Boulia was gazetted in 1879 when a reserve for the purposes of a township was set aside in the vicinity of the Boulia Waterhole, by the Burke River.
The first record of a police presence in Boulia is noted at the beginning of 1881, when it appears a police station operated briefly, before closing down and reopening later that year. The station was manned by three constables and one tracker.
Further police support was provided by a detachment of Native Mounted Police led by Sub Inspector Ernest Eglinton. Eglinton patrolled the Burke River area from 1878 until he was appointed Police Magistrate at Boulia on 22 March 1884. He held this post until 1888 when he was transferred to Port Douglas.
 Letter refers to the Boulia Police Station Reserve, dated November 6, 1882. |
 A section of the accompanying map of Boulia township. |
On 29 January 1883, a Reserve for Police Purposes was gazetted in Boulia. The total area was three acres, and comprised of Allotments 3 to 8 of Section 3. A police station was then erected at a cost of ₤770. On the 8 January 1885, tenders were called for the erection of a new court house on the police reserve at Boulia. The court house was completed by 1886 at a cost of ₤1,865.
In December 1894, the Commissioner of Police, reported to the Colonial Secretary, that due to the recent decision to transfer the headquarters of the Gregory District from Cloncurry to a more central position at Boulia, accommodation would be needed for the Sub Inspector. It was ascertained that a four roomed weatherboard house, with hipped roof, a 10-foot verandah all round, a detached kitchen and three large tanks would be required. Boulia police station records do not indicate if the building was built.
On the 8 May 1897, Inspector Brannelly inspected the station and found it to be clean and in fair order. He held a parade under arms, where Sub Inspector McNamara, Acting Sergeant O’Connor, and Constables Tracey, Peters and Leonard were present. It was noted that stump caps were required for the court house and barracks to prevent white ants going into these buildings. The police dray also required overhauling and a coat of paint.
In July 1901, the Boulia Divisional Board applied for the transfer of one quarter of an acre of the Police Reserve to the Board. The eastern end of the Police Reserve facing Herbert Street, and adjoining allotment 2 was surrendered without objection.
Sub Inspector John Quilter inspected the station in November 1906, and described the barracks as consisting of four rooms, and two cells, of galvanised iron and weatherboards. The detached kitchen was described as being built of slabs, which was in a tumbledown and dangerous condition as it was propped up all round with large logs. The privy consisted of a few old bags nailed to bush timber, and there was no bathroom. The entire premises were in a dilapidated condition and not worth repairing. New buildings were urgently needed. He also remarked, “As most of the stations in the Boulia District have been sold to a big southern buyer who has removed most of the cattle from the District, and with them a large number of employees, hence crime is on the decrease. The country around Boulia is fairly well watered and grassed at present”.
Plan of the Boulia Police Station, 1903.
Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
In 1907, Sub Inspector John McGrath reported that a new building was required at Boulia to replace the old barracks and cells which had been eaten away by white ants. New barracks could not be erected for under ₤700. He noted that the court house at Boulia was large with three offices at the back. He suggested that two of the offices could be occupied by the two constables and used as barracks. He also stated that the court house was only occupied by police as offices. Chief Inspector Urquhart stated that he preferred to keep the police station separate from the court house.
At the end of August 1908, the new barracks and cells built of wood and iron had been completed. There were five rooms, a kitchen and bathroom. The two cells were separate from the barracks.
In June 1912, the Boulia Shire Council requested that the eastern half of allotment 8 of section 3, being part of the Police Reserve of 2 and ¾ acres be reserved for council purposes. The Council required the land to build dray sheds at the rear of the Shire Hall. The land was transferred without objection from Police administration.
On the 13 October 1921, a damaging storm blew 18 sheets of iron off the old police station barracks, which was used as a storeroom and the tracker’s quarters. Some minor damage was done to the newer police quarters, and the closets of both the police quarters and court house were blown over. Constable Hudd and Constable Lewis retrieved 11 sheets of iron and were forced to pull down a part of the back verandah of the old quarters to make up enough iron to cover the roof of the same building.
During 1932 an additional verandah was erected on the eastern side of the police quarters to provide much needed shade during the summer months.
In July 1934, Acting Sergeant Rountree reported on the condition of the police buildings. He recorded the old police barracks as being in a dilapidated condition, but being used to house the Tracker, stores and saddlery. The court house where the police office was housed was in a fair condition after recent painting. The police residential quarters were also in good repair.
We’ll look at 1935 onwards in next week’s entry.
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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- Boulia Police Station” 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