Well into the retirement of Superintendent (Grade 2) Ronald Albert Donovan in 1995, he recalled the start of World War II on September 3, 1939, and provided an account of his policing service during the next 5 years. Ronald Donovan commenced as a Queensland Police Cadet on July 2, 1937, and was inducted as a Constable on December 17, 1940. Ronald initially served at Roma Street Police Station before transferring to Brisbane Traffic Branch, but the next transfer made for some interesting recollections.
‘In January of 1944 I was transferred from the Traffic Branch to the Licensing Branch. This section dealt with the ever increasing problem of the unlawful sale of liquor, which unlicensed persons were selling to the [Brisbane based] American Troops.
Constable William Chapman with three American soldiers during World War II, c1943.
Image No. PM1953 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
One evening just after seven o’clock a sergeant and I went to the Shore Patrol Station in Mary Street; it was in a building on the Gardens side of Mary Street between Albert and Edward Streets. We went to the Officer of the Watch who was at his desk, and behind him was the brig [a warship prison] which contained about six cells. There was a sailor in one cell; the other cells were empty. We knew the Officer and after greeting him he said, “This guy is driving me nuts; he came in today off a sub and all I’ve heard from him is what he did at Tarawa. He thinks that we’ll dock his pay, but we don’t do that to fellows from the subs; when he leaves here he’ll be taken to a spot about 100 yards from where his vessel is moored and then told to walk the rest of the way. If he wants to tell his skipper then he can, but we won’t tell him.” I said, “What time did he come in?” The Officer replied, “About five o’clock; he and one of your Aussie soldiers started a riot outside the T & G and we brought him down here before they wrecked the place. They both had some of your local beer and this fellow hasn’t tasted beer like that before.”
The sailor in the cell was still shouting at the Officer and the latter said, “I’ll have to shut this fellow up.” He then walked to the door of the brig and said, “Sailor, when did you join Uncle Sam’s Navy?” He replied, “February, nineteen forty-two.” The Officer said, “That was after Pearl Harbour; Now I’ve been in this outfit since 1935, and you think that I have been sitting on my butt behind a desk all of that time. Well, I’ll tell you something sailor; I’ve seen action, and I’m going to ask you a question, and if you can’t answer it I want you to shut up. O.K.?” The sailor nodded his head, and the Officer said, “Now this is the question. Where the hell were you when I was in Toowoomba?”
With that remark, the sergeant and I, keeping straight faces, left with the Shore Patrol sailor for the night’s duty.’
Senior Sergeant Course No. 1, from 27 January 1970 to 13 February 1970.
Ronald Donovan is dressed in Plain Clothes, and stands second from the left in the centre row. Please contact the Queensland Police Museum if you would like the names of any other officers.
Image No. PM3282 courtesy of the QPM.
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The account was written by Ronald Albert Donovan, and provided to the Queensland Police Museum on June 6, 1995. 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- Shore Patrol Station by R.A. Donovan” 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