About 12.25pm on 17 November, 1983 Senior Constable Hutchins was riding his motor cycle to work along Victoria Road, Ryde.
He failed to notice a vehicle that was stationary in front of him and collided with the rear of the vehicle.
Senior Constable Hutchins was conveyed to the Ryde Hospital where he was found to be dead on arrival.
The constable was born in 1951 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 14 February, 1972. At the time of his death he was attached to the Police Communications Branch.
Source: Beyond Courage
Reginald Hugh STEVENSON
| 27/10/2012
Reginald Hugh STEVENSON – QPM
aka Blowfly
New South Wales Police Force
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 5498[/alert_yellow]
Rank: Police Cadet – appointed 1 March 1943
Probationary Constable – appointed 21 February 1947
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 19 May 1968
Detective Sergeant 1st Class – SHOT
Detective Inspector – appointed 6 March 1976
Detective Inspector – Retirement
Joined: NSW Police Force via
NSW Police Cadet System on 1 March 1943
Cadet # 400
Stations: ?, General Detectives at the old CIB in the old Hat Factory, Darlinghurst ( # 3 Division – Det Sgt, early 1970’s ), Newtown
Service: From 1 March 1943 to ? ? ?
Awards: Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct – granted 17 February 1976
Queen’s Police Medal – QPM – granted 16 June 1979
Born: 20 February 1926
Event Date: 9 December 1974
Event type / Cause: Shot – 1974. Damage to liver & kidney / Heart Attack in 1980
Event location: Newtown
Died on: 19 January 1980
Age: 53
Funeral date: 11 February 1980
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Cremated & Buried in Botany ( NOT Rookwood ) Cemetery
Banks Court Loggia, Wall A
Touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Academy athletics 1943
The cartoon was presented to Detective Inspector Stevenson when he returned to work after being shot. It was donated by the Detective Inspectors wife to Newtown Police Station last year ( 2013 ) as part of their memorabilia collection.
Queens Police Medal ribbon
Offender, David DITTON who shot Reg.
The Sydney Morning Herald
2 May 1975
page 6 of 12
Botany Cemetery
Botany Cemetery
Botany Cemetery
On 9 December, 1974Detective Sergeant 1st Class Stevenson was shot in the chest after confronting an armed offender in Newtown. Although seriously wounded at the time he continued to direct other police at the scene until he was taken to safety. As a result of the incident Sergeant Stevenson was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. He was promoted to the rank of detective inspector in 1976.
On 19 January, 1980 Inspector Stevenson died of a heart attack and it was determined that his death was ultimately caused by the 1974 injuries.
The detective inspector was born in 1926 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a Cadet in 1943. He was sworn in on 21 February, 1947.
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NEWTOWN LOCAL AREA COMMAND POLICE COMMEMORATION SERVICE
Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT (Marrickville) [7.07 p.m. 8 May 2013]: Recently at Rookwood Cemetery I attended a memorial service to commemorate police officers from the Newtown local area command killed in the line of duty. The moving service was attended by Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldis, Superintendent Simon Hardman, the commander of the Newtown Area Local Command, many other police representatives, and relatives and descendants of the police officers. Those attendees included Ms Avona Wallace, Mr and Mrs Norman Stephenson, Mrs Lynette Everton and Ms Edna Stevenson. Representatives from the emergency services and community members were also in attendance. The member for Campbelltown, Bryan Doyle, attended representing the Premier.
The five officers being remembered at the ceremony gave their lives to protect the community. They were Constable First Class John Wallace, Constable First Class Ruston Stephenson, Constable Lionel Guise, Detective Inspector Reginald Stevenson and Constable Pashalis Katsivelas. The ceremony to mark the sacrifice of these officers reflected on the enormity of their contribution to the community, as well as the impact of their death on their families. It is often said, and it is true, that police officers leave their homes for each shift uncertain of what any day may bring and whether they will return at the end of the day. We owe these men and women our deepest gratitude for the risks they face and take every day in their job. At Rookwood Cemetery we visited each of the graves of those officers who lost their lives in the line of duty and behind each individual was an illuminating life story.
We began at the grave of Constable First Class Ruston Stephenson, who died 80 years almost to the day of the commemoration. Constable Stephenson joined the Police Force in 1912, and four years later enlisted in the army, later joining the fight in France during the First World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry in rescuing injured soldiers while under fire. Remarkably, when he returned he rejoined the Police Force and continued to serve until his death on 9 April 1933 after a tragic accident involving a motorcycle at the then Newtown Stadium while performing general duties policing.
We were also told the story of Detective Inspector Reginald Hugh Stevenson—I was honoured on the day to meet his widow, Ms Edna Stevenson, who still had strong memories of the incident that led to Inspector Stevenson’s death. Detective Inspector Stevenson joined the NSW Police Force as a cadet in 1943 at the age of 17. In an act of extraordinary selflessness, Detective Inspector Stevenson was on annual leave on 9 December 1974 when he decided to go to work to assist in the planned arrest of a dangerous offender in Newtown, at the time telling his wife, “I don’t want my boys doing this on their own.” During the operation he was shot in the chest after leading his team in pursuit of the offender.
Detective Inspector Stevenson partially recovered and was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. However, he died in 1980 of a heart attack, deemed to be the result of the injuries he sustained on duty in 1974. These officers are just a few of many across New South Wales whose lives have been cut short as they have gone about performing their duty. I pay tribute to them all. They will not be forgotten and local events such as this are a powerful reminder of their sacrifice.
I also take this opportunity to acknowledge two Marrickville police officers, Sergeant Stewart and Constable Steele, who on Monday of this week rescued an intellectually disabled person from a house fire in Marrickville. Thankfully, those two officers who took huge risks survived and are quite rightly being hailed as heroes by their colleagues and the community. It is yet another example of the risk our police men and women take every day in order to keep the community safe. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to them.
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Robert Edward Michael LYNCH
| 27/10/2012
Robert Edward Michael LYNCH
AKA BOBBY
Late of Palm Beach
NSW Police Cadet # 0891
New South Wales Police Force
Uniform # 534
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 7532[/alert_yellow]
Rank: NSW Police Cadet – commenced 23 October 1950
Probationary Constable – appointed 4 March 1953
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1 April 1968
Final Rank = Sergeant
Stations: ?, North Sydney STP ( HWP ) – Death
Service: From 23 October 1950 to 22 March 1975= 22+years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: 4 March 1934 – Annandale, SW
Died on: Saturday 22 March 1975
Age: 41
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – Police Motor cycle – Rider
Event location: Wakehurst Parkway
Event date: 22 March 1975
Funeral date: Tuesday 25 March 1975 @ 1pm
Funeral location: Church of Our Lady of Dolour’s, Arthur St, Chatswood
Funeral Parlour: Thomas Dixon Pty Ltd, 249 Crown St, Darlinghurst
Buried at: Cremated at Northern Suburbs Crematorium
Memorial: Robert was a member of Whale Beach SLSC at the time and “The Big Swim” from Palm Beach to Whale Beach surf swim is named after him.
Senior Constable Robert Edward LYNCH
[alert_green]ROBERTIS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
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Funeral location: TBA
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FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
On 22 March, 1975 Sergeant Lynch was riding a police highway patrol solo motor cycle home at the completion of his shift. As he travelled along the Wakehurst Parkway he started to overtake another vehicle. The vehicle suddenly swerved to the right to avoid hitting a bandicoot and clipped Sergeant Lynch’s cycle. The cycle left the road and collided with a post. Sergeant Lynch was thrown off the cycle, sustaining severe injuries.
The sergeant was born in 1933 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 4 March, 1953. At the time of his death he was attached to the Highway Patrol.
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Robert Edward Michael LYNCH ( although the M for Michael does NOT appear in the 1968 or 1969 Stud Books which is unusual ) was a Cadet # 0891 and joined the NSWPF Cadet system on the 23 October 1950. This would make Robert 16.5 years old when he joined the Cadets.
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Francis Laurel BURKE
| 27/10/2012
Francis Laurel BURKE
Late of ?
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ????
Rank: Constable
Stations: ?, Redfern – Death
Service: From 20 June 1955 to 20 January 1961 = 5+ years Service
On 20 January, 1961 Constable Burke was holidaying on the South Coast with his family. In the afternoon of that day the family were at Kiama Beach when the constable was informed by his son that two boys were in difficulties in an undertow.
Constable Burke entered the water and swam out through the heavy surf to assist. Unfortunately he collapsed during his efforts and after being seen floating face downwards in the water, was carried onto the beach. He failed to respond to resuscitation and was conveyed to the Kiama District Hospital where life was pronounced extinct.
The constable was born in Condobolin in 1927 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 20 June, 1955. At the time of his death he was stationed at Redfern. He is listed in the official New South Wales Police Honour Roll.
There is a Francis L BURKE buried at Rookwood ( as detailed above ) but no other verifying details via internet search.
There is also a Francis Neil BURKE mentioned in the Kiama Independent on 25 January 1961 having died at Kiama, late of Sydney.
Nothing found on Trove.
Acts of Bravery by Police
The late Constable F. L. Burke was posthumously awarded the Bronze Medal and Certificate of Merit of the Royal Shipwreck Relief and Humane Society for gallantry in attempting to save the lives of two boys in the surf at Kiama on the 20th January, 1961. The Constable lost his own life on this occasion although the boys were saved.
Police Killed in the Execution of Their Duty
Constable Francis Laurel Burke.
Drowned at Kiama on the 20th January, 1961, whilst assisting two boys who were in difficulties in the water. The Constable was On annual leave at the time and holidaying with his family at Kiama.
Mentioned twice, on page 29 of 1962 Parliament of NSW – Report of the Police Department for 1961
A family member of Constable Francis Laurel Burke, who died in 1961, laid a wreath at the Police Remembrance Day commemorations on Monday. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
Almost 60 years on, Kenneth Nash still misses his uncle Allen.
Sergeant Allen William Nash, aged 40, was killed in the line of duty by a gun-wielding offender at Primbee in 1956.
Sgt Nash was one of eight officers stationed in the Lake Illawarra local area command who were recognised with memorial plaques on a wall of honour outside Lake Illawarra police station on Monday, as part of Police Remembrance Day commemorations.
Dozens of current and retired officers, families, friends, politicians, councillors and members of the public gathered at Oak Flats for a ceremony to unveil the memorial wall, and honour past and present officers.
THURSDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2014
Since 1862, more than 250 NSW Police officers have died in the line of duty.
Elizabeth COUSSENS nee McCampbell nee Gowing 34 old
Bruce James COUSSENS 7 months old
Funeral date: 31 July 1957
Funeral location:
Buried at: Bega Cemetery
Anglican, Section 7, Row A, Grave 3
Constable Kenneth Coussens ( 1957 )
Kenneth Desmond COUSSENS touch plate in Canberra
[alert_green] KENNETH IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
The constable, his wife Elizabeth and baby son Bruce were murdered by the offender Kelly who had placed a bomb on the front verandah of the constable’s home at Bega. The offender had become incensed at being spoken to by the constable regarding traffic offences and on 29 July, 1957 he placed a metal dairy container packed with over 200 sticks of stolen gelignite at the constable’s home. About 2am the offender lit the fuse to the bomb and the dwelling was almost obliterated in the resultant explosion.
Constable Coussens‘ stepson, eight year-old Roger McCampbell, was the sole family survivor of the explosion. The offender Kelly was arrested after a major police investigation and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.
The constable was born in 1926 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 18 October, 1948. At the time of his death he was stationed at Bega.
OBITUARY
Senior Constable Kenneth Coussens; wife – Elizabeth Coussens; infant – Bruce Coussens 7 months old.
Killed by a bomb blast on July 29, 1957.
Senior Constable Ken Coussens moved to Bega in 1954 where the officer took up motor cycle traffic duties for the Public Safety Bureau (now known as the Highway Patrol).
He married a local girl Elizabeth who came from a well known local family and they had two children, Roger nine (from Elizabeth’s first marriage) and an infant son Bruce, seven months old.
Constable Coussens performed his police duties in a conscientious and professional manner in the Bega area attending to traffic duties, attending the scene of motor vehicle accidents and performing other police and community duties as required of a country police officer.
About 1956, in the course of his traffic duties Constable Coussens came into contact with a local man named Myron Bertram Kelly, 32.
The officer had cause to speak to Kelly regarding traffic offences and issued traffic fines to the man on a number of occasions.
Kelly appears to have become enraged when Constable Coussens issued fines and defect notices to Kelly’s tractor and rotary hoe.
As a result Kelly formed a grudge against Constable Coussens.
After this event Kelly went to a silica mine at Rock Flat between Nimmitabel and Cooma in his truck and removed five cases of gelignite and took it to Nethercote where he buried it.
He then stole a six gallon cream can from Curtis Brothers Creamery and took that to Nethercote.
He later built a home made bomb by placing 240 sticks of gelignite and a fuse into the cream can.
In the late hours of July 28, 1957 Kelly sneaked to the officers home while he was asleep in the house with his wife and young family.
He set the bomb at the front of the fibro and iron home situated in Girraween Crescent, Bega and ignited the fuse a few hours later.
Kelly left the scene and went home and at about 2am the bomb detonated causing a huge explosion which completely demolished the house.
The bomb also caused extensive damage to other homes and windows in the vicinity, up to a mile away.
More than 100 windows at Bega Hospital were shattered by the blast.
Constable Coussens and his wife and young baby were killed instantly.
The 9-year-old son Roger survived the blast as he was sleeping at the rear of the house.
Shocked neighbours saw him emerge from the wreckage dazed and confused.
Local residents did not know what had happened and due to the enormity of the blast rumours quickly spread that the gas works had exploded or a Navy plane from HMAS Albatross Nowra had accidentally bombed the town.
However, when it was learned a police officer had been killed by a bomb, police quickly recognised it had all the hallmarks of an assassination.
A criminal investigation swung quickly into action with detectives from Sydney travelled to Bega.
Forensic evidence from the crime scene indicated the explosion was caused by a home made bomb and fragments of a dairy can were located at the scene.
An intense investigation followed, lead by crack homicide squad detectives. Subsequently Kelly was identified as the prime suspect when his hatred of Constable Coussens became known as a motive.
Investigators later searched Kelly’s home and found explosives, fuses and gelignite and a demolition hand book.
Kelly was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of Constable Coussens and his wife and baby.
He was also charged with the theft of six cases of gelignite, 800 detonators, 1000 feet of fuse, an army .303 rifle, 50 rounds of ammunition and possessing an unlicensed pistol.
The trial was conducted in Central Criminal Court and Kelly was convicted by a jury on the murder charges.
On December 6, 1957 he was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice McClemens who said at the time: “One could only hope for the sake of common human nature that a crime as terrible and devilish as the Bega bombing on July 29 sprang from some deep seated mental derangement. It is not a case where in the interest of the community one could recommend or hold out any hope for mercy”.
Constable Coussens was also a returned serviceman having served in the Royal Australian Navy.
(Research courtesy of David Gardner Australian Police Journal March 2005.Vol 59 No 1.)
Plaque commemorates a local policeman and his family who were murdered in 1957.
Senior Constable Ken Coussens, his wife and seven-month-old son were blown up by 240 sticks of gelignite. It was discovered that local man Myron Kelly had held a well-known grudge against the constable and in the absence of other leads this seemed worth following up. The offender had become incensed at being spoken to by the Constable regarding traffic offences and placed a metal dairy container loaded with the stolen gelignite outside the front door of the Constable’s home.
When Kelly’s house was searched, four and half sticks of gelignite, 20 feet of safety fuse and 58 detonators were discovered. The offender was arrested after a major Police investigation and later sentenced to life imprisonment. Myron Kelly was released from jail in 1980 and returned to the district. He died in Cooma in July 2007 aged 83.
Kenneth Desmond COUSSENS, born to Albert James & Edith Mabel COUSSENS.
NSW Deaths Registration number 34296/1957
National Archives of Australia:
Merchant Navy & Royal Australian Navy
Service # 32875
Born: Hastings, England Trade: Ex Apprentice Fitter & Turner
He reported for Duty on the 30 June 1944 as a ‘Ordinary Seaman II’ and Served upon the H.M.A.S. Cerberus as of the 3 July 1944.
He was described as being 5′ 10 1/2″, with brown hair and brown eyes with a scar on his right thigh.
It appears as though he was still ‘Serving’ with the R.A.N. on 12 June 1947.
He was ‘Rated’ as a ‘Ordinary Seaman’ on 2 July 1944
‘Rated’ ‘Able Seaman’ on 1 June 1945
Was transferred to Royal Australian Navy for 2 years from 4 October 1946.
On his ‘Blue card’ of the R.A.N. it appears, in the Medals, Clasps, etc. section, that the date of May 1958 appears with Const. Police Station Bega NSW.
In the area of the ‘Blue Card’ of the R.A.N. it appears, in the Good Conduct Badges, he was ‘Granted’ a ‘Penguin’ in July 1947.
Other data, written in pen and pencil, on his R.A.N. Service cards is hard to decipher.
The Canberra Times Tuesday 30 July 1957 page 1 of 12
SYDNEY, Monday. – Mystery still obscures the cause of the explosion which killed a police constable, his wife and their six-month-old son when it shattered their Bega home early to-day.
Police said to-night it would be several days before they could sift and examine the wreckage to determine the cause of the explosion, but they have found fragments of metal which appear to be from the casing of a high explosive shell.
Victims of the tragedy were: Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife Elizabeth, 34, and their son, Graham.
Their bodies were hurled from their beds and thrown 50 yds. into a neighbour’s garden. The sole survivor of the tragedy was Roger, 9, a son of Mrs. Coussens by a former marriage.
Detectives of Sydney Arson Squad were to-night uncertain of the cause of the explosion.
Fragments of metal which may be from the casing of a high explosive shell, will be examined by an R.A.N. explosive expert called in from Nowra Fleet Air Arm Base.
The explosion, shortly after 3 am. rocked Bega, damaging other houses and breaking 100 windows in Bega Hospital, almost half a mile away.
Awakened by the explosion, terrified neighbours rushed into the streets, which were blanketed by heavy fog.
Thick smoke hung over the Coussen’s house, which was shattered.
As horrified neighbours watched, young Roger Coussens staggered from the ruins, screaming, and slowly walked past torn down electricity and telephone wires which crackled and sparked.
He collapsed into the arms of a neighbour, dazed but uninjured.
The bodies of Constable Coussens and his wife were found near each other in a neighbour’s garden, 50 yards away.
It was almost five hours before the shattered body of the baby boy was found, behind a tree in the backyard.
Panic
As the explosion shattered windows of the four storey Bega Hospital, panic broke out among patients.
Men and women screamed and jumped from their beds as nurses ran through the wards, soothing patients.
Ambulanceman Keith Beresford said the house was like a scene in war time.
“Dense fog and hovering smoke hung over the wrecked building with sparkling electric wires on the ground,” he said.
At dawn, hundreds of people had gathered and Superintendent Mijch, officer in charge of the South Coast District Police to cordon off the area.
Pieces of furniture and personal possessions of the Coussens family were strewn over hundreds of yards.
The mattress from the bed on which the couple were sleeping together with bloodstained children’s clothing, were hurled many yards.
Supt. Mijch ordered that nothing be touched until Sydney. C.I.B. detectives, Sergeants Behrens and Bateman, and Det. Bradbury of the Arson Squad arrived.
Explosives expert, J. Parsons of the N.S.W. Mines Department and Det. Sgt. Ray Kelly of the C.I.B. Homicide Squad, were also rushed from Sydney.
Detectives are working on theories that the Coussens were the victims of a bomb plot perpetrated by a madman with a grudge, or that the explosions may have been caused by a war souvenir collected by Constable Coussens, who had served in the R.A.N, for a short time.
Bomb Theory
The theory of the bomb plot was strengthened this afternoon when police found a tunnel had been dug under the Coussens’ bedroom.
Police say the explosive could have been placed in the tunnel.
They have ruled out the possibility of a gas explosion.
Police are mystified at the escape of Roger Coussens.
Dazed and terrified, the boy said the only thing he remembered was a large piece of timber falling across his bed.
It was the boy’s second escape. His father, an American businessman, was killed in a car crash in the United States when Roger was still a baby.
Roger and his mother, then Mr. McCampbell, who were in his car, escaped unhurt.
Police said the only thing that saved Roger to-day was the fact that he was sleeping in a separate bedroom.
Under Room
The explosion apparently occurred in or beneath the bedroom where his mother, step-father and step-brother lay sleeping.
Residents told police that after the first tremendous explosion, shock waves spread across the district.
Mr. Kevin Barham, a neighbour, said he rushed into the street and heard screaming.
“I saw Roger staggering towards me, dressed only in his pyjama top.
“He was bare footed and crying and had dirt in his hair.
“He kept screaming ‘The house is ruined – the house is ruined.’
“When Roger walked towards me, he was stepping through live wires brought down by the explosion,” Mr. Barham said.
Barham said there was a strange smell about the Coussens’ home after the explosion, but he could not identify it.
Constable Coussens had been attached to Bega for about three years.
He had been a member of the police force for 11 years and was attached to the Safety Bureau in Sydney before being sent to Bega.
He had been stationed at Kogarah and also Cooma.
Police to-night placed a guard over the wreck of the home.
They said it would “be several days before they could sift and examine the debris to determine the cause of the explosion.
Earlier to-day a giant mobile crane was used to lift huge blocks of reinforced concrete which had been scattered over a wide area.
Police to-night appealed to residents to examine their gardens for any strange fragments of metal which may have come from the seat of the explosion.
They said even the smallest fragment could play an important part in solving the mystery.
The Canberra Times Wednesday 31 July 1957 page 1 of 12
SYDNEY, Tuesday. – Detectives are carefully investigating the background of a constable, who with his wife and seven-months-old son, was killed in a bomb explosion at Bega yesterday.
Detectives will also inquire into his activities and arrests since he joined the police force, about 10 years ago.
Those killed were Const. First class Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and their son, Graham.
The trio were killed when a mysterious explosion wrecked their home at Bega and smashed windows throughout the town, a half mile away. Coussens step-son, Roger, escaped unharmed.
Detectives to-day discovered metal casings, which strengthens a theory that a maniac with a grudge against the constable, placed a bomb under the house.
They are also interviewing the hoodlum element in the town, for the constable, despite his unblemished police record, was described as a “hard man” by certain sections of the public.
His application to duty had earned him a number of “threats.”
With this in mind, a team of detectives headed by Detective Superintendent Norman Mitch, are investigating his local arrests.
The State Police explosives expert, Mr. S. W. Parsons, has established that the blast was not caused by gelignite.
No traces of a detonator been found.
A theory, described as “doubtful,” is that Coussens became involved in the fishing war on the South Coast.
Detectives have established that Coussens had purchased a £1,500 fishing launch 12 months ago and had engaged a crew of three to fish commercially.
The launch, registered in his wife’s name, was sold two weeks ago.
The Canberra Times Thursday 1 August 1957 page 4 of 16
BEGA, Wednesday. – Fragments of metal found at the site of the fatal explosion which killed a police constable, his wife and his young son on Monday, were sent to the C.I.B. to-day.
The fragments will be examined by the Scientific Bureau and metallurgists in the hope of identifying them.
Police are now certain that the explosion occurred from a container which was under the front verandah of the house. However, it is not yet known if it was a war souvenir or a home-made bomb planted by a maniac.
Victims of the blast were Constable Kenneth Coussens, 32, his wife, Elizabeth, 32, and his son, Graham Bruce, 7 months.
They were buried at Bega to-day. More than 1,500 people attended the funeral service and many wept at the cortege passed through the crowded main street. Shops and businesses were closed as a mark of respect.
Fifty police from all parts of the South Coast formed a guard of honour and police who had worked with Constable Coussens acted as pall-bearers.
The couple and their child were buried in a family grave two miles out of Bega.
Sole survivor of the explosion was Mrs. Coussens’ son by a former marriage nine-year-old Roger.
Roger’s father, a U.S., businessman, was killed in a car crash when Roger was a baby.
The Canberra Times Saturday 10 August 1957 page 1 of 16
BEGA, Friday. – Hatred had led a man to make a milk can bomb which exploded killing a police constable, his wife and baby son, police alleged in Bega Court to-day.
Before the court was Myron Bertram Kelly, 32, agricultural contractor, of Gipp Street, Bega.
Kelly has been charged with the murder of Const. Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth Coussens, 34, and their son, Bruce Coussens (7 months), of Girrawheen Crescent, Bega, on July 29.
Police Prosecutor Det. Sgt. J. Behrens told Mr. W. Cobcroft, J.P., that Coussens, his wife and son were killed after a violent explosion near the front door of their home.
Sgt. Behrens said police alleged Kelly made a bomb by stacking stolen gelignite into two milk cans and detonating them with a home-made time fuse.
Inquiries, he added, had shown that the milk cans had been stolen from Bega and the explosives from Nimmitabel.
“The explosion was sufficiently violent to catapault their bodies out of the house on to the adjacent vacant allotment,” Sgt. Behrens said.
Metal Found
“A scientific examination was made and a large number of pieces of metal were recovered embedded in woodwork and in the ruins of the house.
“Pieces were collected in various positions in the vicinity, approximately 400 yards away.”
Sgt. Behrens said Kelly was a native of Nimmitabel
and had an intimate knowledge of the places from where the explosives were stolen.
Kelly had been questioned by police about his knowledge of explosives, Sgt. Behrens said.
“He has had experience of explosives and when questioned he denied that he had any explosives in his possession.
In Bedroom
“This was found to be false, as a search of his home revealed a quantity of gelignite and detonators stored in his bedroom.
“During the search, identical nameplates from the missing milk cans referred to were found at his home.
“He has not offered any explanation of their presence there,” Sgt. Behrens said.
The prosecutor said Kelly had put forward an alibi for his movements on the night before and the morning of the explosion, but this alibi would be disproved.
He said, “We contend that the defendant had the strongest motive, which is hatred.”
”Differences”
“Evidence will be given,” Det. Sgt. Behrens said “that the defendant had had differences with the late Constable Coussens in connection with traffic matters over a lengthy period.”
Mr. Cobcroft remanded Kelly to Bega Court on September 4. He refused bail.
Immediately after Kelly had been remanded, Mr. Cobcroft opened the Coroner’s Court inquest into the death of Coussens, his wife and son.
On a request from Sgt. Behrens, he adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed.
The Canberra Times Tuesday 15 October 1957 page 1 of 12
BEGA, Monday: A 9 year-old boy told the Bega coroner’s Court to-day that a blast which killed his mother, stepfather and baby stepbrother, had caused his house “to come down on top of him.”
The boy, Roger Clinton McCampbell, said he thought he was dreaming and called out to his mother, but she did not come to him.
The District Coroner, Mr. W. Cobcroft, opened the inquiry into the deaths of Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and his 7-months-old son Bruce.
All three died in an explosion which wrecked Constable Coussen’s home in Girrawheen Crescent, Bega, on July 29.
Before the court, charged on three counts of murder, was Myron Bertram Kelly, 34, agricultural contractor, of Gipps Street, Bega.
He was also charged with stealing six cases of gelignite, 800 detonators and 1,000ft of fuse.
The Canberra Times Wednesday 16 October 1957 page 3 of 12
BEGA, Tuesday.—A man allegedly told police he planned and lit a home-made bomb which later exploded, killing a police constable, his wife and baby son, Bega Coroner’s Court was told to-day.
In a statement allegedly made by Myron Bertram Kelly, 32, of Gipps Street, Bega, Kelly said he and the policeman were “bitter enemies”.
Kelly has been charged with the murder of Constable Desmond Kenneth Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth Coussens, 34 and their eight-months-old son, Bruce James Coussens.
The three died when an explosion rocked, their home in Girawheen Crescent, Bega, on July 20.
The statement alleged to have been made by Kelly was handed to the Coroner, Mr. Cobcroft, S.M., by Detective Sergeant C. Behrers.
Not Particular
It read “The first trouble I had with Constable Coussens was about three years ago. That was a series of defect notices about a Howard tractor and rotary hoe.
“Coussens was not very particular what he did.
“The first real trouble was two years ago when he overtook a taxi I was travelling in and arrested me for riding an unregistered motor cycle and then carried out a search of my premises, where I am now living. “I was fined £5 for that offence.
“The next incident was a collision in front of the Bega Police Station on April 13, 1956.
Collision
“I had been working on the river bank below the town. On my way home I saw him on the corner of Auckland and Bega Streets. I was driving a rotary hoe.
“He then followed me a fair way behind along Bega Street and up Gipps Street.
Opposite the police station, he closed in and collided with the tractor.
“He then charged me with everything, he could think of, although the accident was of his own neglect.
“I appeared before the Bega Court and I was fined a total of about £40.”
The statement also alleged several other traffic incidents between Coussens and Kelly, but no charges were laid.
“From these incidents, we were bitter enemies,” the statement said.
It continued: “About the middle of June this year, I went in my truck to Rock Flat and I took five cases of gelignite from there.
Stole Can
“A week before the tragedy when Constable Coussens was killed, I stole a six-gallon milk can from the platform at the Bega butter factory. It had ‘Curtis Bros.’ on the can.
“I took the labels off the can, dug up the gelignite and made a bomb out of the milk can and brought it back in my car to my home in Bega.
“That week I fitted it up with about 20ft. of fuse and a detonator and sealed it up with mud.
“About midnight that night, I put the bomb in the back of my car and drove into Auckland Street.
“I took it out of the car and put it on the verandah of Constable Coussens’ house, near the front door.
“At about 2 o’clock in the morning, I walked up to Constable Coussens’ house and lit the fuse on the bomb.
“After that I went back to bed. Not being a strong container, I expected very little damage to be done and a lot of noise.
“I thought it would go no further than to break some fibro off the walls and give the constable a bad fright, causing the Police Department to move him.
“I did not think that it would kill him, his wife and his child.
“It was the last thing in the world that I wanted to happen.
The Canberra Times Thursday 17 October 1957 page 5 of 20
BEGA, Wednesday: The inquiry into the deaths of Constable Desmond Coussens, his wife and baby son in an explosion which wrecked their home, was adjourned to-day till tomorrow.’
The hearing was adjourned because some witnesses could not attend.
The Canberra Times Friday 18 October 1957 page 18 of 20
BEGA, Thursday: A farmer told the Coroner’s Court to-day that he had believed a milk can filled with explosives was to be placed on a police constable’s verandah as a practical joke.
The farmer, Edward Morris Williams, said he had been a close friend of Bartram Myron Kelly, 32, contractor, of Bega, who has been charged with murder.
The inquiry is being held into the deaths of Constable Kenneth Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and his son, Bruce, 8 months, at Bega on July 29.
The three died when a bomb wrecked the house.
Williams said Kelly had shown him a milk can containing gelignite, at the back of Kelly’s home, and said he was going to put a burnt-out fuse in it and leave it on the patio to frighten Coussens.
Williams said he had not reported the matter to the police because he had understood it was a practical joke by Kelly.
The Canberra Times Saturday 19 October 1957 page 6 of 16
BEGA, Friday,— An agricultural contractor was committed for trial to-day by the Bega District Coroner on a charge of having murdered a police constable, his wife and baby son.
The coroner, Mr. W. Cobcroft, found Constable Kenneth Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and son Bruce James, 8 months, died from injuries received on July 29 in an explosion, in their home in Girrawheen Street, Bega.
The explosion had been feloniously and maliciously brought about by Myron Kelly, he said.
He committed Kelly for trial at Central Criminal Court.
Mr. Cobcroft said a bomb had been placed on the patio of the constable’s home near his bedroom and detonated. The bomb had been housed in a cream can. It has been established that the cream can was stolen from the Bega Butter Factory shortly before the explosion and that the can was in the possession of Kelly.
Kelly was also found to be in possession of a quantity of gelignite, detonators and a fuse.
Mr. Cobcroft said he was not satisfied with the evidence of one of the 40 witnesses who appeared at the inquest, Edward Morris Williams, farmer, of Pambula, who said that he had seen and handled the bomb made by Kelly.
One would have expected that in these circumstances Williams would have gone to the police and volunteered information which probably would have led to the “frustration of Kelly’s intention,” said Mr. Cobcroft.
“I don’t believe Williams’ evidence where he stated he thought the whole affair was to be nothing more than a practical Joke,” he added.
Had Williams acted as a prudent man, the tragedy might have been averted.
The Canberra Times Saturday 7 December 1957 page 1 of 16
SYDNEY, Friday: An agricultural contractor found guilty of setting off a bomb which killed a police constable, his wife and child, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr. Justice McClemens in the Central Criminal Court to-day.
The contractor is Myron Bertrand Kelly, 32, of Gipps Street, Bega.
Kelly pleaded not guilty to the murder of Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, of Girraween Crescent, Bega.
Coussens, his wife Elizabeth, 34, and their baby son, Bruce, 9 months, were killed when an explosion wrecked their home on July 29.
The Crown alleged that Kelly confessed to placing a home-made bomb under the patio of Coussens’ home and lighting the fuse.
The bomb was a milk can filled with gelignite.
In a statement from the dock yesterday Kelly said he had no intention of harming the Coussens’ family.
“I have thought the matter over day and night and still cannot believe that the explosive I had did that damage and killed three people,” he said.
TRAGIC incidents litter the Bega Valley’s long and proud history – fire, homicides and accidents cutting lives far too short.
However, very few incidents stir emotions, ignite debate and were more widely reported than a bombing that claimed the lives of a local police constable, his wife and infant son.
This coming Sunday (July 29) marks the 50th anniversary of this tumultuous event in 1957 when the town was rocked by the monumental explosion about 2.10am on that fateful day.
The cold air of the winter’s night was pierced by the noise of the explosion that woke everyone in town and many in the surrounding farming districts.
Hundreds of windows were smashed by the concussion, more than 100 in the hospital alone, and some up to a mile away from the explosion site.
Residents initially were confused as what exactly had blown up.
The obvious culprit, the gasworks, was still standing as were Slater’s fuel depot and the various service stations.
As emergency service personnel fumbled for their boots and warm clothing the initial cacophony was replaced by an eerie, yawning silence.
It took several minutes of fruitless searching before the source of the blast was identified.
It was the two-year-old home of Constable Kenneth Coussens and his family on the northern side of Girraween Crescent that had borne the brunt of the explosion.
The entire front of the house had been blown away, with the remainder barely standing.
Vast sections of the roof were missing and supporting wooden tresses had fallen into the void.
Such was the force of the blast, that Constable Coussens, his wife Elizabeth (nee Gowing) and infant son Bruce, who had all been sleeping in the front bedroom at the time, were flung large distances through the air.
All three sustained devastating injuries and were killed instantly.
Horrified and instantly sickened by the war-like scene they found when arriving at the house, those who converged were stunned when, incredibly, Mrs Coussens’ elder son Roger (9) crawled physically unscathed from the hotchpotch of metal and wood that only minutes earlier had been his family’s home.
While the cloak of night may have hampered emergency workers in their efforts, it enabled neighbours to shield the boy from the horrors that lay only metres away.
As daylight greeted investigators, reminders of the horror of the incident continued to emerge, with soiled children’s books and bloodstained booties among the items that littered the lawn and street.
The investigation
Superintendent Mitjch of Wollongong, along with detectives Bevan, Bateman, Clark and Davenport, arrived in Bega shortly before noon on the day of the blast to commence investigations.
The chief explosive expert of the Department of Labour and Industry, Mr Parsons, followed shortly after.
Accident or murder?
The house had been destroyed and apart from a vast hole and the devastation there were precious few leads.
With inquiries leading nowhere, speculation an innuendo continued to mount throughout the community.
One popular story (which was quickly disproved) was that planes from the Nowra naval base had mistakenly dropped a bomb during a flyover.
The subject of gossip also turned to Constable Coussens who had served in the Navy during World War II prior to joining the force.
The story went that he was a souvenir hunter and had stored a mortar bomb on the landing – this theory was also kyboshed.
It wasn’t until detective Bob Bradbury suggested: “I wonder if those bits of metal could have come from a cream can which might have been used as bomb” that things started to fall into place for the investigative team.
A number of checks were made and the investigators scored a hit: the Bega Creamery Society confirmed that a six-gallon cream can had been stolen from the factory recently.
The owner of the can, the Curtis family, was contacted and it was ascertained that the stolen item was one of two bought years previously.
The second can was subsequently examined and the metal was found to be identical to that located at the explosion site.
Further investigation revealed that a substantial quantity of gelignite had been stolen from a mine at Rock Flay (between Nimmitabel and Cooma).
The detectives continued to pore over Constable Coussens’ life in an attempt to discover a reason for such a malicious act and it was quickly discovered that local man Myron Bertrand Kelly, 32, had held a well-known grudge against the constable.
In the absence of other leads it seemed worth following up.
So on August 7 a search was made of Kelly’s house and a safety fuse and an unexploded detonator in a tobacco tin were found in a tool shed on the property.
Also located was an empty landmine, and brass nameplates bearing the name ‘Curtis Bros, Brogo’ – the plates from a dairy cream can.
In a cabinet in the main bedroom four and half sticks of gelignite, 20 feet of safety fuse and 58 detonators were discovered.
There was also an empty hand grenade, powder tins and equipment for loading rifle and gun cartridges, together with a demolition handbook.
A search of Kelly’s Dodge vehicle revealed a circular marking on the floor mat in the back that matched up perfectly with the identical cream can the police had procured from the dairy.
Two weeks later, upon receipt of further information, five cases of gelignite were located under a rock on a property at Nethercote frequented by Kelly.
The grudge
Constable Coussens had been stationed at Bega since 1954 on motorcycle traffic duties for the Public Safety Bureau (now known as the Highway Patrol).
He was praised by his fellow officers and a large proportion of the local community for his vigilance in dealing with hoodlums and ‘hoons’, but it was his zeal that had him offside with some – including Myron Kelly.
Kelly had been booked of a number of occasions by the constable and harboured palpable ill-will towards him.
In an interview at Bega Police Station on August 14, Kelly outlined his dealings with Constable Coussens.
He said he had received a number of defect notices on his tractor and rotary hoe and had been stopped frequently for licence checks by the officer.
He also made the accusation that Constable Coussens had instigated a collision between the pair in order charge him with a number of offences.
“It was April 13, 1956… I saw him on the corner… I was driving the rotary hoe. He followed me and opposite the police station he closed in to collide with the tractor. He then charged me with everything he could think of, although the accident was mainly of his own neglect. I appeared before the Bega Court and was fined a total of 40 pounds,” Mr Kelly said.
Minor incidents also had occurred in May and July 1957 (just before the bombing), no breaches were issued but there were words between the pair.
There remain some people in the community who are sympathetic to Kelly and who speak of the constable “having it in for him”.
The bomb
In the same interview with police, on August 14, Kelly also outlined how he made the bomb.
On Sunday, June 16 he had gone to Rock Flat in his truck, entered a silica mine and removed five cases of gelignite. He then returned to a property at Nethercote and buried it.
Then about a week before the bombing he stole the six-gallon cream can and also took that to Nethercote.
Kelly told investigators, “A few days after, instead of going to work, I removed the labels from the can and dug up the gelignite. I packed 240 sticks into the can like cigarettes and made a bomb. I took in my car home and put it in my shed. Later, I fitted it with about 20 feet of fuse and a detonator and sealed it with mud.”
Then, just before midnight on July 28, he sneaked over to the Coussens residence and set the can down on the front landing, then hurried home to bed.
Two hours later he returned, lit the fuse and walked away – he was at his home again by the time the blast shook Bega.
Court proceedings
After being charged with the murders of Constable Coussens, Elizabeth and Bruce on August 9, Kelly appeared in the Bega Local Court of Petty Sessions before being remanded to reappear at a later date.
The coroner’s inquiry into the three deaths began on October 14 before William Cobcroft, JP.
During the lengthy inquiry, Mr Cobcroft heard evidence from a large number of witnesses, including the detectives involved in the case, family members of the deceased, and Kelly, among others.
During his time in the stand, Kelly reiterated his accusations that the constable had unfairly targeted him and that his intention had been simply to frighten the officer after his requests to councillors and high ranking police for Constable Coussens to be transferred fell on deaf ears.
“I have all the regrets in the world for what happened,” Kelly said.
The following is an extract of Mr Cobcroft’s findings, handed down on October 15:
“Kenneth Desmond Coussens, Elizabeth Mary Hamilton Coussens and Bruce James John Coussens died from injuries received on July 29, 1957, in an explosion felonously and maliciously brought about on that date by Myron Bertrand Kelly, and I further find in the manner aforesaid that the said Myron Bertrand Kelly did felonously and maliciously murder them.”
Mr Cobcroft committed Kelly to the Central Criminal Court, Sydney.
After five days of evidence the jury retired and after just one hour they returned with a guilty verdict.
Justice McClemens asked Kelly if he had anything to say. Kelly shook his head and said loudly, “No!”
In sentencing the then 32-year-old farming contractor to life imprisonment on December 6, 1957, Justice McClemens said: “One could only hope for the sake of common human nature that a crime as terrible and devilish as the Bega bombing on July 29, sprang from some deep-seated mental derangement.
“It is not a case where in the interest of the community one could recommend or hold out hope for mercy.”
When being led away Kelly turned to his elderly father, waved his hand and simply said in a loud voice: “Goodbye!”
The miracle boy
Amazingly, this hideous event was not the first time that nine-year-old Roger’s (the sole survivor) life had been touched by tragedy.
Eight years earlier his American father (Elizabeth’s first husband) was killed in car accident in the United States.
The youngster had been in his mother’s arms in the car at the time and somehow, miraculously, both had survived.
Upon returning to Australia and the Bega Valley, Elizabeth met, fell in love with, and married Constable Coussens.
Roger, who now lives in Sydney, has a family of his own and is returning to Bega this weekend for the memorial service.
Myron Bertrand Kelly
After being sentenced to life imprisonment on December 6, 1957, Kelly was released in 1980 and returned to the district.
In the ensuing years he lived a quiet life at Austral Farm, Nimmitabel, before moving to the Sir William Hudson Memorial Centre in Cooma where he died, aged 83, on July 4 this year. He never re-offended.
Kelly was married to Viola and the father of two sons – David (dec) and John – and a daughter, Jeanette.
There are still some in the community who believe Kelly was provoked and others who believe his version of events that he didn’t intend to physically harm Constable Coussens or his family.
Senior Sergeant, Garry Nowlan, of Bega Police disputes this.
“It is easy to see from the evidence the man had a fixation with explosives,” Mr Nowlan said.
“He knew what they could do. You don’t use 240 sticks of gelignite to scare somebody. You don’t murder a family because you got a few traffic tickets.
“Kelly was judged by a jury of his peers and they got it right. He was a cold, reckless killer.”
Whatever the truth is, there is no doubt Myron Bertrand Kelly will always hold an infamous place in the history of Bega.
Around 150 people gathered alongside police officers in Bega to remember the tragedy that claimed the lives of Constable Kenneth Coussens, his wife Elizabeth and baby son Bruce, who were murdered by Myron Kelly, who had placed a bomb outside the Constable’s home in Bega.
Fifty years ago a policeman, his wife and baby were murdered in Bega in south-east New South Wales.
Around 150 people gathered alongside police officers to remember the bombing tragedy that claimed the lives of Constable Kenneth Coussens, his wife Elizabeth and baby son Bruce, who were murdered by Myron Kelly, who had placed a bomb outside the Constable’s home in Bega.
NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney stated, “This was a very important occasion, not only for the Coussens family who had gathered from as far as Adelaide and Sydney. It was important for people in the Bega Valley to come together, with members of the NSW Police Force to acknowledge the 50th Anniversary of when Senior Constable Ken Coussens his wife Elizabeth and their seven month old son Bruce were murdered in Bega.”
“It’s was an occasion to reflect, to remember but also acknowledge that which is good about this community. These are always occasions for sadness and reflection but they also give you optimism for the future, said Commissioner Moroney.”
He continued, “Mr Coussens is one of 280 officers in NSW who have lost their lives in the execution of their duties. It’s a reflection on the legacy that people like Ken Coussens leave us and on the proud history and traditions of the NSW Police.
Locals recall the enormous explosion at about 2am as hundreds of windows were smashed close to the Constable’s home and some up to a mile away from the explosion site.
The home was almost obliterated by the explosion with the entire front of the house being blown away and the remainder barely standing. Much of the roof was missing and Constable Coussens, his wife Elizabeth and infant son Bruce, who had all been sleeping in the front bedroom at the time, were flung through the air and killed instantly.
I can think of no greater breach of civil liberty than the taking of another life
In search of a suspect, detectives intimately examined Constable Coussens’ life in an attempt to discover why such a violent act had occurred in the usually quiet town.
It was discovered that local man Myron Kelly had held a well-known grudge against the constable and in the absence of other leads this seemed worth following up.
The offender had become incensed at being spoken to by the Constable regarding traffic offences and placed a metal dairy container loaded with over 200 sticks of stolen gelignite outside the front door of the Constable’s home.
When Kelly’s house was searched, four and half sticks of gelignite, 20 feet of safety fuse and 58 detonators were discovered. The offender was arrested after a major Police investigation and later sentenced to life imprisonment.
Myron Kelly was released from jail in 1980 and returned to the district. He died in Cooma in July 2007 aged 83.
Commissioner Moroney said, “This was a terrible act of evil…from my reading of the historical documents, Mr Kelly stated he only ever intended to frighten the constable. However, I can think of no greater breach of civil liberty than the taking of another life.”
Incredibly, Mrs Coussens’ elder son Roger who was 9 years old at the time was physically unharmed by the attack.
For the Commissioner, being able to meet Roger who was the sole survivor from that day was very inspiring.
Commissioner Moroney said of Roger, “He had a bit of a tear in the eye as he reflected on his mother, brother and step-father. I think it was also an opportunity for him to catch up with family and to reflect what I believe was the honour that his step-father holds in terms of service Kenneth Coussens gave to the NSW Police Force and the community.”
Stations: Sydney?, Holbrook ( about 2 years ), Wagga Wagga ( about 8 months ),
Officer In Charge, Corowa Police Station ( from 1947 )
Illness – Suicide
Corowa
1 August, 1948
Sergeant Millar died from a self-inflicted bullet wound on Sunday 1 August, 1948 at Corowa police residence. No further details are known.
The West Australian dated 2 August, 1948 reported the death as follows.
POLICE SERGEANT FATALLY SHOT SYDNEY, Aug. 1: Sgt. John H. A. Millar (56), whose recent absence from his police duties was being investigated by a high-ranking officer, died in the Corowa hospital last night after he had been found with a revolver wound in the head at his home, adjoining the local police station. An inspector from Albury was walking around the side of Sgt. Millar’s home when he heard a shot and rushed inside to find him lying on the floor dying. Sgt Millar was said to have been extremely worried recently over his official duties.
The sergeant was aged 56 years at the time of his death and was stationed at Corowa.
The Sydney Morning Herald Monday 2 August 1948 page 4 of 12
POLICEMAN’S DEATH
Shot In Head
Sergeant John H. A. Millar, 56, who had been in charge of the Corowa police station for two years, died in the Corowa Hospital on Saturday night from a bullet wound in the head.
A police report states that, soon after Inspector Yardy arrived at the police station to investigate a report that Sergeant Millar had been missing from the station for a few days, he heard a shot.
Going round to the quarters occupied by Sergeant Millar, Inspector Yardy found him lying on the floor. A police revolver was near Millar. He had been shot through the head.
Sergeant Millar was rushed to hospital, but died a short while after admission.
Sergeant Millar’s wife, who was in Sydney, returned to Corowa last night.
Sergeant Millar was a prominent bowler, and was popular in the town.
The Argus ( Melbourne ) Monday 2 August 1948 page 5 of 12
POLICE SERGEANT
FOUND SHOT
SYDNEY, Sun( 1 August ): Sergeant J. H. A. Millar, 56, sergeant in charge of Corowa police station, was found shot in his home behind the station late yesterday afternoon. He died soon after reaching Corowa Hospital.
He was found by Police Inspector Yardley, of Albury, who had gone to Corowa to investigate a report that Sergeant Millar had been missing from the station for several days.
Inspector Yardley heard a shot as he neared the station. He found Millar lying on the floor with a revolver beside him.
Daily Advertiser ( Wagga Wagga, NSW ) Monday 2 August 1948 page 2 of 6
FORMER WAGGA POLICEMAN FOUND DYING AT COROWA
A former Wagga police sergeant, who was found at the rear of the Corowa police station on Saturday night with a bullet wound through his head, died shortly after being admitted to the Corowa Hospital.
HE was Sergeant John A. Millar, 52, offlcer-in-charge of the Corowa Police Station.
Millar was found by Inspector Yardy, who had gone from Albury to Corowa to investigate a report that Millar had been missing from the police station for a few days.
Millar had not been on duty for three days.
Inspector Yardy, accompanied by Sgt. McGuiness, of Albury, arrived at Corowa on Saturday afternoon and interviewed Millar at his home, which adjoins the police station.
Shot Heard
Millar was resting at the time, but agreed to accompany the two police officers to the station.
He went outside for a few minutes and a shot was heard.
Inspector Yardy rushed out the back and found Millar lying on the ground with a bullet wound through his head.
Millar is said to have been worried a good deal lately over his police duties.
As soon as news of the tragedy was received, Superintendent Parmenter, of Wagga, left for Corowa and took over inquiries with Inspector Yardy and Detective Munro, of Albury.
Inspector Parmenter will return to Wagga today after the funeral at Corowa, which he will attend.
Millar’s wife, who was holidaying in Sydney, returned to Corowa yesterday, accompanied by her son, who is a member of the police force.
Was at Holbrook
Sgt. Millar was well-known in Riverina. He took up duty at Holbrook after being transferred from Sydney and was stationed there about two years before coming to Wagga.
After about eight months service at Wagga, he was transferred to Corowa last year as officer-in-charge.
The Sydney Morning Herald dated 25 May, 1946 printed the following brief account of the death of Constable Jackson. Nothing further is known of the incident.
CONSTABLE DIES AFTER SHOOTING
Constable Hubert Jackson, 38, who was found shot through the head, with his service revolver lying near him, at his home in Clift Street, Northbridge on Saturday morning, died in Sydney Hospital on Saturday night. When he had failed to report for duty another policeman went to his home and found him lying unconscious.
The inquest into the death of the constable was told that “it was stated that Jackson’s pistol was on a bed and nearby was a cleaning rag when Constable Henry Grover called to see why he was not on duty.” As the constable was shot in the forehead, and given the presence of the cleaning rag, suicide appears far less likely than this simply being an unfortunate accident.
At the time of his death the constable was aged 38 years and was stationed at North Sydney.
Great Uncle to Vicki Alexis McCrohon – NSWPF – NSWPF – P/W 0123 – Class 120 ( 1964 ) & Rejoinee P/W 0202 – Class 141 ( 1974 )
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ‘Q‘ 9403
For the purposes of this website ‘Q‘ represents those Police joining between 1 March 1862 ( commencement of NSWPF ) – 23 February 1915 ( Commencement of NSWPF current numbering system )
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 1 April 1912
Final Rank: Sergeant 2nd Class – Death
Stations: ?, Central Police Station – 1 Division, Belmore ( 1916 ), Regent St – 2 Division, Newtown – 5 Division ( ? – 26 March 1939 ), Wagga Wagga ( 27 March 1939 ‘ Sgt ‘ – ? ),
13 Division, Clarence St Police Station – Death
Service: From 1 April 1912 to 17 March 1944 = 31+ years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: 21 September 1887 – Barraba, NSW
Died on: Friday 17 March 1944 during the evening
Age: 56
Cause: Collision – hit by train
Event location: Hurlstone Park
Event date: Friday 17 March 1944
Funeral date: Monday 20 March 1944
Funeral location: Rookwood Crematorium
Funeral Parlour: Walters and Son, Dulwich Hill
Buried at: Cremated ?
Memorial located at: ?
Constable Ernest Edward McCROHON the young policeman, who at Newtown a fortnight ago, had a sensational chase after four suspects and about 3a.m. on Saturday, arrested a man who had been behaving in a suspicious manner. On handcuffing his man, after a struggle, he found that he had a revolver in his hip pocket.
ERNEST is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
18 March, 1944 reported the following double tragedy surrounding the death of Sergeant McCrohon.
POLICE SERGEANT KILLED – MAN DIES GIVING FIRST AID.
Police Sergeant Edward McCrohon, 56, attached to No. 1 Police Station, was killed by a train last night while crossing the railway track between Hurlstone Park and Canterbury stations.
John Whitfield, a railway employee, who was a passenger on the train, collapsed and died as he began to give first aid to McCrohon.
Sergeant McCrohon was on his way home when he was killed.
The sergeant was born on 21 September, 1887 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 1 April, 1912. He served at Metropolitan Divisions 1, 2, 5 and 13, as well as at Wagga Wagga. At the time of his death he was stationed at No. 1 Division (Central).
McCROHON. – The Relatives and Friends of the late Ernest Edward McCrohon ( Police Sergeant, No. 1 Division ), of 14 Keir Avenue, Hurlstone Park, are invited to attend his Funeral to leave our Funeral Chapel, This Monday, at 11 a.m., for the Crematorium Rookwood.
WHILE CROSSING THE RAILWAY LINES between Hurlstone Park and Canterbury railway stations on Friday night, Sergeant Edward Ernest McCrohon, 56, of the Clarence Street police station was struck by a train, and killed.
When John Whitfield, 62, night officer at the Belmore railway station who was a passenger on the train, alighted to give assistance, he had a sudden seizure and collapsed. He died beside the body of the police sergeant.
Sergeant E. E. McCrohon, formerly of Newtown, Sydney, took up duty in Wagga yesterday in succession to Sergeant Kidd, who has been transferred to Newtown.
Mr. H. Richardson Clark, Parramatta coroner, at an inquest at Bankstown on the dead body of a boy named Thomas Adamson, aged 11½ years, who was drowned in a waterhole in Punchbowl, through getting out of his depth while searching for his sister’s shoe, complimented a brave constable.
The waterhole is in a very secluded position, about eight feet in diameter, and very deep, with no shallow approach, so that directly the hole is entered the water, is about six feet deep, and the sides of it are of clay, being extremely slippery.
The Belmore police were informed of the accident, and Constable McCrohon proceeded to the place with all speed.
He there found a man who was fishing for the boy with a rake, whereupon the constable immediately disrobed and took a header right into the hole.
Before he went in the man with the rake warned him against diving in, as it was dangerous, but notwithstanding that the constable dived right in and brought up the child at once.
The evidence at the Inquest was that the constable knew nothing whatever of the waterhole, and had never seen it before, and that after he recovered the body he and Dr. Miller worked upon it three-quarters of an hour to restore life, but unfortunately without success.
Dr. Miller, in his evidence, stated that he thought the conduct of the constable was most praiseworthy, as had there been any rocks or snags or old stumps in the waterhole McCrohon might have broken his neck when he dived in.
The coroner, in finding a verdict of accidental death, said that he had great pleasure in concurring with the opinion of Dr. Miller as to the conduct of Constable McCrohon, and that he would bring it under the favorable notice of the Inspector-General of Police.
At the Newtown Police Court yesterday, in a case in which Charles Joseph Wall, aged 27, was charged with assault, the evidence of Constable McCrohon was that while he was arresting a man at midnight of April 21, his prisoner resisted, and Wall and others tried to drag the prisoner free.
Finally witness was forced to let the man go, and he then arrested Wall.
Sergeant J. D. Scott said that at the police stationWall accused the constable of having assaulted him. Witness, at his request, looked at Wall‘s mouth, but it was not cut, and there was no sign of blood.
Wall, in defence, said he did not assist the prisoner to escape, all he did was to put his hand on McCrohon and say: ” Constable, let him go quietly. ” McCrohon was then down and was hitting the prisoner as he lay on the ground.
After the prisoner escaped, witness said to the policeman: ” I think you hit that man terrible with the baton. I think it is my place to go up and give evidence against you. ” McCrohon then arrested witness; and in the station he got witness by the mouth and shook him. His mouth was cut, and he was spitting blood.
Sydney Alexander Colls, a barman at the Oxford Hotel, Newtown, said that Wall did not interfere with the constable while the latter was struggling with his prisoner. The defendant was not intoxicated.
Sergeant Moran said he saw no injury. Defendant was shouting and was abusive.
The magistrate ( Mr. Payten ) said that he would not ask for any evidence to be called in rebuttal of the allegations against the police, but as the department might deem it necessary to hold an inquiry, he ordered a copy of the depositions to be forwarded.
In regard to the case itself, he did not think that the probability was that the constable, while violently struggling with his prisoner; could say that Wall was the man who assaulted him when there were other men there too.
No assault was disclosed that would merit punishment.
The plucky action of Constable McCrohon led to the timely capture of a runaway on the Newtown railway bridge last night. A horse in a spring cart, driven by Clarence O’Loughlan, of 163 Lennox-street, Newtown, bolted from the bottom of the Newtown Tramway Depot yard, and, when heading for King-street, had put on a fine turn of speed.
McCrohon, who was crossing the bridge, noticed the galloping steed, and without hesitation caught the horse’s head as it dashed by. He was dragged a little distance, but brought the runaway to a stop before any harm was done.
Many people were about at the time, and the constable’s bravery was favorably commented upon.
Constable McCrohon was in King-street, St. Peters, on June 21, and when he saw Aubrey Harrison, aged 27, urge a dog to attack a horse in a cart he asked Harrison for his name and address. The man refused, and as the policeman closed with him, Harrison called to the dog, and it tore the officer’s trousers.
On the way to the watchhouse the prisoner used indecent language.
At the Newtown Police Court to-day Harrison was charged with offensive behavior, using Indecent language, assaulting McCrohon, and damaging his uniform. He was defended by Mr. L. Gannon.
Harrison denied the truth of the Charges.
The magistrate ( Mr. Smithers ) imposed fines and costs amounting to £7 11s 6d. The option was two months’ gaol.
In regard to a request that time be allowed to pay the magistrate said he would grant seven days to pay in three cases, but as far as the charge of indecent language was concerned he would, if he had the power, order Harrison to gaol.
Filthy language, he said, was the outcome of a filthy mind, and seemed to be part of the nature of a man who used it.
A few weeks ago Constable McCrohon of the Newton Police, captured a burglar under sensational circumstances, and the total municipal council at the instance of Alderman Lewis, sent a letter to the Inspector-General of Police expressing its appreciation of the bravery of the constable.
At the last meeting of the council a communication was received from Mr. Day stating that he was pleased to know of the council’s views in the matter, which coincided with his own, and he had ordered a favorable entry to be made on the constable’s record sheet.
About 2 o’clock yesterday morning Constable McCrohon and Watchman Taylor, who were in King-street, Newtown, noticed two men outside Selig’s pawn office. Being suspicious concerning the men, because of the early hour; the constables went towards them. The men made off immediately, one of them dropping an iron bar about 3 foot long.
They ran down Bucknell street towards McDonaldtown railway station.
Constable McCrohon hurried after the men, calling upon them to stop. They took no notice of his command, and he fired over their heads without effect upon their movements. Three more shots were fired, but the men disappeared and have not been traced since.
An examination of the premises near where the men were first soon showed that nothing had been interfered with.
Cst Arthur Charles HUMPHRIES. Grave is located at Collector cemetery next door to the Police Station. When you walk in facing the back of the cemetery, it is around the middle and to the left.
Cst Arthur Charles HUMPHRIES
On Sunday 5 April, 1925 the constable was riding his motor cycle in Darlinghurst when the cycle collided with a brick wall at the intersection of Bourke and William Streets. He sustained a fractured skull and broken collar bone and was conveyed to the Sydney Hospital in a ( as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald ) critical condition but another newspaper article in the Singleton Argus, dated 11 April, states that he was treated and allowed to leave hospital to return home and that he was talking to a friend at 6pm when he collapsed and upon his second admission to hospital, it was discovered that he had a fractured skull.
He died on Monday, 6 April, 1925. It is not known if this death occurred on duty.
The Sydney Morning Herald dated 6 April, 1925 reported that “Severe injuries were sustained by Arthur Charles Humphries aged 23 years, a police constable stationed at Darlinghurst, who resides at 20 Hoddle Street, Paddington, when he lost control of his motor cycle yesterday and was thrown against a brick wall. The injured constable was riding the cycle in Bourke Street, East Sydney. He was thrown with great force against the wall, and suffered a fractured skull and a fractured collarbone. He was taken to Sydney Hospital where his condition last night was reported to be extremely critical.”
The NSW Register of Coroners Inquests and Magisterial Inquiries, 1834-1942 indicates that an inquest was held into the constable’s death at the Sydney City Coroner’s Court on 14 April, 1925 where it was found that the death was caused from “injuries accidentally received through being thrown from his motorcycle.”
The constable was born in Goulburn in 1903 and at the time of his death was stationed at Darlinghurst.
The Sydney Morning Herald Monday 6 April 1925 page 12 of 20
The Sydney Morning Herald Tuesday 7 April 1925 page 11 of 20
Singleton Argus Saturday 11 April 1925 page 6 of 8
For the purposes of this website ‘Q‘ represents those Police joining between 1862 ( commencement of NSWPF ) – 23 February 1915 ( Commencement of NSWPF current numbering system )
Rank: Constable – appointed 16 December 1895
Detective
Sergeant 2nd Class
Final Rank = Detective Sergeant 2nd Class
Stations: ?, North Sydney ( 23 years ), Sydney CIB ( from 1919 – death ) – Death
Service: From 16 December 1895 to 21 August 1923= 27+years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: ? ? post 21 Aug 1867 in Victoria
Died on: Monday 20 August 1923
Age: 55
Cause: Suicide – Firearm – “possible” Service weapon
Event location: Toilet, Police Headquarters, Sydney
Event date: Monday 20 August 1923
Funeral date: Wednesday 22 August 1923
Funeral location: ?
Wake location: ?
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Rookwood Cemetery, Rookwood
Zone C, Section 07, Row ?, Grave 883
Interred in the same grave:
Olivia May PETHER, aged 58, Interred on 23 Sept 1927
Memorial located at: ?
Grave of Detective Sergeant 2nd Class Louis Godfrey PETHER & wife – Olivia May PETHER
[alert_yellow]LOUIS is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow] *NEED MORE INFO – BUT MOST PROBABLY SHOULD BE
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Grave location: TBA
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FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
The Examiner newspaper dated 21 August, 1923 reported the following account of the death of Detective Sergeant Pether.
Detective Found Dead, Sydney, Monday.
Detective Sergeant Louis Godfrey Pether was found dead to-day in a lavatory at the police headquarters, Sydney. He had a bullet wound in his head, and an automatic revolver was lying by his side. He was aged 56 years, and had been in the New South Wales Police Force since 1895.
The Sun of 23 August, 1923 shed a little more light on the tragedy.
“DRIVING ME MAD” – Detective Pether’s Suicide
Detective-Sergeant Louis Godfrey Pether committed suicide at Police Headquarters last Monday while suffering from mental aberration. This was the verdict recorded to-day by the City Coroner (Mr. Jamieson).
Pether contracted influenza two years ago and never recovered. Chest trouble developed, and he suffered from defective memory. Early last Monday morning Pether remarked to Detective Bowie that his illness was driving him mad. A few seconds afterwards a revolver shot was heard, and Pether was found unconscious in the basement and bleeding from a wound behind the ear.
Pether died before he reached Sydney Hospital.”
The sergeant was born about 1867 and joined the New South Wales Police Force about 1895. At the time of his death he was attached to the Sydney Criminal Investigation Bureau, and had previously been stationed at North Sydney.
Detective Sergeant Louis Pether was found dead with a bullet wound in his head in the lavatory at police headquarters, Sydney. He had been indisposed for some time, and had been away from duty for several
months. He visited the office this morning to make application for work at a country station. For the last five years, deceased had been attached to the criminal investigation department.
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), Tuesday 21 August 1923, page 9
FOUND SHOT.
DETECTIVE-SERGEANT PETHER.
Early yesterday morning Detective-Sergeant Louis Godfrey Pether was found lying in the lavatory, at the police headquarters, at the corner of Hunter and Phillip streets, with a bullet wound in his bead. An automatic revolver was lying at his side. The Civil Ambulance conveyed him to the Sydney Hospital, where Dr. Taylor pronounced life extinct.
Detective-Sergeant Pether, “who was 56 years of age, joined the police force in 1895, and for 23 years was stationed at North Sydney. In 1919 he was attached to the Criminal Investigation Branch. For several months past he had been in bad health, and had intended going to the country for a holiday. He was regarded as a capable and conscientious officer.
Suicide while temporarily insane was the Coroners verdict after his inquiry into the death of Detective Pether who was found shot in a lavatory at Police Headquarters on Monday.
Detective Bowie said that he saw Pether near the lavatory, and inquired how he was. Pether replied: “I am bad — bad — bad: it is driving me mad!” witness advised him not to give way and asked him to wait a minute, and they would go together to see the doctor. He returned in a couple of minutes, and could not see Pether. There was a report of a shot in the lavatory, and when the door was forced open, Pether was found with a bullet wound in the head.
Pether was taken to Sydney Hospital, but was dead on arrival.
Subsequently witness discovered some pencilled words in Pether’s hand writing on the wall of the lavatory.
The message was:-
” I could not have been treated with more consideration by the doctor and my officers: but I feel that I am losing my reason, having already lost my memory. ” Underneath were the Initials ‘G.P’
