Then the constable called, ‘Go Don!
Constable Jack Hurley stood duty ringside at the Brisbane Royal National Show’s main arena one afternoon in August 1935. Almost 100,000 people had passed through the turnstiles to fill the stands with cheering crowds. He often performed special duties as a mounted police officer and is mentioned in the previous blog, ‘Mounted Police Escort of 1920. As a horseman and trainer, Jack cast a critical eye over the high-strung horses that were being held in check by jockeys who awaited the signal for the standing start of the upcoming trotting race.‘Don Wilkes,’ the previous year’s harness-horse Show Champion, that was owned and trained by the constable and his wife, was not racing. Instead, the horse patiently waited for the ringmaster, Fatty McCann, to step into the sulky. Fatty, who weighed no more than 120 pounds ‘dripping wet,’ soon alighted the conveyance and started the countdown with the help of the enthusiastic crowd… four, three, two, one… and as he cried ‘go’, Jack called to his horse, ‘Go Don!’
The crowd went wild as poor Fatty held the reins in a death grip, trying desperately to control the careening sulky as Don fought valiantly to catch the pack. It is rumoured that the ringmaster had words to say to the cheeky constable later.
In the blog, Mounted Police Escort of 1920, the writer draws attention to the above eight-metre-long photograph which is displayed at the Queensland Police Museum. The forty-one-strong troop of mounted police were assembled to escort His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, The Prince of Wales, for the Royal Tour of 1920.
Constable John Herbert Hurley, Reg No 1940 (the writer’s grandfather), has been identified as one of the officers in the above photograph. He became ill with Scarlet Fever in the early 1930s and could no longer serve as a policeman. The former Nanango farmer had to look for another source of income to support his family. Although Jack had been a policeman his entire working life, he was ostensibly a horseman. Horses had always been an integral part of his life, but moreover, he loved horses, and horses loved him, particularly a pacer called ‘Don Wilkes.’
Secondary employment for policemen in early 20th century
The following excerpt pertains to a police officer’s permission to earn a secondary income. Rule 8 (a) from the Queensland Policeman’s Manual 1925-1952, states unequivocally that they do not have permission to engage in ‘remunerative employment of any kind.’ See below.
The question is… should the constable have bought the racehorse in his wife’s name in 1933 after reading the above regulation. Hmmm?
This story is another in the series ‘Just another day on the 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.
Do you have an interesting story to share about a Country Cop?
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 – Mounted Police Escort of 1920 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