William Cahill was appointed Commissioner of Police in 1905 and was a capable administrator in the justice department, supervising a period of expansion and introducing reforms to the Queensland Police Force, including free uniforms and better pensions. He made every effort to have police relieved of extraneous government duties in rural areas—without notable success. He pressed for better arms and ammunition, and set up a police horse-breeding establishment at Woodford which was moved later to Rewan, south of Springsure. ‘Somewhat inclined to be a martinet’, he tightened discipline, following the practice of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and in 1913 issued a Policeman’s Manual, adapted from the Irish version for Queensland conditions. He tried to improve training conditions and to modernize the Criminal Investigation Branch. Cahill’s responsibilities as Commissioner included increasing control of urban traffic, closer supervision of liquor licensing and gambling, and enforcement of infant life protection legislation.
Portrait of Commissioner William Geoffrey Cahill, c1905.
Image No. PM2296 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
The Brisbane general strike of 1912 was the critical point of Cahill’s career. Charged with preservation of law and order by the D. F. Denham government, he had to resist the demands for rigorous suppression made by extreme anti-unionists, maintain control of the irregular force of special constables sworn in to assist the regular force, and deal with a potentially serious civil disturbance. After days of increasing tension and some street incidents, the strike leaders ignored his instruction not to assemble on Friday, 2 February. Confronting the demonstrators in Albert Street, Cahill led a baton charge to disperse the crowd and was thrown from his horse in the mêlée. The police prevailed without serious injury to either side and incidents thereafter gradually decreased.
On the election of the T. J. Ryan Labor ministry in 1915, Cahill retained office, with his erstwhile opponent David Bowman, one of the 1912 strike leaders, as his ministerial head. After quarrelling with senior officers of the Home Secretary’s Office on police policy and control, he clashed with John Huxham, who succeeded Bowman as home secretary on 23 March 1916, over the formation of a police union which, to Cahill, constituted a breach of good order and discipline. In December he applied for and was granted early retirement on medical grounds, with a pension of £450 a year.
At the presentation of the “Imperial Service Medal”, October 21, 1912.
Back row from left: Unknown, William Henry Wardle.
Front row from left: John W. White, Commissioner William Cahill, Unknown.
Image No. PM0573 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Cahill was described as ‘outwardly stern’ and ‘reserved’, but ‘tall, lithe, well set up and strikingly handsome’. He was awarded the Volunteer Officers’ Decoration in 1911 and was appointed C.M.G. in December 1912. He was honorary aide-de-camp to two governors in 1912-16. Predeceased by his wife and childless, Cahill died at his home in Newmarket, Brisbane, on 25 April 1931 and was buried in the Nudgee Cemetery.
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This article excerpt was written by Paul D. Wilson and published in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, 1979. The information is supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open from 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