It is 35 years ago today, Deputy Commissioner Thomas Sydney Atkinson retired after a long and truly distinguished career in the Queensland Police Force. Commencing as a Cadet on July 16th, 1945, and preferring to be known as Syd, he progressed to the rank of Constable in 1948 and transferred from the Petrie Terrace Depot to Roma Street Police Station. It was the first of many promotions and moves which took the young policeman to regional and coastal towns, and various city stations.
On April 19th,1952, just 4 years after his official swearing in, Syd was recognised as a promising candidate for the Crime Investigation (CI) Bureau and joined the Brisbane contingent as a Plain Clothes Constable. The next two decades brought transfers to various CI Bureaus including in Warwick, Charleville, Southport and back to Brisbane on May 17th, 1975. During the same period, promotions were granted, finally to the rank of Detective Inspector Grade 4. Many prominent cases were investigated by Syd and the CI Bureau crews including the still unsolved murder in Mackay of 14-year-old Marilyn Joy Wallman in March 1972*, and arson and consequent deaths of 15 people attending Fortitude Valley’s Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in March 1973.
Whiskey Au Go Go fire and multiple murder investigation, March 1973.
From left to right : Inspect Les Bardwell, OIC Scientific Section, Detective Sergeant 1/c Thomas Sydney Charles Atkinson, unknown witness.
Image No. PM1903 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Promotion to the rank of Superintendent Grade 2 on September 4th, 1978 coincided with taking on the challenging role to lead the entire South Eastern Region. Further promotion to Assistant Commissioner on March 23rd, 1981, also placed Syd in the position as head of security for the XII Commonwealth Games, held between September 30th and October 9th, 1982. Confidential security planning commenced more than 4 years prior to the opening ceremony in Brisbane, with studies of security methodology employed during the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, in 1978, complementing methods employed to secure Queensland’s delivery of the event. The highly ranked policeman candidly recalled being “ very relieved when I saw the Royal Highnesses jump into the car at the end of the Games.”
Mounted Police Unit during the XII Commonwealth Games QEII procession, Brisbane, September, 1982.
Image No PM2546 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
AC Thomas Atkinson was promoted to Deputy Commissioner on October 18th, 1982 and awarded the Order of the British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of his work to co-ordinate security at the Games. DC Atkinson retired on January 14th, 1985, notching up almost 40 years employment with the Queensland Police Force since becoming a Cadet, 35 years as a police officer, made Gold Coast Father of the Year in 1980, and enjoyed 20 years retirement prior to his passing in 2005.
*A $500,000 reward is currently offered for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Marilyn Wallman. Further information about the circumstances and who to contact with leads are contained here: Queensland Police Service / Help solve the murder of Wallman
Detective Constable John Kolence (left) and Detective Sergeant Thomas Atkinson travel to Mackay to investigate the murder of Marilyn Wallman, March 1972.
Image No PM1931b kindly donated by the Courier Mail.
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Written by Queensland Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier 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- Deputy Commissioner Thomas Atkinson” 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