The Queensland Police “Motor Cycle Display Team” was reformed for the 1979 Police Spectacular, held at the RNA showground. The team included 19 officers lead by Sergeants Donald McKean and John Toohey. All the officers in the display team regularly performed traffic enforcement duty on all major roads in and around Brisbane. Each officer was allocated a motor cycle and it was his responsibility to keep the machine in a clean and serviceable condition at all times. The motor cycles used in the 1979 spectacular were 1978 Honda 750 – Four – Police Specials capable of reaching speeds of 190 km per hour. They were equipped with two-way radios with earphones and a microphone built into the helmet, which simplified radio communication whilst riding at high speed. Standard fittings included flashing blue light, sirens, pannier bags and windshield.
At the 1979 Police Spectacular the Motor Cycle Display Team displayed their talents in the sport of tent pegging which was usually achieved in the back of the horse. Each motor cycle was ridden by two officers, one to drive and steer and the other to wield the lance.
Tent pegging involves riders who use a sword or lance to strike, pick-up and carry a peg over a designated distance. The sport stemming from the actions of mounted soldiers who would gallop through enemy camps, removing the tent pegs with their lances and swords. They would be followed by more mounted soldiers who took advantage of the surprise and havoc caused by collapsed tents and a confused enemy.
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 – Motor Cycle Display Team” 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