Trailblazers of Technology
James Trackson, a local industrialist, entrepreneur, and electrical engineer, who also served as an honorary police magistrate, was a pioneer of motoring in Queensland. He is photographed (above) outside the Police Court Building on Elizabeth Street in 1903 in a steam-powered locomobile which was imported from the United States.
Although the opening of car sales showrooms in 1907 led to a steady increase in the number of cars on Brisbane streets, Police Commissioner Cahill, and subsequent police commissioners, proved resistant to the lure of an appealing brochure. The first eight police cars were purchased in 1934, finally signalling a change of culture.
Motor vehicle accidents
James Trackson never had a traffic accident. By the second decade road statistics increased alarmingly. In 1912 there were 583 traffic accidents, 85 of these involved motor cars which resulted in 5 fatalities. Between June 1915 and December 1916, fatalities with motor cars grew exponentially to 24.
Trackson crowed… ‘I attribute my immunity from accidents to the fact that I have driven as if every other driver was deaf and blind, making liberal allowances for the fools. Mr J.S. Badger, who, you remember, was head of our tramways here for many years, gave me that advice, and very good advice it was, too.’ (JOL Negative 60639)
During these early years Traffic Police were kept busy controlling the ever-increasing volume of vehicular traffic at intersections, stopping the overloading of trams, and directing pedestrian traffic, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights when entertainments such as His Majesty’s Opera House drew hundreds to performances of opera, ballet, and theatre.
‘Keep them to the right’
Commissioner Cahill wrote in 1906, ‘The comfort and convenience of the public cannot be assured until pedestrians observe the fundamental rule of ‘Keeping to the Right’.’
(JOL Negative 17958)
Artist’s audacious advice
Early 20th century patrons of the arts flocked city streets on Friday and Saturday nights seeking entertainment, as they do today. Traffic Police were on hand to ensure that pedestrians safely used footpaths and followed new regulations to ‘keep to the right.’ The police were also vigilant in maintaining the smooth flow of horse-drawn and motorised vehicular traffic.
Amongst the stars who performed in Brisbane were ballerina, Anna Pavlova, and soprano Dame Nellie Melba who performed a homeland ‘sentimental tour’ in 1909, covering 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometres) which included many remote towns.
Melba’s friend, British contralto Clara Butt, thought it best to warn her about the audiences… ‘Sing ‘em muck, it’s all they can understand.’ Did she know that Dame Nellie Melba was Australian!
Next week Part 3 – Walking the beat with Constable Blackmore
Information imparted to Commissioner Bischoff by Retired Inspector Blackmore in the summer of 1959, was integral to the writing of this blog, together with information sourced 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, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – The History of the ‘Traffic Office’ Part 2” 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