Policing outback Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries was a rough job. Isolation was the norm with some stations located in places far flung from the comforts of larger towns. With not much more than tent canvas, policemen were sent west to built their own police station under canvas.
Necessity being the mother of invention, they came up with novel ways to restrain prisoners, like nailing handcuffs to a tree stump or log in an attempt to prevent escape. A night out in the cold was enough to sober anyone up! In 1874 “portable” police stations which included a lock-up, were introduced, transported to a site by dray and then erected by one or two men.
The mostly wooden police stations were prone to drafts, leaks and white ant attack and were cramp as they often included accommodation space, cells and the courthouse. Well into the 20th century travelling long distances by horse was still standard practice. Everything you would need for a couple of weeks away went with you and had to be unpacked every night and repacked every morning.
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from available resources.
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: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM THE VAULT – Roughing it” 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