Senior Constable William Conroy was transferred to Thursday Island in 1886. He became a well-respected officer. On 1 July 1895 Amelia Tinyana went to the Thursday Island Police Station and complained to Sub-Inspector Urquhart that her husband had beaten her. That evening Conroy reported to Sergeant McCreery that Frank Tinyana was quiet and reasonable and there were no grounds for arresting him. On the 2nd a summons was served on Tinyana and Urquhart gave instructions that police should keep an eye on him.
On the evening of the 2nd, Tinyana went to Mrs Boyd’s house, where his wife was staying, demanding to know where she was. Andrew Boyd told him to go away or he would call the police. A short time later Boyd heard someone trying to break in through the back door. Mrs Tinyana jumped out of the bedroom window and called for the police, she ran to Smyth’s Hotel and found Senior Constable Conroy.
Boyd returned to his mother’s house and locked the doors. He let Mrs Tinyana and the police officer in when then they arrived. Boyd then left by the front door but forgot to lock it. Conroy and Mrs Tinyana were in the backyard when Frank Tinyana ran through the house and out towards them wielding a knife. He attacked his wife and she sustained a deep wound to her arm after which she ran back through the house and out onto the street.
Ten minutes later Conroy and his prisoner came out through the front of the house, both looked exhausted as they staggered into the front garden. Constable Clines arrived and ran up to Conroy who handed the prisoner to him and said, “My God, is that you? Take this fellow, I must lie down, he has killed me”, before he collapsed. Senior Constable William Conroy had been stabbed seven times and could not be saved, he died at 10.30pm on 2 July 1895. After a lengthy trail Frank Tinyana pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. He was executed on 4 November 1895.
Thursday Island was the final resting place of Senior Constable William Conroy, and this headstone is engraved with the following: “To the memory of William Conroy aged 33 years. Senior Constable of police who was killed at Thursday Island on the second of July 1895 in the faithful and fearless execution of his duty. Palmam qui mereif ferat. This stone was erected by the Queensland Government and the officers and men of the Queensland Police Force.”
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This information has been provided by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. The article was written by Museum Curator Lisa Jones.
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 – Senior Constable William Conroy” 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.
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