LEST WE FORGET

Constable James Sangster, c1890

James Sangster was sworn in as a Queensland Police Constable on August 8, 1890, he served in Brisbane before being transferred to Ipswich in November 1890.

In 1893, the people of Ipswich were moved by the selfless efforts of Constable James Sangster who lost his life in a gallant rescue attempt. Early on February 4, the Jackson family awoke to find that the Bremer River had risen several metres during the night and was now threatening their home. Mrs Jackson and five of her children set out in a small boat for higher ground. This left her eldest daughter and a farm worker in the house to await its return. However, before the boat reached dry land, it hit an underwater snag and overturned, drowning four of the children.

Sangster arrived at the river bank to see the house lifted up and carried downstream in the raging torrent. Grave fears were held for the two left stranded within the building and several unsuccessful attempts were made to rescue them. Although Sangster could not swim, he decided to try again to save the pair but this attempt ended in tragedy. He was washed downstream and although managing to cling for several hours to a flimsy sappling, no one could reach him. Onlookers were powerless to help when the sappling finally broke and the young police officer disappeared beneath the water. By the next morning the river had fallen several metres and the two left stranded in the house were brought safely to shore.

Monument to James Sangster who drowned in the Bremer River on February 4, 1893. The monument is in Browns Park, Ipswich.

Citizens of Ipswich erected a memorial fountain to commemorate Sangster’s devotion to duty which still stands on the Down Street side of Brown’s Park.

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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 – The death of Constable James Sangster, 1893” 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 →