On 9 October 1947 a group of interested citizens gathered at the Office of the Premier, the Honourable Edward Hanlon, MLA, at his invitation, for the purpose of discussing the formation of a Youth Centre to be conducted under the jurisdiction of the Police Department. The meeting was presided over by Mr Hanlon and was attended by 65 people.
At the meeting it was decided to appoint an Executive Committee, and that the movement be known as the ‘Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association’, and that the Hon. Edward Hanlon, The Premier, be appointed as Patron of the Association. On 20 November 1947, the Executive Committee carried a motion ‘that the title of the movement be the ‘Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association’ (QPCYWA). It was also agreed that the Commissioner of Police be appointed President of the Association, and that the Chief Inspector of Police be appointed Assistant President.
On 20 May 1948, the Association was registered in the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies at the Supreme Court, Brisbane, as a Company with Limited Liability without the addition of the word ‘Limited’ to its name, under the provisions of ‘The Companies Act, 1931 to 1942’.
In the 1949 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Police, the objects of the Association included the improvement of the standard of physical fitness of youth by the facilities for the indulgence of sports, opportunity to participate in healthy recreation and encouraging and fostering interest in culture and the several arts, assisting boys and girls in the selection of their future vocation; in short doing anything possible which conduces to the development of character, good citizenship, and welfare of youth in the interests of the State.
The Brisbane City Council agreed to lease a portion of Lang Park for a nominal yearly rental of £5 ($10). The lease covering a period of 10 years was signed on 7 September 1949. The Government donated a building which had previously been used as a Royal Australian Air Force warehouse. The Public Works Department assisted in the renovation of the building on the corner of Hale and Caxton Streets, Paddington.
The Lang Park Police-Citizens Youth Club, c1983.
Image No. PM1417 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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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.
Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT– Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association Part 1” 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