenced to two years hard labour.

In recognition of their valuable services rendered in connection with the Cork Cattle Stealing Case, the Queensland National and New South Wales Banks presented Sergeant Michael Brosnan with £25, while Constables John Hanrahan, Joseph Doyle, P. Maloney, Andrew Hickson, and James Dunlea received £5 each.

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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 Cork Cattle Stealing Case” 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

An early morning cup of tea turned into a man hunt at Carpentaria Downs Station in September 1908.  The station manager, his horseman, and a man-servant were all considered suspects when governess Nellie Duffy was found deceased in her double bed.  Theft was not a motive; she still wore her gold jewellery.  Assault was not a motive; her clothes and blankets, although saturated with blood, were undisturbed.  The suggestion Miss Duffy had committed suicide by piercing her own neck were quickly quashed by the unusually undisturbed bedding, smoothed neatly across her body.

Every possible detail of the scene and the crime was gathered; the position of the body in bed, blood splatter on a bedside clock, the door to the bedroom being open, whether particular lighting was on or off, the location of a writing desk and chair, bedroom window dressings and mosquito netting, the usual routine of family members and station staff and their actions on the morning of the murder.  Witnesses were cross examined by Chief Inspector Frederic Urquhart and other police, and a record by Pugh’s Almanac of the time of sunrise on the date of the murder was checked against other evidence.

Chief Inspector Frederic Urquhart, July 1 1905. Image cropped from PM0785 and courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

A post mortem examination by Doctor Riccardo Moni from Georgetown was conducted with Sub Inspector Byrne and Constable Reynolds present, concluding the deep wound in the neck of the victim was caused whilst alive, as were two small facial bruises, consistent with being smothered by the offender’s hand grip.

Police commenced questioning all persons in the vicinity of the home, and anyone associated with Nellie and the Wilson family, managers of the cattle station.  Chief Inspector Urquhart interviewed station-hand for Henry and Fanny Wilson, Billy Wilson, who confirmed he knew the victim, and told police he had seen Mrs Wilson carrying a clutch of eggs in a milking tin when she spoke to him and said “I want to kill Miss Duffy”.  Upon the instruction of the station manager’s wife, and fearing severe reprisal if he did not assist, station hand Billy attended the bedroom of Miss Duffy early in the morning in the company of Mrs Wilson.  She attempted to stage Miss Duffy’s suicide by writing a note, then asked Billy to hold the sleeping young woman down whilst she stabbed Nellie once in the neck with a pocket-knife.  The knife pieced the jugular vein causing Nellie’s death.

The evidence for a murder conviction quickly mounted.  Billy Wilson proved the most reliable witness, voluntarily admitting he was also responsible for the death because he had assisted Mrs Wilson with her plan by restraining the sleeping Nellie.  In Mrs Wilson’s statement, she claimed innocence, suggesting the first she knew of the murder was when Mr Frost attempted to serve the victim her usual morning cup of tea.

The main street of Georgetown, 1908. Image PM2932 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The case was referred to the Townsville Supreme Court with the all-male jury unable to agree on a verdict, both for the accusation of murder against Fanny Wilson, steadfastly maintaining her innocence, and the accusation as an accessory against Billy Wilson.  In sensational developments the Judge entered a nolle prosequi against Mrs Wilson, and the jury entered a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict upon Billy.

There are several books available telling this crime in more detail.  You may wish to search for them using the Trove website.

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This article was written by Museum Assistant Georgia Grier from the best resources available within the Queensland Police Museum.  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- Sensational Developments in 1908” 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 close on

Tuesday 22nd December  2020
to reopen on Monday 4 January 2021.

A sentiment that still rings true. Queensland Police 1982 Christmas float – “We wish you an accident free Christmas”,

Staff wish all visitors a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.  We look forward to welcoming you back in 2021 which we hope will be a much less tumultuous year.

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 4^th 2021, 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.

Thomas Petersen 4th left, enjoys some Christmas cheer with his probationary colleagues in a classroom at the Petrie Terrace Police depot in 1920.(Image PM0644)