During the 1920’s written suggestions to the Commissioner of Police, Patrick Short, requesting the purchase a vehicle for use by the CIB where politely refused with a standard letter sent to several Brisbane motor vehicle companies vying for business. The letters acknowledged receipt of the many and varied vehicle specification brochures, and promptly informed the hopeful sales person that “the purchase of such a motorcar is not contemplated at present”.
In the early 1930’s the then Commissioner, William H. Ryan, embraced motorisation and approved the purchase of motorcycles and vehicles for use across the state. Many different vehicle brands and styles have been utilised for police work, and as these images show progress has been made since those early days.
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
The Police Museum is open from 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.
“THEN and NOW – Police Vehicles” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a 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