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The isolated Yo Yo Creek Native Police barracks, in far north Queensland, sat on a high bank above the creek (middle right of the image), c1864. This is one of the earliest images in the Police Museum collection.
Policing outback Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries was a rough job. Isolation was the norm with some stations located in places far flung from the comforts of larger towns. With not much more than tent canvas, policemen were sent west to built their own police station under canvas.
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Aramac’s first Police Station, 1872
Necessity being the mother of invention, they came up with novel ways to restrain prisoners, like nailing handcuffs to a tree stump or log in an attempt to prevent escape. A night out in the cold was enough to sober anyone up! In 1874 “portable” police stations which included a lock-up, were introduced, transported to a site by dray and then erected by one or two men.
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An unknown police camp , c1912.
The mostly wooden police stations were prone to drafts, leaks and white ant attack and were cramp as they often included accommodation space, cells and the courthouse. Well into the 20th century travelling long distances by horse was still standard practice. Everything you would need for a couple of weeks away went with you and had to be unpacked every night and repacked every morning.
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Duchess Police Station under canvas, 1912. Note the handcuffs fixed to the tree, which acted as a lock-up (look just above the dog’s tail)
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Plan of the Arrilalah Police Station,1890. The building included an office, Constable’s room, two bedrooms, a kitchen and two cells. Arrilalah Police Station Opened in1884 and closed on September 30, 1925.
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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum -
Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday 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.
“FROM THE VAULT – Roughing it” 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… Continue reading