From a mode of transport to a specialist policing branch
The horse has always played an important role of the policing of Queensland. Horses were a principle means of transport for police officers across the state from the beginning of the Queensland Police Force in 1864 and for the next almost 100 years until motorised transport became the more usual means of transport. Up until the early 1960s, individual police stations had their own stables and paddocks in which to keep their troop horses.
In 1870 the Queensland Police moved their headquarters from the Brisbane city up to the Victoria Barracks at Petrie Terrace. Between January and July 1875 a carriage house and stables were built on site by Alfred Doorey. The building contained stabling and loose boxes for 28 horses, forage stores, harness and saddle rooms and a large covered court under which horses could be washed and groomed. In 1883 the Queensland Police moved their headquarters into the old Brisbane Gaol buildings next door but kept using the stables until they were handed back to the Commonwealth in 1911.
At the turn of the century the Queensland Police obtained its horses by purchase. The average price for a horse in the 1897- 1898 year was £6 11s 4d and usually over 100 horses were purchased yearly. By 1904 Commissioner Parry-Okeden was urging that the Police Department should breed its own horses in a move designed to overcome the difficulty of obtaining suitable remounts, usually at very high prices. By 1907, a scarcity in the supply of horses was emerging, partly because foreign armies were buying remounts, while Queensland’s need for police horses remained high. In 1906 Commissioner Cahill considered that almost one-quarter, 227, of the 952 police horses, were too old (aged 15 or more) and he planned to sell them. But the problem of old horses was not to be solved easily and in 1908 over one-fifth of the horses were 15 years or older, and there was some feeling in the Department that all police horses should be disposed of after about 10 years.
The Stallion “Libertine” at the Rewan Horse Breeding Stud, 1910.
Image No. PM0831 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
The attempt to breed horses came in 1904 with Commissioner Parry-Okeden’s decision to establish a stud farm at Woodford. An area of 8.6 km2, reserved as a police paddock, was used for police mares and for growing feed. Stallions were hired for £30 and between them sired 26 foals. However, this small reserve was found to be both unsuitable and inadequate and so with the cost of buying horses ever rising, the Department looked elsewhere for a larger breeding establishment. Commissioner Cahill reported in 1909 that he had obtained a very fine reserve called ‘Rewan’ of 78 000 acres (318 km2), resumed from the Consuelo leasehold.
In 1912 a new stable building was completed at the Petrie Terrace Police Depot (old gaol area). In 1920 a group of mounted officers was gathered to act as escort for the visit for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and in December 1934 another escort was gathered for the visit of His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester.
Queensland mounted police escort provided for His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester during December 1934.
Image No. PM0499 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
In 1933 after 24 years of varying success the Queensland Government closed the ‘Rewan’ horse stud, citing inaccessibility and the unsuitability of Rewan’s horses for the work in the north. The Queensland Police returned to the practice of purchasing horses. In June 1941 when the existing 16 troop horses (Winchester; Camera; Eidsvold; Hazak, Spearturn; Ink; Spitfire; Digger; Belvedere; Herculean; Frog; Hero; Enamel; Enfield; Flintlock and Webley) were transferred from the Petrie Terrace stables to those at the Oxley Police Station. The old stable became a garage to meet the growing needs of mechanised police transport.
A ‘Mounted Unit’ existed at the Oxley Station and was managed by the Officer in Charge. Oxley police officers also rode patrols and looked after the horses along with their general duties. A co-ordinated mounted group was organised was as an escort for Queen Elizabeth during her 1954 tour of Brisbane. 22 horses were required for the escort and 26 were rigorously trained for Royal Escort Duty.
On 26 August 1974 the Queensland Mounted Police Unit (QMPU) was created. A Senior Sergeant was placed in charge of the QMPU and 2 Constables were transferred from Oxley Station to the QMPU. Other officers were called in for mounted work when required. The QMPU performed a mainly ceremonial role, such as escort work and tent pegging displays for the next 56 years.
Mounted Unit officers, L-R: Senior Constable Simon Shilton, Sergeant Teala Muller and Senior Constable Natalie Lewis-Grofski patrol Southbank Parklands, 2010.
Image No. PM3603 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
The QMPU moved from Oxley to a brand new purpose built complex at Moggill in early 1997. The nine hectare complex included 18 stables, a covered training arena, an outdoor simulated training environment, an office and storage facilities.
Members of the QMPU perform a variety of duties from VIP escorts, leading parades, and Police funerals, to patrolling inner city areas, and parklands, and searching for missing persons and stolen property. The Unit currently maintains a string of 20 troop horses in various stages of training. The QMPU works predominantly in south east Queensland to provide a visible police presence at major events and in public spaces.
Today only the Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad and the Queensland Mounted Police rely on horses for the performance of their duty.
For current Queensland Police Museum E-Alert recipients, and in place of our usual Sunday Lecture Series, the invitation went out to join the Mounted Police Unit in Moggill for an open day last Sunday. The event showcased how police troop horses are trained, including demonstrations in two key areas – sensory and environmental conditioning. Information on the health, care and stabling of horses was also provided. To ensure you don’t miss out on future lectures and events, consider becoming a QPM E-Alert recipient; who knows where we’ll take you back in time next year?!
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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- Police and Horses” 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