Regional patrolling was a common duty required of outback police

Jock MacDonald was sworn-in as a Constable on 28 June 1961, he was 19 years old. He spent most of his career in regional areas such as Coen, Einasleigh, Kowanyama and Cairns. He was then transferred closer to Brisbane city, managing the Morningside Station for close to 2 years and also taking on the role of Inspector in the Brisbane communications room. He was eventually transferred back to Cairns and later retired there in 1992.

This interview took place on 19 July 2005 between retired Assistant Commission Greg Early and retired Inspector Jock MacDonald. In this excerpt Jock describes his experience leading a regional patrol of 15 horses with two trackers at the ripe old age of 19 in 1961

Transcription

“Yeah, well we went out, and it’s only within six months of my arriving at Coen, I was the constable that won the draw to do the next patrol. It was annual patrol, that big one, mainly going to these mission stations as they were then, Lockhart River and Weipa and Aurukun, because the deaths that had occurred during the year was our main task to attend to, investigate and do a report for the coroner back in Cooktown. So we’d get a radio telegram from one of the missions saying, “Oh Freddy BLOGGS died yesterday: chest pains, no suspicious circumstances.” and that would be the beginning of the file. So it was for that purpose that we did the annual patrol: to investigate those deaths when we got there, take statements from anyone who had attended the deceased.

So there was myself and two trackers went on that first big patrol in — started in May 1962 — going with those fifteen horses, troop horses, three packhorses. We took all our tucker with us of course, that included flour, rice, sugar and salt beef in bags, dried vegetables. Dewcrisp I think were the things that were put out those days — plus the ordinary spuds and onions which would only last so long of course in pack bags. We didn’t have much opportunity to replenish those around the traps because even these mission stations they weren’t particularly affluent those days, in fact the mission staff at times had even less food than we had in our pack bags when we arrived there on patrol. So we couldn’t, you know, get a lot of provisions along the way so we had to be fairly self-sufficient ourselves with what we took with us. We also took saddlery: a side of leather and rivets and saddlery gear, shoeing gear, horseshoes to re-shoe the horses as we went around on this big patrol.

As I say it took us about six weeks, and in each of the missions we’d stop for about three or four days to rest, and also to do our official work, that involved —apart from the deaths — the issuing of any driver’s license, registrations if there were trucks there on the mission, enrolment forms for the Electoral Act, those sort of things that a policeman did in those days. We were the government agent for every government department I suppose in those days: stock returns from all the stations that we visited. So we had to attend to those things as well. But it took us about six weeks to do the big patrol.”

“Just like a travelling salesman!”

“Oh look I’ll tell you what, it was quite (laughs) it was quite an eye-opener for a young bloke like me. I was only nineteen of course -

“What about the living out and that like you did, had you had experience of that before?”

“No, no I hadn’t Greg. I was — as I said I grew up in a city as a kid and went then to Brisbane there for those two or three years as a cadet, and then virtually up into Coen. A completely very remote and sparsely populated area and very few resources of course, so we took our swags and rolled out under a tent fly every night when we were camped out along the road. Oh it wasn’t a road, it was an old blazed track or something from some of the mining days, we followed those occasionally.

And other times I just followed the tracker through the bush — there appeared to be no track at all or no sign at all, so he led the way, or both the trackers led the way up the front and I was the tail-end Charlie of course bringing up the rear and chasing the packhorses at the rear. So it was (laughs) quite new to me I can tell you.”

“And a big responsibility for a nineteen year old, to be in charge of an outfit like that.”

“Well it was too, but oh as I said I learnt very quickly. And I think that was one of the things I appreciated much about going to Coen, you know having these experiences at Coen it made me grow up very quickly, accept responsibility and make decisions on my own. There was no radio or telephone to get back to the boss back in Coen and say, “What do I do about this?” it was a case of work it out for yourself as you went along.

And by gees I can tell you there were a few scary moments (laughs) along the way, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I think there was one stage I was going to resign. And when I got to the first mission I reckoned I’d blown it already and that I wouldn’t last in the Queensland Police after one or two (laughs) incidents between Coen and Lockhart River, so I was ready to just about resign when I got there. But I persevered, and as I say got used to it all and grew to love it actually.”… Continue reading →

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

“The Gatton Murders, 1898”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence.

Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

The Evolution of Boggo Road Gaol

October 27

11.00am – 12.30pm

Did you know that construction of Boggo Road Gaol, by A. Lind & Son, began in October 1901, was completed in June 1903. The gaol opened on 3 October 1903 and got its name from the fact that it was located in a district of Brisbane that in the 19th century was unofficially known as ‘Boggo’.

Thousands of men and women passed through the gates of the various prisons at Boggo Road during 1883-1999. The vast majority of them went unnoticed by the general public, but every once in a while certain prisoners gained notoriety because of the nature of their crimes, or the way in which they served their time.

The presentation titled; ‘The Evolution of Boggo Road Gaol’, will be addressed by retired Prison Officer Stephen M. Gage who will speak about the goal’s fascinating history.

This presentation will be suitable for everyone and will run from 11am to 12:30pm on Sunday, October 27.

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

Feel free to pass this information onto your family, friends and other networks. We look forward to welcoming you on October 27.… Continue reading →

A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE LEADS TO A TRAGIC PLANE CRASH

Marjorie Rose Norval, mysteriously disappeared on 11 November 1938. Her body was never found.
Image PM1849 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

A young, attractive girl in a job with socially prominent connections, disappears under suspicious circumstances. Marjorie Rose Norval, aged 30, was a Public Service typist who assisted the wife of then Queensland Premier William Forgan-Smith with arranging social functions.  She disappeared on the evening of 11 November 1938 and was last seen walking up the steps of Brisbane’s Central Station. She told friends that she was going to Bundaberg for three days.  In fact, no Bundaberg train was due to depart until hours after she was dropped off at Central Station. She told other friends conflicting stories about where she was going.

By the end of November the Government offered a reward of £500 but there were still no definite leads. All sorts of rumours about Marjory were spread not the least of which were that she was pregnant by a prominent politician and was killed to prevent a scandal and that her body was thrown into the bay. None of these have proven to be true. The search for Marjorie was massive with more than 1,000 people interviewed. Police checked every motor boat in the Brisbane River, combed the bush within 100 kilometres of Brisbane and dug up suspicious looking patches of ground. But the only bodies unearthed belonged to dead horses, cows, dogs and cats.

Abortionists and suspected abortionists were closely watched.  The water police were called upon to help and a plane was used to search islands and inlets from Jumpinpin and north. Tragedy struck on November 28, 1938 when an RAAF amphibian aircraft carrying four men including Constable George Young, crashed at Alberton Ferry, near Beenleigh, during the search for the missing woman, all on board were killed. An inquiry held in 1943 further investigated Ms Norval’s disappearance, at the end which, Magistrate Mr Leahy said he believed that Marjorie had undergone an operation from which she had not emerged alive, an operation which can be assumed to be an abortion.

Wreck of RAAF amphibian aircraft which crashed at Beenleigh killing all on board, including Constable Young, 28 November 1938.
Image No. PM1148b courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

PLANE CRASH KILLS CONSTABLE GEORGE YOUNG, NOVEMBER 28, 1938

Portrait of Constable George Robert Young wearing his Water Police uniform, c1922.
Image No. PM1138 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

George Robert Young was born on 15 November 1895, in Leopold Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane and then the family moved to a diary farm owned by a Mr Fountain at the Burpengary North Coast Line. When he was fourteen George and his parents moved to Paddington in Brisbane. A few years later he was employed by Finney Isles and Coy, in the capacity of electrician, the duties being to look after the firm’s electricity lighting plant. In 1916 at the age of 21, George joined the A.I.F. and then returned from Active Service in July 1919. He was then employed by the Military Department at the Enoggera Military Hospital, as electrician in charge of the electrical lighting plant. In November 1920 the hospital was disbanded and George received his discharge from the Army.

George joined the Queensland Police and was sworn in as Constable 2555 on 1 September 1921 at the age of 25 years and 9 months. He married Alice Rush Knights at Toowoomba on 26 February 1924 and they had one child, a daughter. He was stationed at Roma Street and Woolloongabba Police Station before being transferred into the Brisbane Water Police on 11 November 1922.

Constable George Robert Young shows off his rowing skills while on the Brisbane River, c1930.
Image No. PM1134 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

As Constable Young was considered to be an expert on the bay foreshores and the Albert River, it was decided he would be a police observer on board an RAAF Amphibian aircraft. The aircraft took off about midday on 28 November, but whilst it was travelling low over the Albert River in the vicinity of the Alberton Ferry, the plane hit a 5000 volt cable and crashed killing all  on board. The death of Constable Young was a very sad loss. He was described by Senior Sergeant Tuesley, OIC Brisbane Water Police as, “a most efficient and courteous officer” and by the then Police Commissioner Mr Carroll as “a man with a long and honourable record whose knowledge of the bay and near coast was of great value to the Police Department”.

Funeral of Water Police officer Constable George Young. The cortege can be seen travelling along Adelaide Street from the Cannon and Cripps Funeral Parlour, 1938.
Image No. PM1850 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

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

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

 “The death of Constable George Young, 1938”  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… Continue reading →

Queensland police walked “the beat” until the first issue of bicycles in January 1896. Bicycles allowed police to patrol a wider area of a town. By the 1920s there was even a pedal powered night patrol in Brisbane but with the introduction of mobile patrol cars in the 1930′s, bicycle use was largely abandoned.  

Studio portrait of Constable Duffy riding a police bicycle (make unknown), 1896
Image No PM0128 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Bicycles were reintroduced in 1992 when the Brisbane City Council donated two bicycles and helmets to Brisbane City Police Station.  Between 1992 and 1998 bicycle patrols were performed on an ad-hoc basis during summer and spring months when staffing levels permitted.  In 1998, City police began a three month trial of full time bicycle patrols which proved successful and bicycle patrols were subsequently adopted at Brisbane City Police Station on a full time basis.   Since that time bicycle patrols have grown across the state, with more than 70 stations throughout Queensland either operating or developing bicycle patrols.  

Two Bicycle Squad officers on patrol at Sandgate on their Giant Talon 2008 mountain bikes with Ay-Up lighting systems, Shimano LX brakes and gear shifters and Shimano XT rear derailleurs, Rock Shox ‘Tora’ and ‘Recon’ suspension forks, 2011
IMG0007 courtesy of Media & Public Affairs Group

Police Bike Squads have become a valuable part of general duties policing in many areas, gathering valuable intelligence and providing a rapid response to incidents within a police district.  Bike Squad officers have helped apprehend several armed offenders and robbery suspects, apprehended numerous persons with outstanding Court warrants and have provided a preventative response when required.  Bicycle Squads can also be heavily involved in the Policing of major events.

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

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

 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.

“Bicycles”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a 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 

 … Continue reading →

THE “White Ghost” – A VEHICLE FOR ROAD SENSE EDUCATION

The “White Ghost” Police Chevrolet utility at the Petrie Terrace Depot, c1946
Image No. PM0864 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

A 1941 white Chevrolet Special Deluxe utility, affectionately known as the “White Ghost”, was introduced to Brisbane and Toowoomba streets in 1946 by the Queensland Police Service. The vehicle was equipped with a loud hailer and cruised the streets in an effort to encourage better observance of road rules by the motoring public. The amplifier was used by the Police Officer driver or passenger to direct traffic or even pedestrians.

The 1941 white Chevrolet Special Deluxe Police utility was equipped with a loud hailer, c1946.
Image No. PM1401a courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Operating from early morning to late evening, the campaign to promote good community road sense and courtesy worked, with a reduction in road injuries and fatalities. These vehicles were used to educate drivers into the 1960s.

Cruising Kingsford Smith Drive, Brisbane, c1946. Note the tram tracks.
Image No. PM1401c courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Upon the introduction of Ghost Car II onto Townsville streets the Townsville Daily Bulletin reported on 17th August 1946 “The advent of this car was responsible for a great solution of traffic problems and a reduction in casualties. It’s familiar white colour was soon known to all and acted as a great deterrent to those who were previously inclined to ignore the traffic regulations.”

The “White Ghost” Police utility, the first vehicle in the row, being serviced in Toowoomba, c1960.
Image No. PM1461 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. We acknowledge Trove for the Townsville Daily Bulletin excerpt.

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

 ’The “White Ghost” – a vehicle for road sense education’  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

 … Continue reading →

Floods are not new to Queensland. We can look back to the 1840s to see the effects of rising rivers on low lying areas.  In the 1890s there were a series of huge floods which devastated Brisbane and Ipswich.

Fortitude Valley is inundated along with most of the inner city in February 1893 during the disastrous Brisbane and Ipswich floods.
Image No. 0630 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

In April 1949 heavy rains resulted in rail and road traffic being suspended. Bridges were cut by Behanna Creek, Babinda Creek and Russell River.

Up to their ankles, police officers and a traffic control vehicle help out during the Cairns flood, 1949.
Image No. 1249 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Major flooding occurred throughout the State during January 1974. Record flooding of Bulloo, Paroo, Flinders, Norman, Gilbert, Cooper, Diamantina, Georgina, Eyre, Nerang, Bremer, Warrill and Logan rivers and creeks occurred. Metropolitan Brisbane was also severly flooded, after Cyclone Wanda provided additional torrential rainfall to the Brisbane River catchment.

Police officers in their Ford Falcon 500, block access to a flooded Brisbane road in January, 1974.
Image No. 3413 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

In 1990 Charleville went under water by quite a few meters and the whole town had to be evacuated.  These images illustrate that during floods police officers are usually in the thick of things, sometimes to the detriment of their own health and safety in their efforts to undertake their duties.

The only exit is by boat – the view from the back of Charleville Police Barracks during the 1990 flood.
Image No. 0086 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

In modern times Queensland Police work in partnership with emergency services to keep people and property safe. But in times past, police officers were often the only emergency personnel on the ground.

Police officers plan their next move during the Julia Creek floods of 2009.
Image courtesy of the QPS Media and Public Affairs Branch

If you want to read about the history of Queensland floods visit the Bureau of Meteorology site visit http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/flood/fld_history/index.shtml

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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

“It’s raining again…floods and police work”  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… Continue reading →

Police Museum Sunday Lecture
Includes Morning Tea
November 24, 2013
10:00 – 12:30

Special Branch was established in April 1948 and was often surrounded by controversy, but always by a veil of secrecy.

Special Branch members – Commissioner Frank Bischof sits middle of front row. Image PM3469 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.

During the morning of 24 November, 1989, most Police Special Branch files were shredded. Many Queenslanders believed they would never get to know the undisclosed details of those documents, or ever learn of the history of the unit. That is not quite the case.

Barry Krosch is a retired Queensland Police Inspector, and a former detective in the Special Branch.  For the past four years he has been researching the branch as an MPhil researcher at Griffith University’s Centre for Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS). The day after this presentation, he will submit his thesis ‘The Queensland Police Special Branch 1948 to 1989: History, function and impact’.

This research was a significant exercise in document discovery at state and national archives, complemented with Barry’s ‘insider’ knowledge, and interviews with former branch members, targets and agents. He will present some of his research findings, which will include the reasons for the shredding, the background to the disbandment and explain why some branch files are now available from national archives.

An arrest by police in Alice Street during the Springbok Rugby Tour demonstration, July 1971. Image PM1342e courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.

After a morning tea (kindly provided by CEPS), members of a panel will present brief overviews of their knowledge of the branch and attempt to reach a consensus; ‘Is it time to consign Special Branch to history and look to the future?’ The presentation will be chaired by Dr Paul Reynolds, Honorary Research Fellow at Queensland Parliament. Other panellists will include Professor Mark Finnane, Mr Terry O’Gorman, Mr Dan van Blarcom and another two surprise guests.

This two and a half hour presentation will start at 10am on Sunday, November 24 and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for any audience. Please note, no RSVP is required.

The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm in addition to the standard Monday to Friday 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 24 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Please pass this information onto your family, friends and other networks.
We look forward to welcoming you on November 24.

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

“Sunday Lecture Series – Queensland Police Special Branch 1948 to 1989”  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… Continue reading →

Between 1864 and 1869 Queensland police occupied buildings in the city centre and then in 1870 they moved into Victoria Barracks. In 1885 they moved next door into the old Brisbane Gaol buildings after the prisoners were moved to Boggo Road Gaol. One wing of the gaol was demolished while the second wing was converted into Police Barracks, later a second storey and verandah were added to this building.

Newly built Police Depot on Petrie Terrace c1938. Image No. PM3119 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.

In 1938 the Petrie Terrace Depot building, which still exists today, was completed at a cost of £41 000. It was described as the finest building if its kind in Australasia, if not in the whole British Commonwealth. The ground floor accommodated offices for staff as well as dining and lecture rooms. The upper floors contained bedrooms, a lounge, a recreation room with two billiard tables, provided by the Police Welfare Club, drying rooms specifically heated for the convenience of men returning to the barracks in wet weather, lavatories, bathrooms and storerooms. When the Queensland Police Academy was opened in 1972 the training programs held at the Depot came to an end.

Petrie Terrace Depot Barrack building today in all its restored glory. Image No. 5108 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.

The old Police Depot Barrack Building was saved from demolition and redeveloped into office space, shopping outlets and fine dining in 2008. It’s a great place to appreciate the history of the site while you enjoy a cup of coffee.

This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  Contact Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au

The Police Museum is open from 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.

 “Petrie Terrace Depot 1938 – 1972” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence.  Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. … Continue reading →

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Queensland Police Museum has celebrated its 120th birthday today with festivities hosted at Police Headquarters on Roma Street.

Commissioner Ian Stewart said on November 27, 1893 Mr Finucane, Chief Clerk of the Queensland Police, signed a memorandum on behalf of Commissioner David Seymour, which instructed all police officers to send in items of interest concerning crimes and suicides for the purpose of creating a ‘Criminal Museum’.

“And so the Queensland Police ‘Museum’ was born,” Commissioner Stewart said.

“The collection was by nature eclectic, and included some very gruesome items and was initially housed in a glass fronted cupboard at Petrie Terrace Police Depot. The collection was used to educate recruits about criminality.”

“There are only a few objects from the original collection as they have either dried up or disappeared over the last 120 years. The 1894 era fake gold nugget, currently on display, is the oldest original museum object still existing in the collection.”

Museum Curator, Lisa Jones said in 1934, a new appeal for objects was made by then Police Commissioner Mr Carroll, but by 1940 the collection had been packed up in boxes due to lack of space.

“In 1949 the collection was officially handed over into the care of Detective Constable Les Bardwell head of the Technical Section, Criminal Investigation Branch,” Ms Jones said.

“On May 20, 1979 the “new” Police Museum opened and was located on the 7th floor of Forbes House in Makerston Street however, it was not fully open to the public.”

“By the late 1980s, plans were in place to build a new Police Headquarters in Roma Street which was to include a purpose built home for the Police Museum. The building, along with the new museum, opened in August 1990.”

The Police Museum’s aim is to continue to raise the profile of the Queensland Police Service, by showcasing fascinating policing history and fostering pride in QPS achievements in the wider community.

“There have been a lot of changes in the Museum’s 120 year history,” Ms Jones said.

“The collection has seen many homes, the displays have been refurbished more than once, and objects have been both lost and discovered.

“But the Queensland Police Museum has not only survived these years, it is one of the best of its kind in the world and we hope that it will continue to uphold this standard into the next millennium.”… Continue reading →

Main Roads Department Vincent HRD motor cycle and side car for carrying projector, equipment etc for school lectures, is presented by the Markwell Brothers to the Road Safety Council for use by Police lecturers for commuting to and from schools, c1956. Left to right: Fred Markwell, Chief Inspector Fred Palethorpe, Constable Bill English, Jack Duggan, Constable Eric Newman, Constable Tom Laurie, Police Commissioner Patrick Glynn and Sergeant Banjo Paterson.

The Queensland Road Safety Council was founded on 4 July 1947 to co-ordinate the promotion of road safety activities. Queensland Police started Road Safety school lecturing in 1952. and the Main Roads Department gave the Police Department two road safety Austin A40s so that officers could travel to schools to deliver these lectures. In 1956 a Vincent HRD motorcycle was also given to the department. The side car was used to carry the projector and other equipment for school visits. In 1961 the Road Safety Bicycle Brake Testing Lane was launched and taken to schools to promote bicycle safety.

Senior Constables Bill Dangerfield (left) and Bill English Police (right) entertain children at the Aspley Kindergarden with the Road Safety puppets. The puppets were used as part of a Children’s Road Safety campaign, ca. 1958.

Two Queensland Police officers in particular, Bill English and Bill Dangerfield, spent about a decade on the Road Safety lecturing circuit. They also ran films, demonstrated road safety tips with the help of Road Safety Puppet Theatre, taught children how to cross the road safely and how to ride a bike and to give the correct hand signals for stopping and turning. Bill English was also well known in Brisbane as the “whistling cop” for his prowess at directing traffic with his shrill whistle!

Senior Const Bill English gives a road safety lecture to children at a Toowoomba school on September 9, 1959.

Senior Constable English gives a practical, outdoor lesson on the correct use of a Zebra Crossing outside Ironside State School on December 12, 1961.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum – Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
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.

“Look Left & Right: Road Safety Lecturing in the 1950s and 1960s”, 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… Continue reading →

Book Cover – VOICES FROM THE PAST

Retired QPS Senior Sergeant Neil Bradford has written a definitive history of law enforcement in the Central Highlands. Tracing the explorative past from Ludwig Leichhardt’s expedition through Central Queensland, “Voices from the past: law enforcement on the Central Highlands” details important, shockingly brutal events in Queensland indigenous and police history. With a foreword by retired former Assistant Commissioner Greg Early, “Voices from the past” is an important chronicle in the history of policing in Queensland.

You are invited to the launch of “Voices from the past” in Police Headquarters on Friday December 13. This event is open to the public.

Date: Friday 13th December 2013
Time: 3.30pm
Venue: Ground floor conference room, Police Headquarters, 200 Roma St Brisbane.
RSVP: Neil Bradford | Email: nrpfb@bigpond.net.au | Wednesday 11 December 2013

Afternoon tea will be provided.  Numbers are limited so bookings are essential.  All enquiries to Neil Bradford.​… Continue reading →

As the amount of cars, trucks and other conveyances increased on Brisbane’s roads so did the propensity for pedestrians to be hit as they tried to cross busy thoroughfares.  It was the responsibility of traffic police to keep the intersections flowing and give everyone a fair chance to move or cross roads. Once the police took control of busy intersections the accidents dwindled.

The first traffic signals in Brisbane were placed at the intersection of Ann, Upper Albert and Roma Streets and where ‘lit’ on January 21, 1936. Image No. PM2937 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

By the middle of the 1930s there were moves to place traffic lights as some of the more congested city intersections. At precisely 3pm on Tuesday, January 21, 1936, Mr. E. M. Hanlon, Minister for Health and Home Affairs, switched on the electro-matic vehicle activated, traffic control system at the junction of Ann, Upper Albert, and Roma Streets. The Courier-Mail reported the following day that “the traffic at that time was fairly heavy, yet surprisingly few made mistakes. Traffic police were on duty to point out to the unheeding or the confused the error of their ways, and in a short time it was obvious that the signals were easy to follow, and the traffic flowed evenly in all directions”.

A close-up view of new electro-matic vehicle actuated traffic signals at the corner of Queen and George Streets.
Men set up speakers to amplify the switching on ceremony which took place on May 24, 1937.
Image No. PM2938 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Sixteen months later a second set of traffic lights was installed at the very busy junction of Queen and George Streets. The lights were switched on by Mr E. Hanlon at 3pm on Monday, May 24, 1937. It was reported that the police officer on point duty at this intersection walked off his post for the last time just as the Minister for Home Affairs switched on the current for the ‘electro-matic’ traffic control system. It was quite the novelty and people lined both footpaths during the ceremony, and amplifiers carried the words of the Minister’s speech to crowds at the already “lit” intersections of Ann, Albert and Roma Streets. Mr Cecil Carroll, Commissioner of Police was quoted as saying that “the installed traffic control system was the most modern of its kind, and was in use in all parts of the world”.

Commissioner Cecil Carroll, middle of the image, and other dignitaries, check that the traffic signals at the intersection of Queen and George streets are working correctly, the day after they were switched on, May 25, 1937. Image No. PM2940 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

With the installation of automatic control it was said that Queen Street was the most orderly street in the Commonwealth. The new traffic lights were set to operate each day between 7.30 am and midnight.

View from above of new traffic lights at the corner of Adelaide (with tram) and Edward Streets “Brisbane’s new Automatic Traffic Control System worked smoothly during peak hour on Saturday, as revealed by this bird’s-eye-view.” Brisbane Courier-Mail 31.5.1937
Image No. PM2936 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

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

Purchases can be made through the following:

 Queensland Police Museum
Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au
P: 3364 4652

or

QPS 150 Year Celebrations Project Office

Email: QPS.150YearCelebrations@police.qld.gov.au

Cost: $12.00 each

 PAYMENT OPTIONS

Electronic Funds Transfer (QPCU Account):

Account Name: QPS 150 Year Celebrations
BSB: 704 052
Account Number: 1046220

For QPCU member EFTs remember to add S1 to Account No.
Remember to place full name in reference field.

 Cash (In person) at:

Queensland Police Museum (Ground Floor, PHQ)
Media & Public Affairs Group (Ground Floor, PHQ)

POSTAGE

Calendars can be posted in boxes that fit up to three calendars @ $2.00 per box plus the postage cost to your area. Indicative postage prices are listed below.  Remember to provide your full address for postage orders.

 For larger shipments, please contact QPS 150 Year Celebrations Project Office
or the Queensland Police Museum.

  … Continue reading →

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

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

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

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

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

Wildlife Task Force Detective Sergeant John O’Shea and Detective Senior Constable Dean Gilmour holding a Foxtail Palm in 1996. Image No. PM0498a Courtesy Queensland Police Museum

Annually, the squad confiscated hundreds of birds, reptiles and kangaroo skins.  High black market prices kept the numbers of illegal suppliers up – a Diamond Python and a pair of Palm Cockatoos from Cape York fetched $3,500 and $100,000 overseas respectively.  In 1984, in a joint operation with the Bureau of Customs, luggage search at Brisbane Airport revealed a shocking discovery:  99 Australian birds disembowelled and wrapped in newspapers. The two perpetrators arrested confessed to trapping the birds while holidaying with friends at Ballandean.

Combined Fauna Protection Squad and National Parks and Wildlife Service patrol of the Simpson Desert in 1979. Image No. PM0957 Courtesy Queensland Police Museum

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

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This 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

 “Fauna Protection Squad”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova for 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

… Continue reading →

Image: Frank Gardiner, ‘The Bushrangers’ from The Farmer and Settler, 20 April, 1915 p. 7.

‘After discovery of gold in 1831, a number of bad characters took to the bush who were satisfied to rob without offering violence, unless they were resisted. This class of highway robber soon found sympathisers, for there was something romantic about boldly sticking up coaches and gold escorts, and fighting the police.’

In the mid-nineteenth century Queensland, as in the rest of Australia, bush-ranging was rife. Many of the bushrangers across the Australian colonies were of Irish or Irish-Australian background. Frank Gardiner (aka Frank Christie) a son of an Irish-Aboriginal servant girl and a Scottish immigrant was no exception.

After being released on a ticket-of-leave in 1858, Gardiner took to bushranging. He gained notoriety for gentlemanly behaviour, gifts to the poor and ‘humane’ bushranging. Numerous sympathisers among the small settlers made it very difficult for the police to apprehend Gardiner. In 1864 he was arrested in Apis Creek near Rockhampton, where he had been living with his girlfriend Kitty Brown for some years. Gardiner was tried in Sydney and sentenced to thirty-years but was pardoned after serving ten.

In July, 1874 Gardiner was released conditionally from prison and left for San Francisco, California. Following his release, accounts of his whereabouts begin to vary. In 1887, Newcastle Morning Herald reported that for years Gardiner kept a saloon or a bar in Pacific-street, San Francisco, but he soon enough again took to the roads, and was ‘sticking up’ emigrant trains in the West though nothing authentic was known.

A year later, a Melbourne paper reported on a Californian periodical (1888), which ran a story that prior his arrest in 1864, Gardiner fathered a child with a young English girl, who died during his imprisonment. Having made suitable provisions for his daughter, he left for America and set up a saloon on Kearney-street, near Broadway, San Francisco ‘being the resort of seafaring men, especially those plying between that port and the colonies.’

The Brisbane Courier wrote that during all the time that Gardiner remained in San Francisco his conduct was good, ‘and the police never once had to complain of him or his saloon.’

Other accounts (1879) state he posted a letter to a person in Burrangong saying that he has married ‘a wealthy American widow, and has comfortably located himself in Nevada.’

The story of a near legendary humane bushranger Gardiner lived on well into the twentieth century in many a newspaper.

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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

“Frank Gardiner, an Australian Dick Turpin”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova 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

… Continue reading →

The Queensland Police Service have commissioned a long and fine list of vessels for use by the Water Police. In 1893 the Annual Report to the Commissioner of Police suggested “this branch of the Force would be more effective if the small boat presently used be replaced by a smart steam launch”. Since those early years more than 70 vessels have been purchased by the Queensland Police Service, with many named in honour of  police officers tragically killed in the course of their duties.

The following are some of our favourites;

Image No. PM0144 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The Water Police Vessel ‘VEDETTE II’ was launched on 15^th April 1954 for use in Brisbane.  This image was taken on the Brisbane River, c1964.  Senior Sergeant Alec Powe is standing on the prow, other officers unknown. Both this vessel, and the ‘VEDETTE’ attended the capsized dredge ‘Kaptajn Nielsen’ in September 1964.

Image No. PM0253 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The Water Police speedboat ‘M.V. Rita’ was in service from 1970 to 1978, patrolling Thursday Island and then Cairns. Seen here c1974.

Image No. PM0855 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Water Police Vessel ‘N.W. BAUER’ is a 50 foot twin screw motor launch.  It patrolled the coastal waters from Mooloolaba to Southport. Launched December 1976 in Brisbane, it was transferred to Townsville in 1985.

Image No. PM0814 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

This vessel was originally named the ‘D.W. DOWLING’ and built for the Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service in 1970.  It became surplus to requirements, recommissioned to the Water Police, Cairns in 1988 and renamed the ‘M.L. LOW’.

Image No. PM1147 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Launched in Brisbane in 1992 the 14.75  metre ‘BRETT T. HANDRAN’ was powered by twin 420 hp Detroit 6v92 series motors and stationed at the Brisbane Water Police.

Image No. PM3585 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The ‘LYLE M. HOEY IV’ was one of three 22 metre patrol and command boats (the others BRETT T. HANDRAN II and W.CCONROY VI) commissioned by the Qld Police Service, each equipped with a high speed offshore Rigid Hull inflatable.

 
For further information about Police Vessels and a history of the Water Police visit: http://www.qldwaterpolice.com/index.html

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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

“Boats, boats and moor boats!”  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… Continue reading →

Drayton was the first township established on the Darling Downs. The township was named after a local house owned by Thomas Alford who in turn named his house after a village in England. Drayton Police Station was established prior to the inauguration of the Queensland Police Force on 1 January, 1864 which makes it one of the oldest stations in the area. In 1860, the station had a salaried Chief Constable, William Murphy and by 1864 an Inspector, a Sub-Inspector and two Constables were added to the station.

Drayton Police District first appears in the Government Gazette in 1850. In the 1860s and 1870s Drayton and Toowoomba operated as one unit.  In 1884, nearly a decade after its boundaries were first drawn up, Drayton was added to the Darling Downs District.

Drayton Police Station (also Drayton’s Second Court House), 1867-1915. Demolished in 1979.
Image PM3259 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In 1858 the Police Station building comprised of a courtroom, a lockup and the prisoner’s cells immediately adjoining the courtroom – an arrangement that was considered objectionable. The lockup was described to be in such a state of disrepair, that a number of prisoners managed to escape between 1857 and 1858.

According to the station correspondence, the entire building was in a continuous state of disrepair. The 1904 report showed that one of the cells had a three square foot hole in its roof and the front verandah was falling away from the main building.  By 1913 the station building was falling apart. In 1915 a new station plan was approved by the Department of Public Works with costs estimated at £689.  The new building was completed in December, 1915 and at the much lower cost of £455. It contained three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, bathroom and an office.

Drayton Police Station Plan, 1915.
Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

The Drayton Station was closed and reopened a number of times over the years. It was closed in 1880 and reopened in 1884, then closed and reopened again in 1894. During an inspection in 1925, the inspecting officer made a note of the watch-house book, which showed there had been no arrests made since 1919. Unsurprisingly, the station closed on 31 December, 1925 yet again.

In 1929 a number of petitions and complaints of rowdyism and theft had been forwarded to the Head Station in Toowoomba; a request for police presence followed. The station re-opened on 11 March, 1930 and it remains open to this day.

Drayton Police Station, front view, 1916 – 1982. Originally located on Brisbane Street, but moved to the north-western corner of Rudd and Glennie Streets, Drayton.
Image PM3266a Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

The new Drayton Police Station was built in 1981 on the original site of the old station at 35-37 Brisbane Street, and the building erected in 1915 was moved from Brisbane Street to the north-western corner of Rudd and Glennie Streets.

The modern building contains six small rooms, including the office of the Officer in Charge,  a kitchen and an interview room. There are no cells included in the latest station.

In 2012 the front counter was upgraded to increase security, it replaced a simple wooden bench original to the station.

Drayton Police Station today.
Image Courtesy of Tanya Marshall at the Drayton Police Station.

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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

“Drayton Police Station”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova 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… Continue reading →

During the 1920’s written suggestions to the Commissioner of Police, Patrick Short, requesting the purchase a vehicle for use by the CIB where politely refused with a standard letter sent to several Brisbane motor vehicle companies vying for business.  The letters acknowledged receipt of the many and varied vehicle specification brochures, and promptly informed the hopeful sales person that “the purchase of such a motorcar is not contemplated at present”.

Two police motor vehicles, a Ford V8 Convertible Sedan at left, and Ford V8 5 Window Coupe at right with traffic safety loud speaker on roof, c1935.
Both vehicles were the standard model with 85 hp and 3sp manual gearbox.
Image PM3028 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.

In the early 1930’s the then Commissioner, William H. Ryan, embraced motorisation and approved the purchase of motorcycles and vehicles for use across the state.  Many different vehicle brands and styles have been utilised for police work, and as these images show progress has been made since those early days.

Police vehicles fitted with load screens for oversize load escort duty.
Shown here are two 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid Sedans, with Caterpillar Front End Loader.
Image courtesy of QPS Media & Public Affairs Group.

This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

The Police Museum is open from 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.

“Police Vehicles”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a 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

 … Continue reading →