South Australia - Police

An Essay on Policing in Colonial Days

(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience and the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning - copy in State Library)

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Introduction

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?The police force was a credit to the colony? were the words used with regard to our men in blue by the most captious of the new members, when an amendment to an Act was before the House of Assembly in the colony?s infancy. The remark met with a hearty cheer from the other representatives of the people who were present, for they were then echoing a sentiment which, in the main, was acquiesced in by the people of South Australia.

It was, no doubt, an unfortunate fact that a young State should, as it developed, have to set apart a portion of the body politic to keep watch and ward over other sections of its frame, but human nature is frail, passions are strong, and so every well-governed community saw the advisability of establishing in its midst a force of men whose duty it was to protect the rights of their fellow citizens, to repress crime or its imposition with the strong arm of the law, and to be a terror to all evil-doers.

The efficiency of the police force in the 19th century was to a great extent due to the fact that our legislature had wisely guarded against the officers being hampered in their attempts to establish thorough discipline by the political influences, which had such a prejudicial effect upon the usefulness of the police in Victoria and New South Wales. There, in colonial days, the officers were loth to take any action for fear of being called to book for it.

Of course the majority of the population, as good Christians, prayed for a time when the whole instincts of mankind should have so changed that each member of the community would respect the privileges of his fellow-man, and when he should not only appreciate, but act up to the principle contained in, the old adage that right and not might should prevail.

Early Policing Days

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Governor John Hindmarsh retained ten marines from HMS Buffalo both as protectors for the embryo settlement and vice-regal guards. In the first task they were a signal failure and with the second a dubious success, for they were a roisterous, rioting crew who did as they liked, drank when they could and, like the praetorian guards of ancient Rome, would almost have taken control of the colony had not the Governor occasionally tied their ringleaders to a tree for a time to sober the brain and dampen the spirit. Sly grog shanty keepers were the only mourners when those blunderers left in the Alligator in 1838.

While complaints rose high against the depredations of the armed banditry, that sallied forth nightly on infant Adelaide, peace officers had to be appointed to control the roistering Buffalo marines, the nominal guardians of the law. Yet, from such a paradox South Australia?s police force sprang.

Appointed on 5 January 1837, what did William Williams, the colony?s first policeman (or ?High Constable? as he was officially designated), know of criminology, which today encompasses the correlation of apparently unrelated or irrelevant facts, the building up of tattered documents, etc.? When he went to Kangaroo Island a month after the foundation ceremony at Glenelg to clear up that rascal?s paradise, faces were his warrant and for the sum of £30 per annum he attempted to enforce law and order and act as colonial gaoler. In the same year one James Windbank received £7 for his services which, unfortunately, were not defined in official records.

Later, Sheriff Smart was zealous in his pursuit of escaped convicts, ticket-of-leave men and their kind, who terrorised whole neighbourhoods, and he was marked down for death and murderously attacked in his hut by three ?Vandemonians?. Two of the ruffians were captured and the third, Morgan, fled to the whaling station at Encounter Bay. Three special constables were sworn in and told to bring him back dead or alive.

It was nearly the former for, after bluffing off a threatened rescue of their captive, whom they seized in his sleep with a gun at his hand, they were lost in the hills and Morgan spent four days of frightful torture chained to a tree alone, tormented by flies and menaced by dogs, while his captors went for food and help.

A placard nailed to a tree trunk in a camp in Adelaide heralded the police force's beginnings and its genesis is an engrossing story:

NOTICE

Wanted for the Police Force about to be raised,
twenty active young men.
Persons desirous of entering this service
are requested to make application at this office.

A fortnight later the local press had its say on the subject:

We are glad to announce the formation of an efficient police force and one which we trust will enable the colony to get rid of the worthless and desperate vagabonds who have lately been congregating in such numbers from the neighboring colonies...

Whatever the genesis, Governor Hindmarsh had a force or 20 policemen in fair organisation less than two years after his landing at Holdfast Bay and a year later it had grown to 53 men, with Major O?Halloran as Commissioner. It was beset by dissension. The Resident Commissioner, J.H. Fisher, refused to draw bills to provide for payment of the force, but the governor, zealous of his band, drew on the Colonial Commissioners for £1,000, without authority, and was commended for his action.

Henry Inman was the first Inspector of Police; appointed in April 1838 and he held the position until 1840, following which he returned to England where at Derby he undertook the gentler authority of a minister of the gospel.

The force needed support for the colony that was over-run by desperate characters, some convict escapees and rascally runaway sailors. Their lair was The Tiers (modern-day Mount Lofty Ranges) where they lived in log huts built in deep and lonely gullies overgrown with scrub and vegetation. Thence, under cover of night, they sallied forth on daring black-faced robberies in the city, or cattle stealing in the foothills, retiring to their lairs with the plunder, or finding shelter with accomplices in the town.

Cattle were slaughtered in hidden yards, the hides destroyed by fire and the meat pickled for sale to ship?s captains, who asked no questions. Scouts in an eyrie gave warning of police and the early records of the force is bright with courageous, but abortive, raids by Alford, Tolmer and their men - fruitless watches on ?duffing? camps throughout tempestuous nights, falls down precipitous valleys and arduous tracking of stolen beasts.

An amusing tale of Henry Alford?s encounter with a certain rogue named Spearman, an ?undesirable? of the worst type, is well remembered in the annals of colonial policing. A farmer was stuck up and he recognised Spearman?s voice. Alford and two troopers were assigned to the case and they lost no time in journeying to somewhere near where the ?Eagle-on-the-Hill? hotel stands today. They left their horses and crawled up to Spearman?s shanty and listened attentively and were rewarded for their patience when the villain?s voice was recognised at asking, ?What did you do with the plunder?? and the wife replied, ?I have sewn it up in my stays.?

Alford and his men then retreated and next morning rode up and met their man who said he was off to Mount Barker. Both parties were arrested and the wife, taking umbrage, demanded to know the reason for same - ?For having stolen plunder in your possession?, she was informed. ?May I change my dress before you take us away??, she enquired. Alford, with a wry smile responded, ?But, no, I prefer you as you are!? In due course Spearman?s nefarious practices were cut off so far as South Australia was concerned by his transportation to Van Diemen?s Land, as Tasmania was known in those far off days.

Such was the daring of the thieves that cattle stealing extended to Black Forest, then a region spread with giant gums and covered with thick undergrowth. From a frustrated raid on such a lair arose the celebrated chase and capture of the criminal Stagg and his execution for the murder of an accomplice in the mangroves near Port Gawler.

Adventure and hazards, which the career of a trooper promised in such stirring days, made an irresistible appeal to the youth of the colony, particularly the younger ones and erstwhile military officers sent out to repair their fortunes and, had Hindmarsh wished, he might have filled the mounted section of his force three times over with eligible, daring spirits. Heirs to English titles, Germans and men with degrees sank their identity as trooper, while the poet, Adam Lindsay Gordon, spent some of the happiest months of his ill-starred life as Trooper Gordon, groom to the Commissioner of Police at the barracks.

Judiciously recruited, capably led and splendidly mounted - their first 11 horses cost £610 - the force, discarding the blue-belted shirt in which it first appeared, was metamorphosed by its navy blue Garibaldi jacket, elaborately quilted with black silk, and white-banded navy trousers and burgeoned into a body without peer in the colonies. From its pinnacle it looked with disdain on the foot police, from whom it was nearly as possible segregated.

Poor old foot! Low in strength, and railed for inefficiency, it struggled through the dark days of the Gawler collapse, was saved from disintegration under the regime of G.M. Stephen by the acting-governor?s contribution of £200 to the public purse and, notwithstanding the urgent need for out-stations to prevent collisions between squatters and natives, it bore some of the cuts of Governor Grey?s economy axe. As if police duties were not enough, it was a fire brigade as well, and dragged Adelaide?s only firecart to early outbreaks.

Notwithstanding its tribulations, Commissioner O?Halloran reported to his successor on his retirement in 1843, that the force of 50 was ?tolerably well drilled? an opinion confirmed by the little used defaulters? book. The two men on the street during the day, and the nine from 9 pm to 6 am had plenty to do, with taverns open half the night, drunkenness notorious and street nuisance prevalent:

In Currie Street [a fine little boy] was fairly knocked down and ridden over by an equestrian... another great nuisance... is the manner in which drays are allowed to congregate... near to public houses, where they are frequently left standing for hours together, while their owners or drivers are drinking.

By 1847, a letter from a correspondent signing himself as ?One of the Resigned? suggested that there was a modicum of discontent within the force:

Some of the more recent appointments [here] however display the most reckless carelessness on this point. Men laying no claim to any degree of respectability beyond muscular frames and fat cheeks are at once admitted without undergoing any of the wonted scrutiny. The consequence is, of course, a thorough and sad change in the character of the whole force. The old hands are leaving as fast as ever they can possibly better themselves, being thoroughly disgusted with the riff-raff thus forced upon them for associates, on whom they look more in the light of menial servants than companions...

Crimes mostly occur amongst the most ignorant and degraded. With a police force of the above character it could, naturally, entertain no common interest, feelings, habits or prejudices... In the rather anomalous system of employing one thief to catch another, [our neighbouring colonies have] a system in which sympathies and bribes always maintained their full value... The force has been... going fast to the Devil...

The 1850s witnessed a phenomenal increase in the force and, by 1855, it had risen to 252. The Adelaide division found a home at the corner of Franklin Street and King William Streets and when that was required for the General Post Office, moved to King William Street south. At the same time a dozen ?powerful natives?, chiefly of the Moorundee tribe, were selected to be sent to the Port Lincoln district to act as mounted police. Corporal Cusack took charge of the party, while the local press opined that it was surprised that the plan of employing ?Native Police? in the outer districts had not been more extensively adopted by the Government for ?it has answered well in the other colonies.? By 1856 there were 27 ?coloured police? who received rations, clothing and one shilling per day per man and in a report from Sergeant Eyre at Venus Bay they were described as ?ready and anxious to do their duty.?

In the wider field the force had an important part to play. The country stations, whose absence Governor Gawler had deplored, came into being with the set of the tide towards prosperity and, reassured by outstations at the Burra, Port Augusta, Mosquito Plains (near Naracoorte) and Mount Gambier, squatters penetrated with their flocks and herds, hundreds of miles to the north and south.

In the records of Eyre Peninsula are cruel and unprovoked native murders of settlers and their shepherds, but a series of punitive expeditions, and the appointment of a strong police post at Port Lincoln, instilled a ?wholesome fear? Though the task involved infinite trouble and danger, the murderers were brought to Adelaide for trial and after conviction taken back to their own districts for execution as a terrible, but salutary, proof of white man?s justice.

Inspector Alexander Tolmer and the Gold Escort

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Into the picture, with colour and romance lent by the stirring days of the gold rush, clattered Police Commissioner, Alexander Tolmer and his gold escort, bringing bags of the precious metal from the homeward-looking diggers whose exodus to Mount Alexander and Forest Creek had left Adelaide a stricken city. As custodians of the golden tide, which was soon to send new activity and optimism pulsing through the colonies, Tolmer and his force gave South Australia signal service, for she gained nearly as much from the diggings as the colony which held them.

The escort was Captain Tolmer?s conception; making his first trip early in 1852 with a spring cart and six troopers, he was received on the field with immense eclat, which changed to hoots and chagrin when he announced after taking 6,000 ounces of gold, that he could accept no more. The return safely made, despite the hazards of unmade tracks and disreputable roadside inns, occupied a fortnight and the escort was met by a cavalcade at the foothills and accompanied to Adelaide.

The next convoy, bringing £68,000 worth of gold from 859 diggers, was received with overwhelming gusto. A concourse of horsemen, forewarned by a scout riding post haste from Wellington, met the escort on the Great Eastern road, with an omnibus ?with her deck occupied by a band of clever musicians? and cavorted about the company, driving Jemmy Chambers, the driver of the cart, to such a frenzy that he whipped his horses into a mad gallop coming down Glen Osmond hill.

The attending troopers kept pace with him and so the column entered town ?more like a rout of drunken racing bushmen? than an escort charged with treasure. An eager crowd jostled at the Treasury doors to see the heavy cases full of gold unloaded and carried to the vaults. Tolmer?s name was on everyone?s lips.

The third trip with more than a ton of gold was the most hazardous of all, for the cart was overturned in a flooded creek, wherein the leader was within an inch of drowning after having dived for missing bags of gold. Month by month the flow continued. The escort was increased to 16, with a relief half-way; a commissioner was appointed at the field to receive the gold, and in little more than a year a million pounds worth of nuggets and dust reached Adelaide. As the decades passed by the gold escort became a fond memory, while the work of the trooper still had colour, particularly in the far country stations.

The oft-produced photograph of Tolmer in his military uniform shows, clearly, the medal presented to him by the King of Portugal and, in the fullness of time, it became part of a personal incident in which I was involved in the 1970s. In the mid-1850s Tolmer returned to England and rejoined his regiment and wore his decoration at a regimental parade in the presence of Queen Victoria who, according to legend, ?was not amused?. Accordingly, his superiors informed him that such a decoration was not to be worn at official functions.

In the 1970s, when A.R. Calvesbert was in charge of the newly-established Police Museum, he received a letter from Tolmer?s grand-daughter, Mrs Isabel Hughes, an elderly lady living at the Great Eastern Hotel at Littlehampton. Further, she stated that she had the said medal in her possession together with correspondence to and from Queen Victoria and was anxious to present these items to the department. Today, the Police Historical Society is the proud custodian of these unique historical relics at the Thebarton barracks.

Memories of the 1850s

In 1897 Inspector Denis Sullivan recalled that in the 1850s:

There was hardly a man in the force who had not been a soldier. Most of them were illiterate, neither able to read nor write, and unable to tell the time by the clock. The population was small and the men never intended to stay in the force. They joined today and were gone tomorrow... There were no larrikins or larrikinesses then and you knew every man you met in the street; now I scarcely know a soul I meet. Dancing went on at some of the public houses all night... The Tivoli was the resort of the better class of people coming down from the country, station managers and suchlike... Money was flying about like dirt. There were brothels in the West End, very rough, but those in the East End were of a better class and I have seen the highest in the land go there.

To say the least his duties were multifarious, for when on duty in North Adelaide shortly after joining the force he had the unique experience of putting his sergeant under arrest:

I had been on duty at the Agricultural Society?s Show which was held in a canvas tent. When I returned to North Adelaide I went to lie down. The sergeant came in drunk and he had a prisoner, a printer, by the throat and his knee on his stomach. There was a fine to-do, but I got hold of my superior officer, clapped him in a cell, locked him in and put the key in my pocket...

Enter the Detectives

In March 1853 it was reported that certain individuals of the ?Detective Force? had been taken off special night duty and remanded to ordinary duty, on account of having been guilty of highly unbecoming conduct when acting in their special capacity and although the press had advocated its formation an editor had insisted upon ?the best and fittest men for promotion?. However, there were dissenters within the community:

They are considered to be men who systematically hunt up knowledge for other purposes than detection and suppression of crime... In favour of having a detective force at all, it has always been urged that the ordinary constables are too well known to admit of their being useful for detective duty. But this argument is not of much weight in a small community... At the present moment the detectives are as familiar to the eyes of the criminal class and to other people, too, as any of the constables in the force... On this ground then, there is not much reason for retaining a separate service...

It is apparent that this branch of the service was disbanded, for a contemporary report speaks of the ?defunct detectives? when Martin Brennan complained of treatment received at the hands of Detective Spinks while being charged for hawking without a licence, followed by incarceration in a cell for 24 hours ?although [his] name and address were known to him and his superiors.? Commissioner George Hamilton reformed the detective branch of the service in 1876.

Reflections on Suburban Police

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Prestige has a large part in the success of a policeman stationed in the suburbs for each of them has a nucleus of law contemners and when a policeman is transferred to their desmene, steps are taken to ascertain how far it is safe to go with him. If the new constable is easy going, his characteristics are known quickly and advantage is taken of the soft side of his nature. There may be a few prosecutions, but offences may be numerous. The effect in contiguous suburbs is bad, and brings a constable of greater force of character into ill-odour with the larrikin element.

On the contrary, a man who strictly enforces the law, while showing courtesy and consideration to the public, wins the respect and goodwill of all. He has a busy time, at first, but after a while his 'clients' realise that it is not safe to trifle with him and an orderly suburb is one of the results.

Police duty in the suburbs is far more varied than in the city and tact is a requisite of every constable. The general aim is to discourage mischievous instincts, for most of the offences are peccadilloes rather than serious matters, which means that after showing a determination to keep order, efforts are devoted to prevention instead of repression.

One constable makes a speciality of warning youths once if they show a tendency to larrikinism, but he acts swiftly if the advice is disregarded. He has a reputation of keeping good order with few prosecutions after the big budget which marks his arrival in the district. Persuasion is a valuable and in the work and its after moral effect on potential delinquents is surprising.

Sometimes our Norwood police are called on to intervene in family disputes. Their instruction books set out the powers of constables on private property, but at times it is necessary in the interests of good order to go beyond the law's literal requirements. Tactful pressure is used in such cases, also in others where an information is laid, but the informant is reluctant to prosecute.

To our suburban constables falls a lot of work for different government departments and for the local council. Such work brings them into close contact with residents so that they widen considerably their experience of human nature. They meet the man who, in ordinary circumstances would write a volume, but objects to filling in a census paper or electoral claim because it is compulsory.

Complaints about neighbours, serious and frivolous, call for diplomatic intervention. Perhaps a dog is a cause of annoyance to one family, while the remainder of the neighbourhood has no objection to it. Enquiry generally discloses the existence of a feud about something else and shows that the complaint is mainly groundless or actuated by spite.

Then comes the duty of reconciling the complainants to the fact that the dog must be left alone, and of giving advice to its owner to be specially cautious with it. Some of their duties are monotonous and others pleasant, but the policeman who is observant finds plenty to interest him in his suburban duty and does not repine at working more than 48 hours a week. Our constables are cheery men in conversation and gather a store of knowledge which is the envy of the raconteur.

Police Barracks

The Police Barracks, "a disgrace to the colony", are described in the Adelaide Times on
14 May 1849, page 3c.

A fire at the police barracks is reported in the Register,
10 January 1874, page 5d,
Observer,
17 January 1874, page 12e.

Alleged grievances at the police barracks are aired in the Register,
19 March 1887, page 6f and
14 April 1887, page 6c.
Observer,
26 March 1887, page 37a. New barracks are described on
22 July 1916, page 9d.
Photographs are in the Chronicle,
10 March 1917, page 28.

The Adelaide Barracks

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

a la militaire

At 10 o?clock parade was attended where recruits were told off for riding and drill exercises, while the capable men, who might have been in the barracks, attended to general duties. Dinner was provided at one o?clock and was followed by foot drill. At 4 o?clock stables were attended to again following which some recruits were told off for city and suburban patrol work which lasted up to two o?clock the next morning; at this work the men were armed with Smith and Weston revolver-carbines.

The barracks were kept in meticulous order but the furniture supplied to the men was of the simplest and roughest character. Through the exertions of superior officers a library was established and, in 1884, it contained 400 volumes but, as explained in the next chapter, by the close of the first decade of the 20th century it was all but non-existent.

A man who had been received on probation prior to his admission was kept in plain clothes for a month and during that period drilled in marching and the use of the Martini-Henry rifle. He attended the Police Court each morning for an hour in order to gain knowledge as to the presentation of evidence and court procedures. In the afternoon he was instructed in constable?s duties from the Police Manual compiled by Commissioner Peterswald. At the end of the month the Inspector of Metropolitan Police reported as to whether the candidates had shown themselves as being capable of being enrolled and, if his opinion was favourable, they were drafted off into either branch.

In 1914 it was decreed that the square of buildings known as the Police Barracks and Destitute Asylum were to be demolished and for the few citizens of Adelaide, who could remember back into the 1850s, the name of Alexander Tolmer and his gold escorts would come to mind together with Inspector B.P. Hunt and Sergeant Mack, whose garden was still there at the time of demolition. At the bottom of the police paddocks, as the fields were called, the troopers broke in their horses and trained them where the Jubilee Oval was located. The schoolboys from Lower North Adelaide first paused to jump in the middle of a little footbridge which spanned the River Torrens about where the Frome Bridge is today, to the terror of the girls who wished to cross. Then they passed on to stop and watch the mounted police in their evolutions.

A popular spot in the old North Terrace barracks was the wet canteen which existed in part of the troopers? kitchen. There, beer at threepence a pint and whisky at fourpence a nobbler were tossed down by thirsty troopers after a day in the saddle. The cook was also a barman and liquor could be obtained at practically any hour of the day and there was much sorrow when Commissioner Peterswald ordered the abolition of the liquor part of that canteen.

"Police Barracks - Insanitary and Inadequate" is in the Register,
7 May 1909, page 6h.
A photograph of and information on the barracks on North Terrace are in The Herald,
24 April 1909; also see
Express,
7 April 1914, page 3f,
Register,
7 April 1914, page 8e,
22 July 1916, page 9d,
3 February 1917, page 9f,
2 March 1917, page 9d,
21 August 1919, page 5d.
Photographs are in the Observer,
10 March 1917, page 26.

The Thebarton Barracks

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

Quiz

By 1909 the barracks on North Terrace were in a parlous state as evidenced by an editorial in The Herald:

The men in barracks live fairly cheaply. The Government pays the cook a salary and the men contribute a half-penny a day. The cook buys the provender and the mess balance is struck every month; the cost ranges from £2. 8s. to £2 10. per man. This includes washing which, judging by the tablecloth, is not an expensive item. The cutlery, plates, dishes and tablecloths are purchased from the ?Manure Fund?, which seems to be the only source from which any comfort can be obtained.... This fund is formed from the stable manure which finds a ready sale...

The men?s dormitories are utterly devoid of comfort and deficient in ventilation. The Government supplies a rigid iron bedstead and a hard straw mattress; the men have to find their own bedding... Some time ago the bedrooms were overrun with certain insects of nocturnal and bloodthirsty habits, but by dint of great exertion these have been banished - perhaps to the skirting boards to husband their forces for another raid.

We won?t say much about the ?library?, because there is no library to describe. A long cupboard filled with a jumble of ancient rubbish - Parliamentary Debates (1864), bound copies of an ancient Methodist magazine and prehistoric garbage would hardly serve to inculcate a love of reading among the men quartered at the barracks. In the ?library? there is an ancient bagatelle table without pockets, but there are no other adjuncts to recreation, although we understand that a pair of boxing gloves has been obtained by the mounted men from that same manure fund.

The floor boards have been half eaten by white ants [and] near the scullery door was a drain into which the refuse from the kitchen was poured. The bricks had opened up and the drain gave off a most offensive smell. The refuse fell into a catchpit which was so badly constructed that two feet of filthy water stood in it permanently... The privy accommodation was also bad and infested with rats...

On the whole we were not favourably impressed with the barracks. There is an absence of comfort throughout and a distinct lack of cleanliness in the culinary department... The Government should aim at being a model employer, but so far as the police barracks are concerned we are confident that in some respects it would not be possible to find worse conditions in a city factory.

Complaints were made by constables particularly in reference to the fact that those of different watches had to sleep in the same rooms and greatly disturbed one another when preparing to go on duty. Foot constables also suffered this grievance when the mounted men worked in the stables when considerable noise was forthcoming.

A bright incident of our visit was the inspection of a little garden at the back of the offices, where Corporal Mack has transformed an arid waste into a blaze of colour - after the scullery and the drain it was a blessed relief.

In 1914 the government approved of the transfer of five acres of the Park Lands near the Adelaide Gaol for the purposes of police barracks and 25 acres, portion of which was formerly occupied by the pig and sheep markets, to the Railways Commissioner for inclusion in the Adelaide station yard. The transfer in respect of the barracks was effected on 10 February 1917, when there was a provision made for 50 men and their horses, as opposed to 25 at the former place. Of this new venture a report in the morning press expressed certain reservations:

On a spot where a few months ago stood green olive trees laden with fruit there is now an attractive collection of pretty red and white buildings nestling comfortably in the shade of acres of shrubs... The land was acquired by the government from the Adelaide City Council in exchange for the terrace at the rear of Government House and the land extending to the military parade ground between Government House and Victoria Drive. It may be mentioned here that it is regrettable to notice the marked deterioration of these once well-kept terrace slopes with their hedges, palms and bright-coloured bougainvilleas...

The best bathing, washing and sanitary accommodation has been installed... [and] the kitchen is provided with a splendid underground cellar.... The orderliness of the whole place is most apparent... The new barracks master will be Sergeant Pethick, who is decidedly popular with the men under him.

When the medical and educational tests were passed, the young recruit was drafted either to the barracks at Thebarton or a depot at Port Adelaide. Three years of careful training in the barracks lay ahead. The smartness and efficiency of the mounted men and undisciplined raw recruits from the city and country had to learned in a hard school before the final polish made them fit for duty in city crowds, at race meetings and to control police districts of their own. Physical qualifications were a minimum height of 5 feet 10 inches, a chest measurement of not less than 37 inches and a weight of not less than 11 stone 2 pounds for the foot police and 10 stone 10 pounds for the mounted constables.

There were no sisters, maids, or mothers to tidy up after the recruit and the condition of his room - or half of it - was entirely his responsibility. Under the supervision of the authorities mess cooks bought the necessary food and the mess secretary at the end of each month prepared a balance sheet which showed the cost to each man of the provisions. This worked out at about £1 a week. There were no waiters at the mess table and each man went to the kitchen and took a plate on which the cook placed the food.

Around the walls of the mess room were photographs and paintings of incidents in the history of the nation and the force. Trooper Brockmire, in the uncomfortable looking uniform of 1863, gazed almost wistfully at the modern young men at the tables. A day in the life of a trainee began at 6 am in the summer and 7 am in the winter. ?Stables? was sounded and the recruit got his horse ready for the day?s tasks, grooming, watering and feeding it and cleaning up the stall. Breakfast followed an hour later and then the recruit became a domestic, making his bed and tidying up his own quarters.

At 10 o?clock the troopers paraded or went to riding school. They had two classes where they studied under Inspector Beerworth or Sergeant-Instructor Partridge. Lunch was taken at noon and the next part of the training began with a 2 pm parade. More drill, followed by sword exercises, physical culture and ju-jitsu training and wrestling occupied the time until 4 pm when ?stables? was ordered again. After caring for their mounts the trainees were ready for tea at 5 pm. There were many other duties to be performed such as cutting chaff for the horses, growing lucerne and crushing all the oats consumed at the barracks.

The trainees put down a bore and struck water at 130 feet but their labours were in vain for the water was too salty even for irrigation. All the firewood for metropolitan police stations was bought in the country, railed to Adelaide and distributed by the recruits and it was estimated that a saving of 5 shillings per ton was made. Trainees could play billiards at the barracks recreation room and there was a library for those who wanted to read, together with a radio and a phonograph.

No civilian was employed there, all domestic and other services being performed by the troopers - volunteers were called for many of these jobs. For example, Mounted Constable Ewens satisfied his comrades that he was a competent chef, but if he tired of his duties he was free to return to the ordinary routine. Mounted Constable Jack Connell, the West Adelaide footballer, was the barracks blacksmith in 1933, while the saddler, Mounted Constable Brasted, was an expert and held the position for some years.

Although fashions had changed, the 1933 trooper wore the same type of cap as his predecessor and still wore a sword on ceremonial occasions. The tunic of the day was almost the same at that of 1840, but a peacock blue Garibaldi jacket, decorated with diamonds of black cloth, was his regulation dress in the summer months.

"New Police Barracks" is in the Register,
9 September 1913, page 10c,
9 May 1914, page 14h,
1 February 1915, page 6a,
22 July 1916, page 9d.
Historical information on the police barracks on North Terrace is in the Register,
20 May 1914, page 13b,
Observer,
11 July 1925, page 35b.

"Removing the Police Barrracks" is in the Observer,
20 January 1917, page 31d,
"New Police Barracks" on
10 February 1917, page 49a;
photographs are in The Critic,
7 March 1917, page 12.

Photographs of the old police barracks on North Terrace are in the Chronicle,
12 March 1927, page 49.

General Notes

Also see Port Adelaide - Civic Affairs - Law and Order.

"The Force in Many Spheres" appears in the Advertiser (special edition),
1 September 1936, page 54.

For information on "Women Police" see South Australia - Women- Women Police.

"When Adelaide Had No Police" is in the Chronicle,
7 and 14 February 1935, pages 49 and 49,
"Creation of South Australian Police Force" is in The Mail,
3 September 1927, page 11a.
"Soldiers and Police" is in the Observer,
1 November 1924, page 49c.

A public meeting in respect of a police force is reported in the Register,
4 and 11 August 1838, pages 3b and 2c; also see
Southern Australian,
4 August 1838, page 3b and
Register,
6 June 1840, page 5.
"The Doings of the Police" appears on
22 November 1843, page 2b,
"The Police of SA" on
30 May 1846, page 2b.

"Evolution of SA [Police] Uniform" is in the Advertiser,
27 May 1933, page 9g.

Information on early police is in the Register,
24 December 1900, page 6d.

"Proceedings of Police at Kangaroo Island" is in the Southern Australian,
27 September 1844, page 2d.

The names of members of the police force are in the Observer,
4 January 1845; also see
6 June 1846, page 7c.

A letter from a former policeman is in the Register,
4 August 1847, page 4b:

Register

"Runaway Sailors and the Police" is in the Register,
10 November 1847, page 3a.

"Conduct and Powers of the Police" is discussed in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
30 January 1847, page 2b.

"The Police and the Publicans" on
18 March 1848, page 2c,
19 August 1848, page 2c,
Register,
21 April 1854, page 3b,
Chronicle,
19 March 1864, page 5b,
Express,
28 August 1871, page 3d,
27 April 1880, page 2b,
"Indignant Publicans - Hunnish Police Methods" in the Register,
7 February 1917, page 8g.

"The Police Inquisition" is in the Register,
28 November 1849, pages 3c-(supp.) 1d and
the resignation of Sergeant Varcoe "one of the most active, intelligent and unassuming officers in the force" is reported on
30 January 1850, page 4b.

"Resignations in Police Force" is in the Adekaide Times,
10 and 12 April 1850, pages 3b and 2f.

"The Police Force" is discussed in the South Australian,
27 April 1849, page 2b.

"A Trooper of the Early Days [Mounted Constable James McLean]" is in the Observer,
23 February 1924, page 58c,
Register,
8 and 12 May 1926, pages 7h and 13c.

"Grievances of the Mounted and Metropolitan Police" are in the Register,
26 April 1850, page 2c; also see
6 June 1850, page 3b and
Adelaide Times,
4 November 1851, page 3f and
5 August 1852, page 4:

All the best men have either left, or about to leave, and dissatisfaction appears to prevail on all sides. The smallness of pay is in many instances the cause; in others, tyranny in the officers is ascribed as reasons for the discontent.

"Police Justice" is in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
19 October 1850, page 3a,
while a discussion on the Colony's police stations appears on
14 November 1850, page 3b.

"The Escort Police Force" is in the Adelaide Times,
10 August 1852, page 3b.
Also see South Australia - Gold Fever of the 1850s

"Reduction in Police Force" is in the Register,
17, 19 and 23 February 1852, pages 2e, 3a and 2e,
"Proposed Special Constabulary" on
28 February 1852, page 2e.

"The Distant Police Stations" is in the Register,
8 April 1852, page 2e,
"The Police" on
19 April 1852, page 3a,
"The Blacks - The Police" on
21 April 1852, page 2e,
Observer,
22 May 1852, page 7e.

"The Police and the Executive" is in the Register
on 10 August 1852, page 3a,
"The Police" is in the Observer,
22 May 1852, page 7e.

"Native Police" is in the Register,
2 December 1852, page 3e and
16 November 1855, page 2e,
Observer,
17 November 1855, page 5b.

"Gross Misconduct of Police Constable" is in the Observer,
12 February 1853, page 3c.

"Detective Police Force" is in the Register,
16 March 1853, page 3a,
23 September 1853, page 2f,
7 January 1869, page 2g,
6 February 1869, page 3c.

"Police Pay" is discussed in the Adelaide Times,
6 June 1853, page 2d,
"An Inebriated Policeman" on
16 July 1853, page 2c.

A report of a Board of Enquiry into the police is in the Register,
15 December 1853, page 3d and
"The State of the Police Force" in the Adelaide Times,
21 August 1852, page 5b.

"Drilling the Police" is in the Register,
17 February 1854, page 3g,
"The Police of the Colony" on
27 February 1855, page 2e,
5 and 28 April 1855, pages 3c and 2e,
1 and 28 June 1855, pages 3c and 2e.

"Colonial Police" is in the Observer,
30 June 1855, page 5e.

"Elections and the Police" is in the Register, 28 September 1855, page 3d:

While a most fearful breach of the peace was being committed, the police were quietly looking on and thereby encouraging [the riot].

"The Police System" is in the Register,
6 August 1855, page 3a.

"The Police Commissioner and Teetotalism" is in the Register,
8 August 1855, page 3c.
Also see South Australia - Social Matters - Temperance and Allied Matters

"The Police Reward Fund" is in the Register,
1 February 1856, page 2c,
"Police Reform" on
7 February 1856, page 2b,
"Police Violence" on
24 March 1856, page 2f.

"The Police Commissioner's Report" is in the Observer,
9 February 1856, page 6h,
"Police Theories" on
1 March 1856, page 6d,
"Police Returns" on
10 May 1856, page 6g,
"Suburban Police" on
5 July 1856, page 1c (supp.).

"Police Violence" is in the Register,
24 March 1856, page 2f,
"Police Protection" on
17 and 21 September 1857, pages 3h and 2e,
"Police and the Natives" on
26, 28 and 30 November 1857, pages 3f, 3f and 3a,
Observer,
5 December 1857, page 2f (supp.).

"Police Protection for the Country" is in the Register on
6 April 1858, page 2f,
"Police and the Fires" on
19 February 1859, page 2f.

"The Police" is in the Observer,
24 July 1858, page 1e (supp.).

"The Police Rate Bill" is in the Observer,
25 June 1859, page 6f,
16 July 1859, page 5a.

"The Police Force" is in the Observer,
30 July 1859, page 5f,
Register,
10 February 1860, page 2g,
3 July 1861, page 2c,
18 May 1863, page 2d.

"A Visit to the Armoury" is in the Chronicle,
24 November 1860, page 3d.

"Wilful Murder of Inspector Pettigrew at Government House" is in the Chronicle,
8 February 1862, page 3c.

"The Policeman and Licensed Teachers" is in the Register,
16 March 1863, page 2b.

A poem entitled "The Police and the Eight-Hour Law" is in the Register,
4 December 1863, page 3d.

"Police Protection in the North" is in the Register,
12 December 1863, page 2f,
"Police Duties" on
5 January 1864, page 2f,
"Police Morality" on
27 November 1865, page 2f.

"Police Pay" is in the Register,
22 January 1866, page 3e
"Police and the Footpads" on
21 and 24 July 1866, pages 2c and 3a,
"Cost and Efficiency of the Police Force" on
26 July 1866, page 2d.

"The Metropolitan Police is in the Observer,
2 and 9 January 1864, pages 4h and 4e,
Register,
2, 5 and 8 January 1864, pages 2d, 2f and 2g.

"Cost and Efficiency of the Police Force" is in the Register,
26 July 1866, page 2d.

"The Police Force" is discussed in the Advertiser,
10 August 1866, page 2f.

"The Policeman - By an Amateur Reporter in the Law Courts" is in the Register,
20 August 1866, page 3h,
Observer,
18 August 1866, page 2h:

A Satirical Analysis of the Police in 1866

The talkative policeman is a nuisance [in court]. He is fond of flying off at a tangent when in the witness box. He reads the papers, gets ideas of his own, and takes immense delight in letting the public know what he thinks. In the street he is fond of holding small Parliaments at corners and soon becomes the semi-deity of a select circle of street oracles.

The ambitious policeman, with whom we include the cringing policeman, is another nuisance. He tries to curry favour with his chiefs by an over-exhibition of zeal and an over-exertion of toadyism.

The courageous policeman is one of another type. He occasionally appears with distinguished features and prefers a charge of assault against a man twice his own bulk whom he has effectually subdued through sheer pluck. He is a man who delights to dodge suspicious characters and to capture burglars on the premises. His beat, too, is invariably quiet and orderly.

The systematic policeman is another treasure. He is always ready with his case when it is called on, and has a way of mustering his witnesses and classifying the evidence he has to bring forward that is quite refreshing. When you need information and want to ask an ?officer? a question, he is your man or he knows everything you are likely to require of him and is always ready to impart it.

The modest policeman may have very great qualities, but he lacks confidence. He is in a state of chronic nervousness. In the streets you may detect it in his very walk and in the way he slides around street corners, as if expecting a party of ?roughs?. Nay, he would rather let the small boys pull his coat tails off than take one into custody.

The humane policeman has in truth a wide scope for the exercise of his kindly sympathies and it is well that the character is not a mere creation of fancy.

The refined policeman embraces the qualities of the swell officer. He has an affected delicacy in his manner, which under the circumstances partakes rather of burlesque. His great delight is to inform His Worship that the defendant used language that isn?t fit to repeat, or with virtuous indignation to declare in the words of equally virtuous newspapers ?that the details are totally unfit for publication,? thereby building up for his own gratulation [sic] a pretty little matter of rectitude, of which he himself is the admirable possessor. It is a strange coincidence, however, that he generally gets the dirty cases.

The stupid policeman is not a scarce character - hopelessly obtuse in Court, exasperatingly dogmatic and unreasoning outside.

"Police Protection" is in the Observer,
22 September 1866, page 6b.

"The Commissioner of Police" is in the Chronicle,
8 and 22 September 1866, pages 1g (supp.) and 1e (supp.).

"The State of the Police Force" is in the Register,
5 and 21 October 1866, pages 2c and 2b-e,
30 January 1867, page 2c,
1 March 1867, page 2d.

"The Police Force" is in the Register,
21 November 1866, page 2b-e,
11 January 1868, page 2d,
Chronicle,
1 February 1868, page 12g.

"Police Promotion" is discussed in the Register,
9 November 1866, page 2b,
"A Detective Police" on
1 February 1867, page 2c,
Chronicle,
23 November 1867, page 4b,
Register,
22 January 1868, page 2d,
"The Police Force" on
11 January 1868, page 2d.

"The Police Committee" is in the Advertiser, 31 January 1867, page 2e:

To keep up the respectability of the force, I have never forgiven any man found drunk on his beat or any other duty, or asleep on his beat, or absent from it. Indeed, every heinous offence is best visited with instant dismissal.

"The Police Force" is in the Chronicle,
1 February 1868, page 12g.

"The Police and Discharged Prisoners" is in the Register,
20 April 1869, page 2h.

A dinner in honour of Sub-Inspector Foelsche is reported in the Register,
16 December 1869, page 3a.
An obituary of Paul Foelsche is in the Express,
2 February 1914, page 4h.

"The Police and the Rioters" is in the Register,
11 March 1870, page 4d.

Riots in the City Streets

(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience)

Editorial note: In this extract Mr Manning uses the voice of his fictional narrator of A Colonial Experience.

It was pointed out several months ago that men were demanding work or food at the corners of the streets, and it was asked why the ministry did not do what had to be done on similar cases twice before since the introduction of responsible government - that was to supply a labour test at some moderate distance from town. It was shown that this had checked the evil [of street meetings and demonstrations] on previous occasions, and that, if used at once, it would probably have the same effect now.

But instead of this nothing was done by the authorities, excepting that a very illogical and somewhat irritating letter was issued from the Destitute Board. The government, in fact, sat still with their usual masterly inactivity until a number of unemployed in and around the city had increased to three or four hundred, and then they were forced hurriedly to obtain the assistance of the Corporation, who, on being supplied with Government funds, employed a number of men...

Such, then, is the muddle into which the Government have got through a disinclination to grapple with the difficulty when it first presented itself...

By 1870 it was apparent that this situation had not improved and unemployment agitation assumed 'new and more exciting' phases. On 28 February 1870 the Commissioner of Public Works offered, through a deputation, to employ those who wished to work in trenching the New Asylum paddock at piece work rates.

This proposal did not satisfy the men at the time and on the following Tuesday a crowd 'consisting chiefly of strong, healthy-looking, able-bodied labourers' gathered outside the Treasury Buildings.

It was soon evident that they were in an angry mood and twenty policemen were summoned; they had no sooner arrived when the men, including many from the suburbs, invaded the building and commenced ascending the staircase, shouting, howling and vowing vengeance upon the Government. The policemen formed a cordon and attempted to clear the passages when a number of public servants came to their assistance and, by sheer strength, succeeded in expelling labourers and the police indiscriminately, and then all the doors were securely bolted.

Exasperated at the defeat of their attempt to gain the presence of the Ministers, the assemblage endeavoured to hustle the Commissioner of Public Works; the Commissioner of Police interposed and Mr Colton retired judiciously. Mr Hamilton, as a precautionary measure, then sent for a body of the mounted police. By midday there were over 200 labourers present, together with a large concourse of spectators, who jammed the footpaths awaiting avidly further developments.

Finally, the men decided to rush the stores and about 100 of them formed in rough order in the middle of the street but, with a sudden change of heart, they betook themselves to the vacant space on the Town Hall Acre where one of their number, taking his stand on a mud-cart, harangued them in language which evidently met with general approbation. He said that they were ready to work but that 1/10 (18 cents) a day was insufficient to meet the needs of themselves and families for it would barely suffice to buy food let alone rent, firewood and other necessaries.

Amidst general cheering he advised all pick and shovel men to get their tools, reform at one o'clock, and demand work or bread. The mob then dispersed and vowed to return in the afternoon. At 1.30 they gathered and marched towards the Treasury where more than a score of policemen essayed to hold the steps against them, only to be pushed aside and a most vigorous effort was made to drive into the Treasury door, which shook before the pressure brought to bear against it.

A melee ensued, the police drew their truncheons and mounted troopers arrived at the gallop and speedily cleared the pavement. The men then reassembled opposite the old and new Post-Office buildings; stones were propelled and nearby shopkeepers put up their shutters, arrests were made and the fracas continued; finally, order was restored by the police aided and abetted by peaceable citizens.

"The Case of Corporal O'Brien" is in the Register,
9 December 1871, page 5c.

"An Over-Zealous Police Officer" is in the Register,
15 and 29 June 1872, pages 4f and 4f,
6 July 1872, page 4f.

"Charge Against the Police" is in the Chronicle,
10 August 1872, page 11e.

The dismissal of a police sergeant is reported in the Register,
19 August 1872, page 5a.

"The New Police and Customs Office" is in the Register,
23 September 1872, page 5e.

"The Police Enquiry" is in the Register,
21 and 22 November 1872, pages 4e and 4f,
11 December 1872, pages 4e-5e.

A meeting of the Adelaide Corporation to discuss "some control over the police" is reported in the Express,
30 August 1872, page 3e.

"The Police Commission" is in the Chronicle,
14 December 1872, page 5.

"The Police Force Again" is in the Register,
8 and 11 January 1873, pages 4d and 5c.

"Ex-Sergeant Etheridge and the Police" is in the Register,
23 January 1873, page 4e,
8 February 1873, page 6b.

"The Police Force and Its Duties" is in the Register,
19 July 1873, pages 4f-6b.

"The Police Force and Its Treatment of Alleged Offenders" is in the Observer,
26 July 1873, pages 10a-13f.

"Case of H.L. Galbraith" is in The Irish Harp,
29 August 1873, page 4c; also see
Express,
25 October 1872, page 2e,
22 and 26 August 1873, pages 2a and 3b.

"The Duties of District Constables" is in the Observer,
15 August 1874, page 13d.

"Police Wanted in the North" is in the Chronicle,
12 January 1878, page 5e,
"Police Protection in the Very Far North" is in the Observer,
20 April 1878, pages 10a-11c.

"Clever Capture of Burglars by Police" is in the Chronicle,
21 September 1878, page 3c.

"Alexander Tolmer and Bushrangers" is in the Observer,
21 and 28 December 1878, pages 12e and 10g,
4, 11 and 18 January 1879, pages 20g, 13a and 11a,
1 February 1879, page 11c.
Interesting letters from Alexander Tolmer covering the subject of police in South Australia are in the Register,
8, 12 and 23 July 1881, pages 2b (supp.), 7b and 2a (supp.); also see
30 July 1881, page 3b (supp.),
17 October 1881, page 1d (supp.); also see
Express, 14 May 1881, page 3b.

"Messrs Tolmer and Alford and the Police of Victoria" is in the Observer,
4 and 11 January 1879, pages 20e and 13a.

"An Extraordinary Case" is in the Observer,
9 August 1879, page 2f,
6 and 13 September 1879, pages 12e and 21g.

"The Willows and the Police" is in the Express,
10 February 1880, page 2a.

The Song of the Willows

By a Vagrant

All you gentlemen fine in well-furnished houses,
You ladies wot sleeps on your beds of down,
Precious little you know of the tribe as carouses
'Neath the Willows at night not a mile from Town.

But its hard that the sweet and sylvan seclusion,
Where lovers of nature have made their home,
Should be subject at times to the sudden intrusion
Of the force who unasked to the Willows oft come.

But beak Beddome poor folks won't go for to punish
For sleepin' houtside in the air its plain,
No, our gang to take care he'll mildly admonish,
And then let us sneak back to the Willows again.

Oh! but seldom so close to the crowded city
Such pleasant retreats philosophers find,
And I think 'pon my word 'tis truly a pity,
That there are not a dozen resorts of the kind.

Final Chorus by the Club

Observer,

"An Indefatigable Trooper" is in the Observer,
17 April 1880, page 654e.

A poem on "The Policeman" is in The Lantern,
30 October 1880, page 9,
6 June 1885, page 21,
21 August 1886, page 19.

A presentation to Inspector Searcy is reported in the Register,
15 March 1881, page 5c,
to ex-Commissioner George Hamilton on
30 June 1881, page 6d.

An editorial on police commissioners, etc, is in the Advertiser,
1 July 1881, page 4e.

A monument to the memory of Trooper Pearce is reported in the Express,
23 May 1881, page 2c,
6 December 1881, page 2d,
Observer,
28 May 1881, page 947b.

The shooting of PC James Wall is reported in the Register,
7 and 8 November 1881, pages 5c and 4g.

"Police and the Public House" is in the Register,
31 January 1882, page 4e.
"The Police and the Criminal Class" on
4 January 1883, page 4e.

"Police Statistics" is in the Register,
3 March 1882, page 4e,
"The Police Force" on
10 March 1882, page 4d.

"The Caledonian Society and the Police" is in the Register,
11, 14 and 18 April 1882, pages 4b-5d, 6f and 6f.

"The Commissionership of Police" is in the Register,
27 May 1882, page 4f.

Sketches of police marksmen at Gladstone are in Frearson's Weekly,
2 December 1882, page 682.
A police prize shooting competition is reported in the Observer,
1 March 1884, page 2e.

"The Police and the Criminal Class" is in the Register,
4 January 1883, page 4e.

An inspection of the force by the governor is reported in the Register,
1 March 1883, page 6g.

Information on a Mr Lorymer who joined the police force in 1838 is in the Register,
19 March 1883 (supp.), page 2b.

Information on a police manual is in the Observer,
14 April 1883, page 37a.

Information on the Police Shinty Club is in the Observer,
14 June 1884, page 18f.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Shinty

Sketches of the mounted police are in the Pictorial Australian in
November 1884, page 172.
"The Mounted Police Question" is in the Observer,
16 April 1887, page 29c.

"Our Police Force" is in the Express,
27 November 1884, page 3d,
Register,
13 December 1884, page 7b,
Observer,
20 December 1884, page 13b.
A history of the police force is in the Register,
27 November 1884, page 5f.
A correspondent commented upon it on
13 December 1884, page 7b:

Advertiser

Following the publication of Alexander Tolmer's reminiscences one of his former subordinates in the police force, T.A. Naughton, took him to task in respect of the veracity of many statements made. A number of letters, including Tolmer's rebuttal, followed - see
Register,
27 and 30 November 1885, pages 7f, 3g,
3, 5, 7, 8 and 16 December 1885, pages 7h, 6h, 7g, 7g and 7f,
5 January 1886, page 7c:

Had Mr Tolmer adhered to the truth I would be content to let my acts and myself sink into oblivion, but although I am three score and twelve I will not allow him to write falsehoods in connection with my name...
(Also see Register, 18 and 23 December 1885, pages 6e and 7g.)

In [his] book he slanders all the men who did the work that he now claims credit for... Mr Tolmer has the same effect on men that a hot wind has on the vegetable world - they are sure to suffer from the contact... I have perused his book and, barring Baron Munchaussen, it is the most wonderful book I ever read, but it lacks one ingredient in its facts...

An informative letter from an ex-policeman is in the Register,
1 February 1886, page 7h; also see
3 February 1886, page 6g,
26 June 1891, page 5a.

The formation of a police band is reported upon in the Express,
5 March 1884, page 2d,
a concert in the Express,
29 January 1886, page 3g,
Chronicle,
13 November 1886, page 15e,
25 April 1889, page 15g,
Express,
19 November 1901, page 4d;
a photograph of a band is in the Pictorial Australian in
February 1895, page 36,
Chronicle,
31 January 1903, page 44,
Information on the Police Brass Band is in the Register,
18 and 20 April 1895, pages 6e and 6g.
"Abolition of Police Band Threatened" is in the Advertiser,
29 May 1909, page 10i; also see
Register,
29 May 1909, page 9d.

A brass band of about 12 instruments was formed in connection with the Adelaide foot police in February 1884 with Constable Howlett acting as the conductor. Through the kindness of several city gentlemen the band practised two or three nights every week in a large room once occupied by Messrs Roberts as a dancing room. The mounted and the foot stationed in the city contributed a shilling a month, by request of the Commissioner, to a Band Fund.

Rumours of disbandment were abroad in May 1909 when it was said that:

Many of the performers past and present, and not they alone, but there comrades in addition, have at times put there hands in their pockets to provide the wherewithal to keep the band in funds... The men have accomplished everything with only trifling concessions in the way of time off for combined practice - omitting all reference to the sacrifice of hours of their own time essential to learn their individual parts - and without a penny of help from the Government. What a pity if the whole of this voluntary effort should end in naught! Yet that appears to be imminent. The band cannot be successfully conducted with fewer than 16 players and if rumour is reliable that number has dwindled to a dozen, with the leading cornets lacking... The remedy seems to be in other hands than theirs.

Information on the Police Band

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

Resurrection of the Police Band

During the course of our early training the powers that be decided to resurrect the Police Band which had been redundant for many, many years. Some clever individual found the old brass instruments hidden in a musty room in the Thebarton Police Barracks. They were a sad and sorry sight covered in verdigris, dirt and the dust of ages.

One day at the depot a full assembly was called and the ?resurrection? was announced and a list of names was read out for we were not invited to be members, but merely conscriptees. Shortly afterwards, the ?bandsmen? were instructed to fall in on the parade ground where we were not asked if we had any musical aptitude or ability, or whether we had ever played any sort of instrument. At the same time the ?instruments?, green with age but brass underneath, were lined up at the far end of the parade ground and we were told that it was every man for himself, no holds barred. n the word ?Go!? the stampede commenced and in the ensuing mad scramble the best runners chose the small instruments, cornets, etc.

I was lucky I picked up a ?Baritone?, not too big and not too small, but just right like Baby Bear?s porridge! As a bonus we were each presented with a tin of ?Brasso? to brighten up the aged and dilapidated instruments - imagine the chagrin of the fellows who won the Double Bass and other large instruments! Eighty per cent of the conscripted bandsmen had never played any instrument and had no musical appreciation whatsoever. The Police Band was about to rise from the ashes and a Mr. Bill Symons was the poor devil who was to be the band master. A wonderfully dedicated, talented musician and perhaps the top professional band master in South Australia at that time. He was a fine gentleman.

He was the right man in the wrong place, but over time he became a much revered and loved character, for his innate patience and dedication prevailed. To teach a group, such as ours, from scratch to be able to perform in public with some accreditation was a masterful performance when you consider that some of the group were so hopeless that they regressed from one instrument to another and finally the drums and the triangle before being drummed out.

Three fellows in B Troop who were members of the band, Jack Giles, Alf Laslett and Wally Medlin were in fact quite good musicians. Two played the piano, Jack Giles played the saxophone and all three entertained the troops when the occasion presented itself. One amusing episode occurred when JC Lawrence was accused by the band master of smelling of alcohol, when in fact some unscrupulous individual had thrown some lemons in the bell of his Double B Bass where they had fermented, hence the strong smell. Jeff was a champion boxer and, after completing an instructing role, went on to become a country police officer of high standing.

Patience and perseverance was finally rewarded. We were taught to play the scales; we moved to a hymn, ?Abide With Me?, and then to ?God Save the King?, and later two marches ?Loyal and True? and ?Old Comrades?. Constant practice, coupled with large doses of repetition, finally prevailed and recognisable musical sounds started to emerge. The drilling of the band and its marching precision was something else, for that was second nature to us after our intense work on the parade ground so, if the playing was a little suspect, the marching was superb and the blue trousers sporting the two white stripes highlighted the precision. The objective in the short term was to perform at the State?s centenary ceremonies to be held in 1936.

Our appearance at the Tanunda National Band Competitions in 1936 saw a record number of brass bands from all states and overseas competing. These annual competitions are still classed as the most prestigious brass band event in Australia. We were informed after the street march that we had unofficially won. However, being a professional band, we obviously didn?t qualify, but the department received some excellent reports from the highest banding authority in Australia.

We then commenced to play in various ceremonies and marches in Adelaide, and some amusing things happened at times. During practice, the poor old band master was on the end of some high jinx which at times tested his patience. I recall at one practice the duty sergeant arrived in the band room to make some announcement, and my dear friend Jack Colmer, who later became my best man at my wedding, chewed up some blotting paper, removed the bell of his trombone and blew the missile which travelled at high speed and hit the sergeant in the ear with a resounding flop. He got seven days confinement to barracks and thereafter was known as ?CB?.

On another occasion an old fellow, known as ?Gooey? Simonds, carried his music in an old-fashioned kit bag and, one night when he wasn?t looking, someone got some heavy weights from the weight lifting cupboard and placed them in it. Upon his departure he picked up the bag and the bottom of it remained on the floor. He was off like a shot to report the offence but we restrained him and, by way of solatium, bought him a new bag.

He would always start by tuning the band and, when satisfied, invite us to play a hymn and then proceed outside the band room to appraise the tone and quality of the recital. As soon as he went outside, all hell would cut loose and we would blow until all were blue in the face. His immediate response was to rush back inside when someone would turn off the lights. In the end he accepted the jokes but always said he was going to report us, but never did.

I recall another occasion while marching down King William Street when some confusion reigned when bandsmen at the rear played the piece ?Old Comrades?, while the leading bandsmen played ?Loyal and True? and neither group was prepared to give up, much to the amusement of the public. We all finished up without leave for a week.

Many years later, I found myself once again involved with the band as Officer-in-Charge. As a brass band it was, indeed, in the silk department. In the early 1970s I considered that the band was ready to perform in the Festival Theatre and I approached the Festival Director, Anthony Steele, who was a casual acquaintance, with the request. He said to me, ?Bob, brass bands are ten a penny. Your request has little or no chance of success. Go away, do your homework and upgrade your band by introducing reeds and other instruments and thereby becoming a concert or military style band, and I am sure that your ambition will be fulfilled.?

As a result of this body blow, I spoke to Laurie Draper and he instructed me to prepare a full report. This was done and approval given to commence the changeover. The Band Master, Ernie Alderslade was, to say the least, most unimpressed for he was a ?brass man? through and through and had in fact won a national award as a trombonist. He didn?t want the job, his heart wasn?t in it, and the mountain seemed to be too high. However, after a lot of soul searching and anguish, he conceded and commenced the long haul of change.

The new recruiting program of local and overseas bandsmen commenced and many were accomplished multi-instrumentalists, some from the Guards? Regiments in the United Kingdom and so, with the acquisition of new instruments, the transition gradually took place. The challenge was tremendous, the results unbelievable and, of course, the band went from strength to strength and now holds a position of being one of the best concert/military bands in the country.

At this time we were very fortunate to acquire the services of an outstanding musician, Ian Drinkwater. This fellow, with his great talent and boundless energy and ability to inspire others, became a legendary figure in the police band. His presence was one of the key factors in guiding it through that turbulent transition period. Another name most worthy of mention is Alister McHague, an entrepreneur and champion of the police band. He laid foundations for its ultimate journey overseas to perform at Edinburgh.

Alister, a wonderful musician and singer, performed with the band and for a number of years was a most successful compere. Later, the band performed before the Queen at a royal tournament at Earls Court in London and also made a star guest appearance at the Edinburgh Festival. The police band holds a very special place with all South Australians and today plays to capacity audiences all over the State and especially at schools.

Anthony Steele?s prognosis and prediction has been most decidedly fulfilled and for this I give Band Master Ernie Alderslade the most credit because he overcame his own prejudices and laboured in those early days to lay a foundation the band enjoys today, and I am sure dear old Mr. Simonds would be suitably impressed although he, like Ernie, was a devotee of brass bands.

In the 1960s the band, under the expert leadership of Band Master Alex Radcliffe, continued to entertain people all over the State and as Police Liaison Officer I became more actively involved in band activities. It was decided that the band would perform a Christmas concert for the families of police personnel in the auditorium at Police Headquarters.

I finalised the arrangements and the first concert was a great success and was the forerunner of the many Christmas concerts that continue to this day. The audience soon outgrew the auditorium and the Band moved to the Adelaide Town Hall where it has played to full houses ever since. They say that ?great oaks from little acorns grow? and the South Australian Police Band is surely in that category for today it enjoys international acclaim. It is a far cry from the Police Depot in 1935 when the verdigris covered instruments were resurrected from their slumbers in a dusty cupboard at the Police Barracks at Thebarton in 1935 - believe me I was there!

"Police Inspection" is in the Register,
25 May 1885, page 6c.

"The Police and Prostitution" is in the Express,
22 April 1885, page 3f.
Also see Adelaide - Prostitution

"Alleged Persecution by Inspector Bee" is in the Observer,
4 July 1885, page 34a; also see
5 February 1887, page 40d.

"Retrenchment in Police Force" is in the Register,
23 November 1885, page 5a.

"The Police Force" is in the Register,
1 and 3 February 1886, pages 7h and 6g.

"The Detective Force and Mr Cecil Turner" is in the Register,
16 and 18 March 1886, pages 4h-7h and 6g,
20 April 1886, page 7h.

"A Policeman's Funeral [E.J.H. Avery]" is in the Register,
5 June 1886, page 5e.

"Management of Our Police Force" is in the Register,
25 November 1886, page 7e.

"Policemen as Public Vaccinators" is in the Register,
15 December 1886, page 6c.
"Mounted Constables as Vaccinators" is in the Observer,
22 September 1894, page 30e.

The reminiscences of G.W. Stuart are in the Chronicle,
1 January 1887, page 6a;
an obituary is in the Register,
23 and 26 June 1891, pages 4g and 5b,
Observer,
27 June 1891, page 30e,
Express,
23 June 1891, page 3b.

Sketches of "incidents in the life of a policemen" are in the Pictorial Australian in
March 1887, page 36,
of the police court in
April 1888, page 53.

A poem titled "The Detective" is in The Lantern,
23 July 1887, page 19.

A presentation to ex- Detective Daniel Dunlevie is reported in the Register,
9 August 1887, page 6h.

"Police Protection in the Interior" is in the Express,
24 November 1887, page 3e,
"The Police" on
3 October 1888, page 6b.

"The Jacky Enquiry" is in the Chronicle,
28 December 1889, pages 9c-22f,
4, 18 and 25 January 1890, pages 10a-21d-22d, 21f and 4e.

"The Detective Embezzlement Case" is in the Register,
14 June 1890, page 4f.

"The Police Fund" is in the Register,
29 November 1890, page 4g,
27 and 29 August 1903, pages 4d and 4i,
16 September 1903, page 6b,
17 August 1904, page 4e.

A police picnic is reported in the Register,
15 April 1892, page 6d,
Observer,
16 April 1892, page 32c,
Register,
13 April 1893, page 7g,
6 March 1895, page 3e,
Express,
6 and 7 March 1895, pages 3f and 4a,
Observer,
9 March 1895, pages 15d-31d.

The obituary of police inspector, Bryan Charles Besley, who joined the police force in 1854, is in the Register,
9 May 1894, page 7d.

"The Work of the Police - A Field day for the Police Magistrate" is in the Register,
27 November 1893, page 7h.

"The Police and Private Totalizators" is in the Register,
30 November 1893, page 5d.
Also see South Australia - Social Matters - Gambling - Totalizator

"Police Work in the Nineties [by Sergeant C. Mitchell]" is in the Register,
3 August 1928, page 12b.

"Police on Bicycles" is in the Observer,
5 November 1892, page 31a,
17 December 1892, page 26e,
22 April 1893, page 29c,
Register,
20 January 1893, page 7h,
6 July 1893, page 5c.
The provision of bicycles to patrolling policemen is discussed in the Register,
12 December 1892, page 5b,
8 March 1895, page 5b,
31 May 1895, page 5e.
Photographs of a police drill and a bicycle corps are in the Chronicle,
7 June 1902, page 41,
The Critic,
12 June 1907, page 21.

Mounted Police Cyclists

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

Considerable interest is being felt in the experiment and, so far as police in uniform looking ridiculous, the two or three who have been seen around the city, especially the orderlies, for the past few weeks present a very smart appearance, the uniform being by no means out of keeping any more than a cyclist?s costume. The men provided with machines have very readily learnt the art of riding.

A few weeks later it was reported that:

One [bicycle] is employed by the Chief Secretary?s orderly in carrying messages to different parts of the city; another is used for police despatches from the Commissioner?s office and the third is ridden by a policeman in Southwark. Two additional machines will soon be ready - one for use at Norwood Station and the other at Woodville and these will be used in preference to horses when cases demanding the most urgent attention occur, for while a horse is being saddled and got ready the trooper or foot constable on his bicycle could be well on his journey... Mr Peterswald?s men are not chickens; they weigh substantially and their bone and muscle create a respectable feeling when viewed through the awesome atmosphere of legal perspective.

"The Police Report" is in the Register,
1 September 1893, page 5b.

"Crime, Real and Imaginary" is in the Register,
31 October 1893, page 4g.

"A Year's Work in the Police Force" is in the Register,
14 September 1894, page 4e.

"Mounted Constables as Vaccinators" is in the Observer,
22 September 1894, page 30e.

Reminiscences of Thomas Coward are in the Register,
26 June 1891, page 5a,
29 August 1895, page 3h; also see
22 and 26 May 1896, pages 3g.
Similarly, those of Police Trooper Richards appear on
5 February 1902, page 8d.

"Early Experiences in the Police Force", the reminiscences of Trooper Edward Tacey, is in the Observer,
21 and 28 March 1896, pages 34c and 33d.

"The Harpur Case and Police Difficulties" is in the Register,
13 and 15 February 1895, pages 4f and 5a.

"Police Prosecution and Judicial Strictness" is in the Register,
8 and 9 March 1895, pages 4e and 5b.

"A Bibulous Constable" is in the Register,
23 March 1895, page 7e.

"The Foot Police" is in the Express,
27 August 1895, page 3f.

Foot Police

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

In 1882 a correspondent to the morning press exonerated the ?English-born? from being associated with the larrikin ?push?, while at the same time casting aspersions upon the efficacy of the foot police:

It would appear that the youths and young girls who form this class are colonial-born subjects... who are mostly brought up... in a wild fashion in the colonies, and are not amenable to home discipline, and as long as they have arms to defend themselves and legs to run, think they can do pretty much as they please with the police constables...

The number of foot constables exceeded that of the troopers; they were divided into watches and on duty for eight hours each day or night. From 1882 a system of employing troopers to act as night patrols to the less populous parts of the city and in the suburbs was adopted. On Saturday nights also, when the main streets were thronged, an extra number of men were placed on duty and had strict instructions to quell any unseemly behaviour on the part of that section of the public who delighted to ?do? Rundle Street on that evening:

Let them be taken to the centre of Victoria Square... let all the known ruffians be rounded up to witness it (as they used to the blacks when a murder was committed) and then give each culprit three dozen with the cat-o-nine-tails, well laid on by the common hangman...

We do not bring the genes with us. We find them here and it is quite unfair to expect those who neither claim to be social reformers nor philanthropists to eradicate an evil which has grown up and continues under the noses of the public, pulpit and police, not to say anything of parents...

Reminiscing with me in the 1930s, a former policeman recalled that the night life of a certain type in the 1880s was far more extensive than it was when he joined the force. Hotels were opened to 11 pm and well patronised. After the closing hour crowds made their way to the bar at the Theatre Royal which, in its turn, developed an unenviable reputation. This bar remained open to midnight after which, thrice a week, the hotels near the East End Market were kept crowded with customers during all hours of the early morning. Although the front doors of those establishments were closed, the bars were kept open, primarily for the benefit of market gardeners arriving long before dawn. In such a way drinks were available at all hours of the night and little or no interference by the police was encountered:

In those days it was quite an ordinary affair for the police to find, in the early morning in the Park Lands, a man lying stripped of all his possessions and sometimes even of his clothes. Assisted to his undoing by ?decoys? a man was robbed and dumped helpless from a hansom cab, well away from the scene of the crime.

An obituary of Detective James A. Lawson is in the Express,
27 September 1895, page 2f,
of Commissioner W.J. Peterswald is in the Observer,
5 September 1896, page 15d.

"Juvenile Marauders and the Police" is in the Register,
21 February 1896, page 7c.

"Early Experiences in the Police", by Edward Tacey, is in the Observer,
21 and 28 March 1896, pages 34c and 33d.

The funeral of Constable A. Fopp is reported in the Observer,
17 October 1896, page 15a.

"Police Commissioners" is in the Register,
1 October 1896, page 5c.

"The Police Superannuation Bill" is in the Register,
9 December 1896, page 5c.

Information on the Police Widows' and Orphans' Fund is in the Express,
16 November 1896, page 2c.

Police Widows? and Orphans? Fund

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

For posterity I record the fate of some mounted and foot constables in the colonial days of the 19th century - the list is by no means complete:

Pearce was stabbed to death by a prisoner; Shirley perished in the bush while looking for a man who was lost; McCullagh was killed while stopping a runaway horse and trap; Murray, while arresting a prisoner had his ribs broken and they penetrated his lungs, causing his death; Copel and, O?Leary and Jamieson died as a result of colds caught whilst they were watching and shadowing a man named Staer who was suspected of being concerned with numerous fires during 1884 and 1885; Nalty, Potter and Spicer were killed by their horses falling on them; Dalton died from sunstroke received while at drill; Kelly had his ear bitten off by a prisoner; Brown was permanently incapacitated by the loss of his leg; Constable Ebbs had his forefinger bitten clean off by a lunatic while arresting him; Cate had his thigh broken in two places through a horse falling on him; Keating had his arm broken and LeLievre and Donegan received severe stabs while arresting prisoners.

"Juvenile Crime and the Police" is in the Register,
27 August 1897, page 4d.

"Moving on the Policeman" is in the Register,
19 February 1898, page 4f - "Savagedom evolved the soldier - humanity the policeman".
"Moving the Policeman" is in the Observer,
26 February 1898, page 41a.

"Police Transfers" is in the Express,
19 February 1898, page 2c.

"Wanted - Policemen" is in the Register,
12 and 15 July 1898, pages 4g-5a and 5a:

Some of the most beautiful suburbs of Adelaide will be rendered practically uninhabitable by nervous people unless the forces of law and order soon assert themselves against thievery and personal violence.

"Rogues and Vagabonds - What the Police Are Doing" is in the Register,
15 and 18 July 1898, pages 5a and 4f.

"The Late Ex-Sergeant [James] O'Callaghan" is in the Register,
22 July 1898, page 6i,
Observer,
23 July 1898, page 15e.

Biographical details of Inspector Sullivan are in the Observer,
5 November 1898, page 16d.
An interesting account of his service in the SA Police Force is in the Register,
14 December 1903, page 5d,
20 July 1904, page 3h.
An obituary is in the Register,
6 October 1905, page 7e,
"The Police and the Public" is in the Register on
28 July 1898, page 4d.

" Juvenile Crime and the Police" is in the Register,
27 August 1897, page 4d.
"The Policeman's Work and Wages" on 9 September 1898, page 4e.
"Are South Australians to be Slaves to the Police" on
11 October 1898, page 4f.

A police life saving crew is reported upon in the Register,
20 October 1898, page 4i.

"The Police and the Public" is in the Register on
28 July 1898, page 4d,
"The Policeman's Work and Wages" on
9 September 1898, page 4e-4i,
"Are South Australians to be Slaves to the Police" on
11 October 1898, page 4f.

A presentation to Sergeant Irwin is in the Express,
7 July 1899, page 4d,
Register,
8 July 1899, page 5d.

Information on Inspector Saunders is in the Register,
24 July 1899, page 4h,
Observer,
29 July 1899, page 16d,
Register,
11 October 1916, page 6g (obit.).

"Reminiscences of Crime - A Visit to the Police Museum" is in the Register,
13 January 1899, page 6c,
"South Australia's Grimmest Museum" in The Mail,
11 May 1935, page 2.

The Thieves? Gallery and Police Museum

(Taken from the unpublished reminiscences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

These photographs were kept in what was known as the police album and, besides each photograph, a statement containing personal details of the prisoner, such as weight, height, appearance, etc., was recorded.

Among the exhibits at the museum were a loaded stockwhip handle with which a young man battered his intended bride to death in a fit of passion and an iron crowbar about three feet in length, being the weapon selected by another man with which to destroy his family - after the murders it was thrown down a well by the murderer, who then committed suicide. Not the least interesting exhibits were a series of ?knuckle dusters? which ranged from the simple double brass ring to an ugly instrument into which four fingers could be inserted. This was provided with a number of steel spikes, about a third of an inch long and dark rust marks upon it were eloquent testimony to its effectiveness.

Spears with which two Aborigines fought at Streaky Bay in 1887 were preserved there. Both the natives died of wounds - one after having survived long enough to be arrested and committed for trial for manslaughter. The first tomahawk in the collection was used by the Aborigine in the slaying of a drover at a waterhole while they were returning to a station after having delivered a mob of cattle to Adelaide.

"Points From the Police Report" is in the Register,
15 September 1899, page 7f.

"The Police Scandal" is in the Register,
29 November 1899, pages 4f-9a,
2 December 1900, page 8i,
20 and 30 January 1900, pages 11d and 4e,
"Rowdyism and the Police" on
13, 16, 18, 19 and 21 June 1900, pages 4e, 8e, 2i, 3c and 3g.

"The Police Enquiry - Criticism of Procedure" is in the Register,
11 and 12 December 1899, pages 6i and 4g,
20 January 1900, page 11d.

"Police Work in the Nineties", the reminiscences of Sergeant C. Mitchell, is in the Register,
3 August 1928, page 12b.

An obituary of Senior Constable Charles A. Miller is in the Express,
28 February 1900, page 4c.

"Police Work in the Nineties", the reminiscences of Sergeant C. Mitchell, is in the Register,
3 August 1928, page 12b.

"The Detective Force" is in the Register,
30 January 1900, page 4e.

The reminiscences of Chief Inspector Bannigan are in the Register,
4 February 1914, page 7e.

"Police and Temperance" is in the Register,
30 March 1900, page 4h.

"Policeman - and Radiant Noses" is in the Observer,
31 March 1900, page 30c,
"Police and Temperance" on
14 April 1900, page 26d.

"Rowdyism and the Police" is in the Register,
13 and 16 June 1900, pages 4e and 8e.

"Police and the Public" is in the Register,
22 June 1900, page 6h,
"Policemen, Offenders and Children" on
21 September 1900, page 4e.

Information on a police ambulance is in the Express,
24 October 1900, page 2c;
a photograph is in the Chronicle,
11 July 1935, page 38.

"Where Should the Police Live?" is in the Register,
6 November 1900, page 3c.

The subject of "Fat Policemen" is discussed in a humorous and informative editorial in the Register, 16 August 1901, page 4d:

Register

Observer

Information on early police is in the Register,
24 December 1900, page 6d.

A Troopers Life in the Interior [MC M.F. Dowd]" is in the Register,
19 July 1901, page 7g.

"Inspection of Northern Police Stations" is in the Register,
3 December 1901, page 4g.

The reminiscences of Sergeant Richards are in the Register,
5 February 1902, page 8d,
Observer,
22 February 1902, page 43e.

Photographs of a police drill and a bicycle corps are in the Chronicle,
7 June 1902, page 41.

"Long Service Pay Abolished" is in the Register,
18 June 1902, page 5a,
Express,
18 June 1902, page 3c,
Observer,
21 June 1902, page 36a.

An editorial on "The Police Report" is in the Advertiser,
5 September 1902, page 4c.

"The Police and Betting - History of Repressive Measures" is in the Advertiser,
5 September 1902, page 6h.

The Police and Betting in Colonial Days

(Taken from the unpublished reminisences of A.R. Calvesbert, edited by Geoffrey H. Manning)

Totalisator Repeal Act

The next development was the receiving of cash by bookmakers, ostensibly as agents for totalisator investments; but really they were laying totalisator odds, less a percentage retained. Again prosecutions ensued, but when it was held by the court to be necessary for the police to prove that specific sums thus ?invested? were not re-invested by the bookmakers on the legalised totalisators, the police were nonplussed.

The passing of the Gaming Further Suppression Act of 1897 prohibited these ?agents? with the result that on racecourses open betting, other than by the totalisator, virtually ceased; the bookmaker was seen but not heard, except occasionally on the ?flat? where people had no opportunity to invest legally.

For years it was the custom of many persons - mostly tobacconists - to use their premises as betting houses. They conducted their business openly and issued receipts to their clients, but prosecutions and heavy fines put an end to the practice and the ?tote shops? sprang into existence. To these shops admittance was granted readily to any one except a known police officer and this method of wagering became very popular with a certain section of the community. Raids were made under search warrants and the principals prosecuted.

Becoming somewhat wearied of paying fines, business was transferred to the streets and a new creation - the ?walking? tote - became the fashion. At this time streets, lanes and alleys were not ?places? within the meaning of the Lottery and Gaming Act of 1875 and for a time a brisk business was done. These men, at last, became nuisances and a source of annoyance to many of the business men of the city, whose premises were blocked by the clients assembled to ?invest? or receive dividends. An amendment to the Act finally led to the demise of this street gambling.

Acting under legal advice a new departure was decided upon and the betting house known as a ?clubs? made its appearance. A pretence was made that these establishments were conducted on what was termed the ?mutual? principle, members benefiting alike in profits, but in fact they were conducted solely in the interests of well-known betting men. At the turn of the century several of these bodies registered themselves as public companies, no doubt for raising new points of law at subsequent prosecutions. By 1902 the Commissioner of Police was to say that these places had ?become a blot and canker on the city.?

As a postscript I must add that by 1933 there was an illegal bookmaker operating in at least 95 per cent of licensed premises in Adelaide, including billiard saloons and, indeed, the installation of direct telephones and wireless had encouraged the illegal gambling. Inspector Horseman was to say that direct telephones had interfered with the police in the execution of their duty and he quoted a recent case where the police raided a store in the city and found the telephone ringing. On the police answering it a voice gave a warning to the occupier to be careful as the police were about. He went on to say that the police had to get past four or five nitkeepers, after which they would have to pass a man on the doorstep. These men were allowed to carry on without interruption as according to a court decision it was not an offence and he concluded that ?fresh legislation will have to be brought into existence.?

It was suggested that the licensing of bookmakers would kill the betting in hotels and Mr R.G. Dugan, who had been bookmaking since 1915, said that he had fielded on the flat until the police drove bookmakers into the Park Lands near Victoria Park and to the rear of the Cheltenham and Morphettville courses and then into hotels and billiard saloons:

The amendment to the Lottery and Gaming Act empowering the police to remove people from racecourses on suspicion drove a lot of the big men away. On one occasion a policeman looked at the racecard of one of our biggest owners, because he thought he was betting. He resigned from all racing clubs and sent his horses to Melbourne to be raced...

Inspector Follsche's "Duties and Recreations" are narrated in the Register,
19 January 1903, page 6g.

"Shooting a Constable [James Murphy]" is in the Register,
25 February 1903, page 5e.

Information on the duties of Mounted Constable Birt in the Far North is in the Observer,
14 March 1903, page 39d,
12 March 1904, page 40a.

"Policemen's Houses" is in the Register,
23 June 1903, page 4g.

"Police and Criminals" is in the Register,
4 September 1903, pages 4c-5c.

The reminiscences of Inspector Hunt, including gold escort duty, are in the Register,
30 December 1903, page 4h,
4 January 1904, page 6h,
22 August 1904, page 4g.

The obituary of Sub-Inspector Doyle appears in the Register
17 September 1904, page 7a
(a photo is in the Chronicle,
24 September 1904, page 28),
of Sub-Inspector Field in the Register,
12 February 1906, page 6b,
Senior Inspector Hunt on
24 July 1913, page 6g.

"Police Force Promotions" is in the Register,
30 August 1904, page 3c.

Photographs of Constables W. Hipwell, H. Molloy and F. Clark are in The Critic,
25 January 1905, page 8.

A presentation to Detective Northridge is reported upon in the Register,
29 and 31 March 1906, pages 7h and 8f.

"Lifes Rugged Ways - Police Court Features" is in the Register on
25 August 1906, page 10d,
"How a Policeman is Trained" on
17 May 1907, page 6d,
"The Policeman's Lot - Great Risks and Small Compensation" on
4 April 1908, page 7b.

Information on and a `photograph of the funeral of Constable King are in the Chronicle,
4 April 1908, pages 29 and 41a,
Observer,
4 April 1908, page 29.

A photograph of metropolitan police on parade is in The Critic,
12 June 1907, page 8.

"The Police and the Law" is in the Register,
18 October 1907, page 4d.

"Parents and Children - and the Policeman" is in the Register,
21 November 1907, page 8c.

"The Policeman's Home" is in the Register,
10 December 1907, page 6h.

"The Policeman's Lot - Great Risks and Small Compensation" is in the Register,
4 April 1908, page 7b.

"Deaths From Non-Natural Causes - Laxity in Informing Police" is in the Register,
15 April 1908, page 6e.

"The Police Moiety - Should it be Abolished?" is in the Register,
15 July 1908, page 7d; also see
27 February 1909, page 14d.

"Police and Hotels" is in the Register,
3 February 1909, page 4e.

"Policemen" is in the Register,
29 January 1909, page 4c,
"Police and Crime" on
11 March 1909, page 4c,
"Police - Crime - Morals" on
4 May 1909, page 4b.

"The Police Force" is in the Register,
12, 14, 16, 18, 22 and 23 June 1909, pages 7a, 6g, 6e, 6f and 3e,
20 November 1909, page 15g.

"What Policemen Do" is in the Register on
14 June 1909, page 3h,
"The Police" on
22 September 1909, page 4c,
"The Police Force - History, Duty and Risks" on
10 September 1910, page 6b.

"A Cruel Libel - Verdict for a Constable" is in the Register,
17 June 1909, page 9a.

"The Late Constable Hyde - Oak Tree Planted in His Memory" at Eastry Street, Marryatville is reported in the Advertiser,
5 August 1909, page 12c;
a photograph of a memorial is in the Chronicle,
14 August 1909, page 31.

"The Police and Social Legislation" is in the Advertiser,
29 September 1909, page 6c,
"Police and Liquor Laws" on
29 September 1909, page 6h.

"The Police" is in the Register,
14 and 16 December 1910, pages 6d-8f and 5f-8h,
"Habitual Criminals" on
7 April 1911, page 4b.

"Police Administration - Strong Criticism" is in the Register,
29 September 1909, page 11a; also see
30 September 1909, page 8d,
8 and 9 October 1909, pages 6f and 15h.

"The Police Force" is in the Register,
2 and 30 December 1909, pages 5d and 9a,
Observer,
4 December 1909, page 45c.
"The Police" is in the Register,
14 and 16 December 1910, pages 6d-8f and 5f-8h,
"Habitual Criminals" on
7 April 1911, page 4b.

A photograph of Inspectors Orr and Burchell, and the Commissioner of Police, M. Raymond, is in The Critic,
15 June 1910, page 9.

"Country Mounted Constables" is in the Register,
3 and 7 September 1910, pages 15e and 8i.

"The Police Force - History, Duties and Risks" is in the Register,
10 September 1910, page 8 (includes photographs).

"Dissatisfaction in Police Force" is in the Observer,
17 December 1910, page 34c.

"The Police" is in the Register,
15 and 16 December 1910, pages 6d-8f and 5f-8h.

"The Police Force - Shockingly Undermanned" is in the Advertiser,
8 July 1911, page 19d,
"The Police Force - How it is Worked" on
9 September 1911, page 7a.

"The Police Force" is in the Register on
17, 18 and 27 July 1911, pages 10f, 8f and 5f,
"The Police" on
23 May 1912, page 4e,
"A Plea for the Police" on
30 July 1912, page 5f.

"The Police Report" is in the Register,
25 August 1911, page 4c.

A photograph of a tug-of-war team is in the Express,
26 September 1912, page 8.

"Pensions for Police" is in the Observer,
9 November 1912, page 51e,
"Police Pensions" in the Register,
28 and 29 September 1916, pages 10c and 4e,
"Pensions for the Police" is in the Register,
27 June 1917, page 7b.

"Light and Shade - Police Court Snapshots" is in the Register,
5 December 1912, page 9a,
"Police Spies" on
5, 19 and 20 December 1912, pages 12f, 9i and 5g.

"A Perjured Constable" is in the Advertiser,
9 December 1912, page 14f.

"The Mounted Police" is in the Register,
1 February 1913, page 7b,
Observer,
8 February 1913, page 48d,
"The Police Force - New Legislation Proposed" on
14 June 1913, page 39a.

"Powers of the Police" is in the Register,
7 and 8 January 1913, pages 6e(8e?)-9e and 11a,
Advertiser,
26 August 1913, page 8c,
"The Police" in the Register,
27 August 1913, page 12d.

"Outposts of the Police", the reminiscences of M/C M.F. Doudy, is in the Register,
30 April 1913, page 4c.

"The Police Force - Some Defects" is in the Register,
11 June 1913, page 13c.

"The Police" is in the Register,
30 October 1913, page 6d.

"The Police Force - Improved System Required" is in the Register,
21, 22, 23 and 24 January 1914, pages 7c, 8f, 8g and 16g,
"The Police Force" on
28 January 1914, page 6c,
12 February 1914, page 7a.

An obituary of Mr Paul Foelsche is in the Express,
2 February 1914, page 4h.

"The Detective Section" is in the Register,
23 January 1914, page 8g.

Photographs of an inspection of members of the force are in the Chronicle,
6 June 1914, page 29; also see
3 July 1916, page 30,
Observer,
9 September 1916, page 26.

Reminiscences of William Curtis, a former police constable, of "A Notorious Criminal" are in the Register,
19 June 1914, page 9a,
"Old-Time Police Methods", the reminiscences of G.(J.?) Whiting, on
16 January 1915; also see
26 April 1915, page 5a
(his obituary appears on
6 January 1916, page 4g).

A tribute to Sergeant-Instructor Rose is in the Observer,
14 August 1915, page 44a.

"Soldiers, Police and Publicans" is in the Register,
22 January 1916, page 8d.

"More Police Promotions - A New Regime" is in the Observer,
1 July 1916, page 20b.

Photographs are in the Observer,
5 June 1915, page 27,
7 July 1917, page 24,
9 July 1921, page 23,
12 September 1921, page 24.

Photographs of the commissioner, T. Edwards, Superintendent E.W. Priest, Inspector D. Fraser, Inspector Blake, Inspector P. O'Connor, Inspector J. Beare and Inspector Wellington are in The Critic,
28 June 1914, page 14;
the retirement ceremony of Mr Raymond on
5 July 1916, page 15; also see
4 July 1917, page 13.

The retirement of Inspector Clode is reported in the Register on
20 July 1915, page 11b;
his reminiscences appear on
21 February 1917, page 7g and
his o