Prevention of crime was one of the primary objectives of the Brisbane Metropolitan Branch of the Queensland Police. In 1874 there were 134 policemen in Brisbane, with 92 holding a rank of a Constable, keeping watch over the metropolitan area. A system of beats lined the city, where a certain beat was committed to the care of one or two constables. A constable was responsible for the security of life and property, preservation of the peace, and general good order within his beat during the time he was on duty.
According to the 1876 Regulations danger and disorder came in many shapes and guises, but most commonly they had a shape of either a boy or a ‘fruitskin’, more specifically an orange peel.
Orange Peel. Image Courtesy from the personal collection of Dr Anastasia Dukova
Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, a number of cases of broken limbs have been reported by the Brisbane Courier. Frequent accidents have occurred through persons slipping down from inadvertently stepping upon an orange peel. In one such case in 1888, a man slipped on a peel in Petrie’s Bight and broke a collar bone. In a letter to the editor of the Courier, a reader appealed ‘for the law to be rigidly enforced in justice to the foot passengers, whose safety is gravely menaced by this never abated nuisance – a dangerous practice of dropping fruitskins on the public footway. ‘
In order to contain the number of injuries, the police were made responsible for removal of the pieces of orange peel whenever seen on the pavement.
Similarly, to keep the number of incidents in check, the police were in charge of preventing boys from flying kites and trundling hoops in the streets, parks, or public places, where accidents or danger to passengers may occur. All children trundling hoops in the streets were cautioned against doing so, and informed that they were liable to have their hoops confiscated.
Boys with Hoops. Image Courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday 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: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au “FROM the VAULT – Dangerous Practices” 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