Constable Robert John Sands was born in 1905 and joined the Queensland Police Force in 1932. With minimal paperwork to refer back to, Constable Sands’ Service History may appear unremarkable, but the variety of country stations he policed in a 10 year policing career, and a few remarkable images in the Queensland Police Museum’s collection tell another story.
Group photograph of constables sworn in at the Depot, July 1932. The Instructor, Senior Sergeant Charles James Lisle Perrin, stands in the centre of the front row. Constable Robert John Sands stands third from the right. Image PM0667 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Text on the back of this photograph reads, “A camel team loaded with 10 tons of ore from some outside place. This is a very common scene in Cloncurry, and is the only mode of travel to some of the out lying places. These camels carry approximately 7cwt each. Robert.” By Constable Sands, c1933.
Image PM0671 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Group photograph of Police Cricket Club Premiers, Turf, “C” Grade, QCA, c1933. Image PM2207 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
The wife of Constable Robert Sands with the family pet, presumably at home, Mount Isa c1934. Image PM0670 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
Constable Sands policed the following stations; 1932 Roma Street, Brisbane, 1933 Cloncurry, 1934 Mount Isa, 1935 Pialba, 1938 Surat, 1939 Dunwich, returning to Roma Street, Brisbane in 1941. The Constable left the force in 1942.
__________________
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- Constable Robert John Sands” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons License CC BY SA 4. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence.