From 1896 through to the early 1960s, Queensland police wore ‘khaki,’ then for a few more years they wore the ‘drab olive’ coloured uniform, although rural police preferred to wear the neutral colour long after their urban counterparts changed to ‘blue’ in 1972, simply because ‘it blended with the dust and dirt.’
Newly transferred to Mackay, Constable Edward John Aspinall aged 21 years, is photographed at the Eungella Races in August 1947 (below, far right) wearing the khaki uniform with the distinctive bush hat worn by country police up to 1978. His nine years stationed in Mackay included a dramatic pursuit and capture of Watchhouse escape artist – Thomas Watkins, in May 1951. Ted was later promoted to detective at Mackay’s CIB in September 1952. In all, Ted Aspinall spent 26 years of his 39-year policing career in country service where a further incident in Kilcoy in July 1972 earned him a citation for heroism and the prestigious award – the Queens Commendation for Brave Conduct.
Ted Aspinall returned to Brisbane in September 1973 after being posted to Morningside, then retired ten years later. Vale Edward John Aspinall passed away on September 5, 2007, shortly before his 82nd birthday.
Lads to lead police a merry chase
On Wednesday, May 16, 1951, Thomas Watkins, aged 21 years and Keith Robson, aged 20 years, were on remand, due to appear on charges for breaking and entering, but they’d escaped the Mackay Watchhouse the previous night by lifting floorboards, climbing through, then scaling a 4.5 metre fence. After Watchhouse staff realised that they had absconded, Senior Sergeant John Gill was notified. He assembled a force of twenty officers to commence a manhunt around midnight… but over the next 40 hours, the lads would prove to lead the police a merry chase.
40-hour search ends with a cuppa
During the first 24 hours, the pair ranged across a good deal of territory to elude police roadblocks and search by civilian aircraft, police boat, cars and foot patrols. They also managed during those hours to beach a 33-foot sloop, lose a dinghy, arm themselves with a stolen .22 calibre rifle and ammunition, and help themselves to provisions from a property at the Habana around 4 pm. It is not known how the escapees reached the Habana, perhaps they rowed the dinghy, but a resident returning to Mackay from that location reported giving hitchhikers matching their description, a lift around 7 pm.
It was early afternoon on the second day when Senior Constable Reg Banks sighted the pair on the north bank of the Pioneer River. Tracks showed that the young men had separated. Aspinall followed barefoot tracks down to the river and soon sighted one of them crouched low in grass. The long-limbed constable sprinted through the high grass then gave chase along the riverbank towards the rail bridge, much to the entertainment of public onlookers. He was soon upon Watkins and called him to halt. He refused. Aspinall fired four warning shots and Barnes following closely, fired one. Watkins then fell heavily over a log and Aspinall thought he’d been shot, but as he was handcuffing him, he realised Watkins was unhurt. The offender offered no further resistance. He was glad it was over.
Meanwhile Robson, whose body was heavily scratched and sunburned, limped out from mangroves at Barnes Creek wearing only grey swimming trunks and with his shoes tied around his neck. He then surrendered himself to three very surprised men who were working on a fishing craft on slips, by handing over the stolen rifle and ammunition and asking to be taken to police headquarters. One of the men left for his home nearby to notify police. His mother took pity on hearing about the starving escapee and made him tea and sandwiches. Constable Charlie Pitt, who’d been following tracks through dense mangrove scrub, emerged by the creek bank to find Robson enjoying a cuppa with the men.
Officer in Charge, Senior Sergeant Gill praised his team’s efforts.
‘Members on duty did an excellent job, and although the majority had less than three hours sleep over the whole period of the search, not one man eased up for a minute.’
Press reports preference for PJs
Next Week: ‘Courageous cop overpowers offender’ Part 2 featuring Edward John Aspinall.
This story is another in the series ‘Just another day on the job for a Country Cop’ written by Debra Austin from information sourced by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time, and in appreciation of police, past and present, who dedicate themselves to the service and protection our rural communities.
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. Email contact: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – Courageous cop overpowers offender Part 1” 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