Imagine a time in Queensland when there were no traffic lights and the speed limit for motorcycles was four miles per hour. Retired First Class Inspector Doug Winning reflected on such a time during his 90th birthday celebrations. A father of two, grandfather of four and great grandfather of six, Mr Winning had a 39 year career with the QPS. He joined the Service in August 1936 and was sworn in as a constable for the newly formed Police Motorcycle Traffic Control Unit. “Police officers nowadays would probably be surprised at the geographic area we patrolled. It was a radius around the GPO reaching to Ipswich and Redcliffe, south to the Kingston turnoff and out to the bayside area of Wynnum-Manly,” Mr Winning said. “But there also was not that much traffic in those days and it was a great experience cruising around on the 10 horse power twin AJS bike with its sidecar”.
Constable Doug Winning riding a 1936 V Twin 1000cc AJS motorcycle, 1936.
Image No. PM0337 courtesy of the Courier Mail.
When the Second World War began in 1939, Mr Winning joined three other men in the police garage and remained there until 1960. During this time he obtained his A Grade Motor Mechanical Certificate and rose through the ranks to sergeant first class. “My role at the garage was to repair and maintain the whole Police fleet for a large part of Queensland. I also conducted brake testing for vehicles involved in accidents and was often called to give evidence in court (the early incarnation of the Traffic Accident and Investigation Squad),” Mr Winning said.
In 1960 he took charge of Camp Hill Station and remained there for 10 years, rising to senior sergeant. In 1970 Mr Winning was transferred back to police transport where he was promoted to the commissioned ranks to re-organise police motor transport. During this time, he was closely involved in the acquisition of the land at Mt Cotton and the formation of the police driver training unit. After becoming inspector in charge of Woolloongabba Station, Mr Winning returned to Police Headquarters where he was involved in various duties including Chairman of the Police Examination Board and involvement with the planning of building a new police headquarters.
Senior Sergeant Doug Winning, cropped from a group photo taken during a course at Chelmer College, during February and March 1970.
Cropped Image No. PM3552 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Mr Winning was an Executive Member of the President of the Police Union and then after reaching a commissioned rank he was President of the Commissioned Officer’s Union. “As a strong union, we lobbied for and influenced changes in working hours from a 53-hour week to a 40-hour week, improvements in superannuation and the establishment of a sick leave bank,” he said. Mr Winning spent his remaining years working alongside Commissioner Ray Withrod at Police Headquarters as a first class inspector. In 1974 he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for long and distinguished service, particularly in the field of police motor transport.
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This article was written by Sara Martin, Doug Winning’s granddaughter, and featured in the Queensland Police Bulletin of September 2005. The information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. 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
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