The Queensland Police Museum has celebrated its 120th birthday today with festivities hosted at Police Headquarters on Roma Street.
Commissioner Ian Stewart said on November 27, 1893 Mr Finucane, Chief Clerk of the Queensland Police, signed a memorandum on behalf of Commissioner David Seymour, which instructed all police officers to send in items of interest concerning crimes and suicides for the purpose of creating a ‘Criminal Museum’.
“And so the Queensland Police ‘Museum’ was born,” Commissioner Stewart said.
“The collection was by nature eclectic, and included some very gruesome items and was initially housed in a glass fronted cupboard at Petrie Terrace Police Depot. The collection was used to educate recruits about criminality.”
“There are only a few objects from the original collection as they have either dried up or disappeared over the last 120 years. The 1894 era fake gold nugget, currently on display, is the oldest original museum object still existing in the collection.”
Museum Curator, Lisa Jones said in 1934, a new appeal for objects was made by then Police Commissioner Mr Carroll, but by 1940 the collection had been packed up in boxes due to lack of space.
“In 1949 the collection was officially handed over into the care of Detective Constable Les Bardwell head of the Technical Section, Criminal Investigation Branch,” Ms Jones said.
“On May 20, 1979 the “new” Police Museum opened and was located on the 7th floor of Forbes House in Makerston Street however, it was not fully open to the public.”
“By the late 1980s, plans were in place to build a new Police Headquarters in Roma Street which was to include a purpose built home for the Police Museum. The building, along with the new museum, opened in August 1990.”
The Police Museum’s aim is to continue to raise the profile of the Queensland Police Service, by showcasing fascinating policing history and fostering pride in QPS achievements in the wider community.
“There have been a lot of changes in the Museum’s 120 year history,” Ms Jones said.
“The collection has seen many homes, the displays have been refurbished more than once, and objects have been both lost and discovered.
“But the Queensland Police Museum has not only survived these years, it is one of the best of its kind in the world and we hope that it will continue to uphold this standard into the next millennium.”… Continue reading