The Queensland Police mobile office was first organised as an aid in a 1974 homicide investigation in Maroochydore. In August, 1974, a small Sunshine Coast community was shaken by the tragic news of a home-made bomb exploding in an unoccupied house killing the three year old daughter of the owner of the house, and severely wounding her younger sister. The girls were playing around the house while waiting for their father to finish with the repairs. The device manufactured from gelignite and nails with roofing screws for shrapnel, was concealed in a kitchen cupboard booby trapped to explode upon opening. The blast was so intense it killed the girl nearly instantly, the shrapnel pierced gaping holes in the walls of the room. Preliminary investigation showed Detective Sergeant Dorries was the intended target. The same morning he received a tip from a male anonymous caller about a quantity of heroin stored in a cupboard at that address.
The Sunshine Coast Advertiser, Vol. 11, No. 4 (14 Aug 1974)
Detective Inspector Jack “Jock” McSporran was placed in charge of the investigation. He and a squad of 20 experienced and competent hand-picked detectives travelled to Maroochydore to ‘hunt down’ the perpetrators. The detectives took to their task immediately, working round the clock from the Maroochydore Police Station, typing up reports, conducting interviews with witnesses and persons of interest. As the 4 person police station began to strain from over-use of the facilities, Commissioner Whitrod ordered the police garage and technical staff to equip a mobile police office to accommodate the additional police presence.
Shortly, a secondhand 6-metre long caravan was obtained in Brisbane. The van was promptly refurbished and fitted with typing office bench, a typewriter, swivel chairs, hot water urn, tea facilities and electric wall clock:
A section of the nearside van wall was cut out at workbench level and fitted with steel roller doors. A long metal flap opened outwards from the roller doors, hinged along the roofline so that when unlocked and pushed outwards, it formed a pushout canopy exposing the typing bench. Detectives, at the end of a particular inquiry, would come to the counter window and report their progress across the bench.
The van, affectionately known as the ‘chuckwagon’, was parked in the police station plot and furnished with an illuminated POLICE sign on its roof. The mobile unit was also equipped with communication lines, such as a telephone connection and a two-way radio. The telephone number was advertised in the newspapers to promote public assistance. Soon after, another anonymous telephone call was made, this time warning Detective Inspector McSporren that he was next on the list. The investigation continued for three months, culminating with two perpetrators being charged with murder of the little girl. Later, one of the men committed suicide while awaiting trial and the second was sentenced to life imprisonment but was paroled after 14 years and deported to New Zealand.
The Sunshine Coast Advertiser, Vol. 11, No. 4 (14 Aug 1974)
The mobile police post was extremely successful and went on to be used on many investigations. Today, ‘police stations on wheels’ include advanced communications capabilities such as satellite phone and radio systems; designated work area for a Police Forward Commander; two internal workstations fitted with interconnected computers, wirelessly connected to the QPS networks through encrypted software systems; storage for equipment necessary to establish and operate a Police Forward Command Post; and a trailer with a large capacity generator capable of powering a Police Forward Command Post making it a fully equipped mobile police office ready to be deployed on demand.
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This article has been provided by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. The information was provided by retired Qld Police Detective John Kolence, and written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.
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 – Our First Forward Command Post” 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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