On 1 July 1895 William Edward Parry-Okeden was appointed Commissioner of Police, a post unsought but loyally accepted. Many reforms ensued: reorganization of Queensland’s police into seven districts; appointment of a chief inspector; the institution of a criminal investigation branch; more comfortable uniforms; the use of bicycles; better horses; finger-printing; a police museum; and facilities for ‘police benefit and recreation’. Parry-Okeden and his family’s social gifts contributed to morale.
Coloured portrait of Commissioner William Edward Parry-Okeden, c1895.
Image No. PM2274 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
In 1896 Commissioner Parry-Okeden spent two months on Cape York investigating complaints about the Native Police after Archibald Meston had recommended their abolition. Parry-Okeden’s knowledge of Aboriginal languages was an asset in a strenuous tour which resulted in a reasoned defence of the force and moderate but wide-ranging recommendations. His Report on the North Queensland Aborigines and the Native Police (1897) became the basis of the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897, which set up the first government-controlled Aboriginal reserves. As Commissioner, Parry-Okeden became Protector of Aborigines.
Failure [by the Queensland Police Force] to detect murderers at Goodna and at Gatton led in 1899 to a Royal Commission into the Criminal Investigation Branch. Parry-Okeden, who insisted on being judged with his men, was criticized by two of the five Commissioners for treating the police like soldiers, for certain appointments, and for lacking police experience. His detailed and dignified reply acknowledged the good done by the investigation. One-tenth of an undermanned and overworked force was used to track down the murderers Patrick and James Kenniff in 1902; despite sympathy for the Kenniffs akin to that for Ned Kelly, the police department was showered with congratulations.
Commissioner’s Conference 1903. William E. Parry-Okeden, Queensland’s Commissioner of Police from 1895-1905, is fourth from the right (seated).
Image No. PM1590 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
More congenial were social, ceremonial, and patriotic duties: the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, the dispatch of Queensland bushmen to the South African War, the inauguration of the Commonwealth and the presence in Brisbane of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York were occasions that displayed the Commissioner’s fine presence. In June 1903 he was appointed a Companion of the Imperial Service Order. He retired from the public service on 1 April 1905.
The Parry-Okedens lived successively at Kangaroo Point, Toowong and Kedron, though much of William’s retirement was spent at Redcliffe. Survived by three sons and four daughters whose lives were similarly long, adventurous and public-spirited, Parry-Okeden died in Brisbane on 30 August 1926 and was buried beside his wife in Bulimba cemetery.
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This information extracted from the ‘Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, 1988 by Michael D. de B. Collins Persse. 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