[alert_yellow]ROBERT is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow] *NEED MORE INFO
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Funeral location: ?
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We Remember…
Constable Robert DAVIS
Drowned
Wingham
21 January, 1867
This recently unearthed police death on duty is now the subject of research. The following newspaper articles tell part of the constable’s story.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser 31 January, 1867:
“Robert Davis, police constable and lock-up keeper at Wingham, while out collecting the electoral roll, was drowned in the Manning, near Wingham, on the 21st January. He was seen riding near the river on that day, and was not seen afterwards alive; but no one appears to have seen him crossing the river. Not returning home in the evening, his wife sent out messengers in search of him. Next day his horse was found near the river, and it was then surmised that he had been drowned. The police and others dragged the river, and found the body a short distance above the crossing place. ‘The deceased has left a wife and several children unprovided for; the inhabitants of the locality are raising subscriptions for them.”
The Empire – 31 January 1867:
“A sad affair, which cost the life of a very decent man, occurred at Wingham on Monday last. It seems that Robert Davis, who was one of the police-constables, and lockup-keeper at Wingham, was recently appointed to assist in collecting the electoral roll of the Manning, and that in the discharge of his duty he crossed over to the Bight on Monday last. He was absent but a very short time when he was seen returning home but he failed to arrive. His wife, alarmed as the evening wore on at his non-appearance, sent out messengers in search of her missing husband, but it was only on the following morning that certain tidings were heard of him. Then the horse on which he had been mounted was found riderless in a paddock on the opposite side of the river; the saddle – covered with mud, and one of the stirrups missing. It was then conjectured that he must have been drowned, and the river was dragged for the body. It was found on Wednesday; and after a magisterial inquiry, all that remained of poor Davis was buried on the same day. How he became unhorsed will probably never be known; and the matter is all the more mysterious from the fact that he knew the ford well, had crossed it before on the same day, and was riding an animal to which he had been accustomed. The man thus lost in the discharge of his duty has left a wife and a number of small children. He had resided in the district several years, and was universally regarded as a sober, unassuming, kind hearted, and efficient public servant. Great sympathy is felt for his wife, who is said to be near her confinement. – Manning River News.”
The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser 9 February, 1867:
“The ‘Manning River News’ of 26th says:—Robert Davis, who was one of the police constables and the lock-up keeper at Wingham, was recently appointed to assist collecting the electoral roll of the Manning, and in the discharge of his duty he crossed over to the Bight on Monday last. Subsequently his horse was found, on the opposite side of the river, the saddle being covered with mud and one of the stirrups missing. A search resulted in the discovery of Davis’s body in the river. He had been drowned by some mischance in crossing the ford. He leaves a wife and number of small children.”
At the time of his death the constable was aged 32 years and was stationed at Wingham, where he was the lockup keeper.
Clarence and Richmond Examiner & New England Advertiser ( NSW ) Tuesday 12 February 1867 page 3 of 8
A police constable named Robert Davis stationed at Wingham, on the Manning River, was drowned on Monday, when attempting to ford the Bight. He was assisting to collect the names for the electoral roll. He was a man much respected in the district, and has left a widow and a number of small children.
FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE MANNING RIVER. – A sad affair, which cost the life of a very decent man, occurred at Wingham, on Monday, 21st instant. It seems that Robert Davis, lock up keeper at Wingham, was collecting the electoral roll of the Manning, and that in the discharge of his duty he crossed over to the Bight on Monday last. He was absent but a very short time when he was seen returning home – but did not arrive. His wife, alarmed as the evening wore on at his non-appearance, sent out messengers in search of her missing husband, but it was only on the following morning that certain tidings were heard of him. Then, the horse on which he had been mounted was found riderless in a paddock on the opposite side of the river the saddle was covered with mud, and one of the stirrups missing. It was conjectured that he must have been drowned and the river was dragged for the body. It was found on Wednesday ; and after a magisterial inquiry, was buried on the same day. How he became unhorsed will probably never be known, and the matter is all the more mysterious from the fact that he knew the ford well and had crossed it before on the same day, and was riding an animal to which he had been accustomed. The man thus lost in the discharge of his duty has left a wife and a number of small children – News
Stations: Chatswood ( 1978 ) , Waratah Police Stn for 29 years as Media Liasion Officer
Service: From ? ? 1978 to ? = 35 years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 7 May 1994
Born: ? ? 1958
Died on: Monday 29 April 2013 – On Duty
Cause: Heart attack
Age: 54
Funeral date: Thursday 2 May 2013
Funeral location: Newcastle City Hall
Buried at: ?
Memorial: NSW Police force Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills, C21 ( right wall )
Tony Tamplin
Tony Tamplin
[alert_red]TONY is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_red] * BUT SHOULD BE
Tony Tamplins Police Academy Class Tony is Front Row Second from Right.
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LAST week I celebrated 35 years as a member of the NSW Police Force.
I don’t mention it to brag or to solicit further return complimentary comments.
I mention this because I was humbled by the people who have gone out of their way to express gratitude to me.
It is because of this tremendous current of support that I love this city.
We are a community, we still recognise one another as people, not as house or unit numbers lost in a concrete maze.
When Mother Nature bares her teeth, a resident falls on hard times, a person falls victim to an illness, or when crime threatens our community, we pitch in.
We are lucky enough to live in a city that is still just a big country town and recently you, once again, reinforced that to me with your comments of support.
Friends, people I haven’t seen for a long time and people I don’t even know personally took time to comment on Facebook or other media and I am truly humbled and thankful.
We are proud because we still interact as a community.
William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, once said: “I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.”
Thank you for showing kindness as we pass one another.
35 years on the beat
– By Dan Proudman
HE has been the jovial face of the police force across the Hunter for decades.
But a surprise celebration for Senior Constable Tony Tamplin reaching 35 years on the thin blue line last week prompted an emotional time for reflection for the Northern Region’s media liaison officer.
With his wife, parents and six of his seven children around him, Senior Constable Tamplin spoke of the wider family of the police, which made him continue getting up and going to work.
‘‘The job itself is an intriguing, wonderful, hard, emotional job but the reason you keep coming back every day is the people you work with,’’ he said.
‘‘I keep getting up every day, not thinking I have got to go to work as a copper but thinking I am going to go and see my mates.
‘‘There are 16,000 people in my club.’’
Senior Constable Tamplin started at Chatswood in 1978 but an accident in 1984 put him on restricted duties. His gift of the gab and eye for good stories quickly found him looking after the Hunter’s media for the next 29 years.
But he’s not yet ready for retirement.
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National Police Remembrance Day to honour brave officers
By DAN PROUDMAN
CONSTABLE Henry Rucker was just seven months into his job when he found himself with a group of police searching for some robbers who had held up the James Williams jewellery store in Hunter Street earlier in the day.
The year is 1863 as Constable Rucker, a 31-year-old most probably stationed at Newcastle, takes off towards Lake Macquarie on horseback.
It’s getting late. But the officers continue to hunt the 19th century bandits as they cross a tributary into the lake.
Constable Rucker digs his heels into his stead but things go awry. His mount rolls and he is thrown into the water and drowns.
Within 18 months of the NSW Police Force being created, Constable Rucker becomes the second police officer to die in the Hunter.
Three months earlier Constable Michael Farralley had also drowned in a creek.
More than 150 years on, and the Hunter has had at least 30 police officers die while on duty. They have been shot, bashed, electrocuted, involved in road accidents and suffered medical problems.
Today, they will be remembered.
September 29, the special day for Saint Michael the Archangel, patron saint of police, has become National Police Remembrance Day.
The most recent officer to be lost on duty was the immensely popular Senior Constable Tony Tamplin, who suffered a heart attack at Waratah police station last year.
Half of the police on the Hunter’s roll of honour have been killed in motor vehicle accidents, which included eight riding police motorcycles. Four of those riders were killed in a shocking decade from 1957 to 1967.
Three Hunter officers have been shot dead, including Constable William King, who was killed after answering the door to his East Gresford police residence one night in 1971 as his children were inside.
Senior Constable Doug Eaton was shot when he and another officer were ambushed after stopping a break-in at the Toronto Country Club at Kilaben Bay in 1977.
Three days after Senior Constable Eaton’s death, Cessnock officers Alan Thompson and Ray Scorer were killed in a car accident as they returned from their colleague’s funeral.
Sergeant Keith Haydon was shot dead, targeted by a man also wanted for murdering two men at Bondi.
Acting Newcastle City local area commander, acting Superintendent Michael Gorman, said the day was one of the most important on the police calendar.
“National Police Remembrance Day is a solemn day in which officers pause to honour our departed colleagues, and reflect upon the sacrifice they have made for the community,” he said.
“Each day officers confront danger as they perform their duties. National Police Remembrance Day reminds us that a safe community often comes at a high price for officers and their families.”
There have been 252 officers killed on duty cross NSW since 1962.
The Newcastle service will be held at Christ Church Cathedral at 10.30am.
WHEN more than 3000 people packed Newcastle City Hall last year to farewell the Hunter’s favourite police officer, Senior Constable Tony Tamplin, the region joined in to shed a collective tear.
The big fellow with the bigger smile had become the face of the force for more than three decades before he collapsed from a heart attack and died at Waratah police station.
His charismatic nature and cheeky sense of humour had personalised the force for many Novocastrians.
We felt an affinity with the greying beard of the burly copper and welcomed him into our lounge rooms via our television screens and newspapers on an almost daily occurrence.
His sudden loss was felt significantly across many levels throughout the region.
But the sad fact is that Senior Constable Tamplin was at least the 30th officer to die while on duty across the Hunter, a statistic that could well reverberate even deeper when it is broken down to one officer every five years since the force was created 152 years ago.
We as a region talk often about the dangers relating to the occupations of many of our residents.
It was only earlier this month that we bowed our heads to respect the growing loss of Hunter miners, including four more who had died on the job in the past 12 months.
It should be every person’s right to go to work with the expectation of returning home to their family safe once the working day is done.
But within the police force, danger is an inherent, almost daily reality.
Front-line officers, many of whom are not long out of the academy, put themselves at risk on almost every shift by running towards danger when the majority of us are sprinting away.
They continue to face what must seem to be endless messy and violent domestic disputes, mobs of drunken louts and unpredictable, drug-affected people.
The Hunter list of lost officers should be compulsory reading.
It includes three who were shot dead as they turned up at a job, two others who died of injuries after being attacked and another two who died of misadventure while going to the rescue of strangers.
They are heroes and should be treated as such.
But, just as importantly, their fellow officers who continue to protect us should also have our respect.
Not just because they sport a badge and a uniform, but because they have chosen to protect complete strangers.
All of us.
And also because they are our sons and and daughters, our husbands and wives and fathers and mothers.
Marvellous. Senior Constable Tony Tamplin would have been chuffed as thousands of mourners packed Newcastle Town Hall this morning to celebrate the life of a man who had touched so many.
Brilliant and heartfelt tributes from his grieving wife, Sonia, their children and his brother, Denis, were complimented by moving words from NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and representatives from the media and charities.
Senior Constable Tamplin died suddenly on Monday, aged 54 and after 35 years service in the police force, more than a decade helping his favourite charity Variety – the Childrens Charity and seven years as a popular celebrant.
Mr Scipione also announced that Senior Constable Tamplin would be honoured posthumously with the National Police Service Medal, recognising his ethical and diligent service in protecting the community.
‘When we gather at a funeral to farewell a colleague, a friend, a loved one, it is understandable, perhaps inevitable, that the mood is sombre,’’ Mr Scipione said.
‘‘There is always great sadness at the loss.
‘‘But somehow that is not quite fitting for Tony. He wouldn’t have wanted it – he wouldn’t have allowed it.
‘‘Life was a joy. And simply put, Tony was a wonderful bloke – optimistic and big-hearted.
‘‘In fact, everything about Tony Tamplin was big – larger than life almost.
‘‘Large of frame, large of personality, and always a large contributor.’’
And so the mood of the service, which packed four rooms of the town hall with thousands of people, became a celebration of a brilliant life.
Wife, Sonia, and their six children – the Tamplin Tribe – wore his bright shirts as they spoke from their broken hearts.
A friend from Variety threw on a statue of David apron, made famous by the big fellow on their annual pilgrimages on the Variety bash to raise money for children who most needed it.
Brother Denis, NBN journalist Paul Lobb and entertainer John Paul Young also turned tears of grief into laughter as they told their own tales of what Senior Constable Tamplin meant to them.
A police helicopter and motorcycles led the procession through a 150-metre long guard of honour along King Street as Senior Constable Tamplin made one final appearance in front of an adoring public.
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VIDEO: Emotions flow at Tony Tamplin’s funeral
By DAN PROUDMAN, Chief Police Reporter
PAYING FOND TRIBUTE: Senior Constable Tony Tamplin’s daughter Kalina is surrounded by family as she delivers her speech about her adored dad to the funeral crowd. Picture: Simone De Peak
He was definitely ‘‘one of the good guys’’, but possibly Tony Tamplin’s greatest gift was that he could be someone different to so many people.
Many of the thousands who packed Newcastle City Hall on Thursday would have their own stories about the ‘‘larger than life’’ bloke who had ‘‘the heart the size of a pumpkin’’.
Grieving widow Sonia defied her own fears of public speaking to talk about the man she had married 27 years ago and had six children with.
She joked the ‘‘big fella upstairs’’ had probably grown bored with his current company and wanted her husband – the Happy Buddha – to make him laugh.
‘‘He was always in the limelight and I was more than happy to be in the background,’’ she told the mourners.
‘‘Anyone who knew Tony knew he had a heart of gold, but anyone that knew him really well also knew that he could be such a stubborn bastard.
‘‘He was a very humble man who, for never one minute, thought he was special.’’
Their children spoke of learning life’s lessons from their father.
Eldest son, Tony jnr, said he had been moulded by his father in ‘‘every way, shape and form’’ and vowed to continue to honour his legacy.
‘‘One thing I hadn’t considered, was the not-so-secret life of Tony Tamplin,’’ Tony jnr said.
‘‘To myself, my siblings, my mother, and all my family, Tony was a man who worked hard because he loved his work.
‘‘He worked hard for his family because he loved his family.
‘‘Until the past few days, I thought that was the only people who knew.’’
But now they know.
Eldest daughter Natusha said her dad was never a fan of ‘‘all this soppy stuff’’.
‘‘I think it is pretty obvious to you all that we thought our dad was the best,’’ she said.
‘‘But I can now see that you all thought he was amazing too.
‘‘Dad taught me life lessons by setting an example.
‘‘He didn’t stress about things he couldn’t change, he appreciated what he had, and he was happy,’’ she said.
Brother Denis Tamplin said his family had been overwhelmed by the support of the police and the ‘‘beautiful outpourings of heartfelt emotion’’ from the general public since his brother’s death.
He said his brother was engaging and genuinely interested in people, fiercely loyal and he had had an impact on all of his family’s lives.
Entertainer John Paul Young told how Senior Constable Tamplin had become a mentor to many since joining Variety – the Children’s Charity in 2000 and ‘‘did it all with a love and a smile’’.
But he also had that mischievous humour, like the time they were enjoying a meal on the Variety Big Bash.
‘‘I had some gravy dribbling down my chin and I was looking for a napkin,’’ Young said.
‘‘He said, ‘What’s wrong?’ and so I told him and he said: ‘You just relax, you just enjoy yourself. I will lick your face clean when you’re finished’.’’
NBN journalist Paul Lobb recalled Senior Constable Tamplin’s unique office at Newcastle police station, which he had fitted out with stuffed toys, souped-up wanted posters, cartoons and other paraphernalia.
‘‘Certainly not police standard-issue,’’ Lobb said.
‘‘And there were the kettles and other broken down electrical equipment.
‘‘They hung from the ceiling emblazoned with the date that they had broken and how many years of service they had given, making Tony’s famous early morning bucket-sized coffee.’’
Lobb also joked about Senior Constable Tamplin’s way with words when describing crime scenes and criminals.
‘‘If the description of the offender was that he was wearing stripy tracksuit pants, pink joggers, a lime green hoodie, Tony would say ‘Mate, crooks these days just have no dress sense’.’’
He later added: ‘‘It was more like ringing a mate than ringing a police media liaison officer.
‘‘Tone was one of the good guys.
‘‘And I am sure if we rang now for one final rounds check, he would probably tell a joke about some badly dressed crim trying to steal the pearly gates in a ram raid.
‘‘He would lean back in his chair and take a swig of his brew and he would say ‘Squire, don’t worry, I’m living the dream’.
‘‘We just wish he could have lived it a bit longer here with us.’’
While many spoke about the differences Senior Constable Tamplin made to the life of the community, his family reminded the crowd of his most important job.
They told of how he would yell out ‘‘Papa’’ as he walked through the front door and spoke of their simple wish to have one last big bear hug from their dad.
Tony jnr summed it up best when he said: ‘‘The hole that he has left in the community is too big to be filled by one person.’’
Parliament of New South Wales Legislative Assembly 2 May 2013
DEATH OF SENIOR CONSTABLE TONY TAMPLIN
Page: 19907
Mr TIM OWEN (Newcastle) [10.04 a.m.]: I move:
That this House:
(1) notes that the Northern Region Police Media Liaison Officer, Senior Constable Tony Tamplin, passed away at Waratah police station on 29 April 2013;
(2) notes that Tony Tamplin served in the NSW Police Force for 35 years, with 29 years in his media liaison role; and
(3) expresses its sincere condolences to the family, friends and workmates of Tony Tamplin for their loss.
My colleagues and I from the Hunter stand united today in honouring the memory of Senior Constable Tony Tamplin, who sadly passed away on 29 April 2013 aged just 54. Since Monday there has been an outpouring of public grief in the Hunter as the community mourns a true character who touched many lives. Anthony William George Tamplin was a man of many layers. He was a family man deeply loved by his wife, Sonia, their six children—Natusha, Anthony, Yelena, Annika, Alexander and Kalina—and his parents, Tony senior and Anne. He was a tireless aid worker who donated much of his spare time to assisting local charities. He was also a jovial and hugely popular marriage celebrant. Above all, he was a stalwart of the NSW Police Force who recently celebrated 35 years in uniform. Over the course of his distinguished career, Senior Constable Tamplin became the face of the New South Wales police across the Hunter. He provided a valuable link between the police and the wider public in his role as police media liaison officer. Tens of thousands of people grew up with Tony—and I was one of them. He was part of our daily lives; we watched him on NBN television, read his candid lines in the Newcastle Herald and his amusing but informative column in the Staror admired his quick wit on local radio. However, it was not only his work with the media that led to Tony Tamplin becoming a much-loved community figure. Tony was a man of great compassion who was often seen at community events, such as the Variety Bash in support of children’s charities, and he always left a great impression. It is probably fair to say Tony Tamplin was one of the most loved coppers in the history of the NSW Police Force. I was at the Waratah police station when news first broke of Tony’s sudden passing and it was not long before floral tributes were placed on the steps and social media message boards were flooded with words of gratitude and condolences. As the elected representative of Newcastle, their voice in Parliament, I thought it appropriate that I share some of those poignant messages. David Gardiner wrote:
Tony was one of the most professional, helpful, down to earth people I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with as a news journalist. He had the rare skill of being able to convey information, often sensitive, into easy to understand language. Tony’s compassion and his strong sense of humour, as well as his involvement in charity events such as the Variety Bash, will be forever remembered.
Heather Buckley wrote:
I only knew Tony Tamplin through his piece in the STAR newspaper and listening to him on KOfm. I was amazed at his passion for the community and for the young kids of Newcastle and Suburbs! He will be sadly missed and my heart goes out to his wife and family and also his colleagues.
Tony McKenzie wrote:
I have known Tony through the Police for probably most of his 35 Yrs. Mate you did us all proud. Newcastle has lost a great man and an even greater COPPER. You wrote the book on Police and Media relations.
In my role as a member of Parliament I have come to respect and admire the great work the NSW Police Force does in the community. As Robyne Slade said in her tribute, “police men and women play a major role in making our communities safe”. I have come to know many members of the local command and I could think of no finer representative of the force than Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. We are conducting this debate this morning while his funeral service is being held in Newcastle.
The police officer’s role is not an easy one. Living under a strict disciplinary code and sworn to uphold the law of the land, police officers relations with the public are sometimes difficult, especially in enforcing laws that are not popular with certain social groups. Despite this, Tony was always warmly received by the public. Behind the scenes the life of police officers is not easy—they comfort lost children, lend a shoulder to cry on when the elderly lady experiences a break-in at her home or counsel families after delivering the worst news imaginable about a loved one. It is a job that can be so emotionally confronting that few outside the force can ever really understand just how hard some days can be. Yet Tony was always a pleasure to be around, was courteous and a true gentlemen to everyone he met.
On behalf of the Newcastle community, I pay tribute to the countless hours of work that Senior Constable Tamplin donated to assist others, in particular, his work with charitable foundations. Tony is a man who will be sorely missed; a man who in the past few days has been fittingly described by many as “a larger than life persona”, “a man with a big heart”, “one of Newcastle’s finest”, “a massive community figure” and “a man with a wicked sense of humour”. Tony wrote a column for the 24 April 2013 edition of the Star in which he reflected on his 35 years of service in the NSW Police Force. He quoted William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania:
I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.
I believe Tony attempted to live his life by the principle of doing good for others, and in doing so he has challenged all of us to show kindness to those around us. There will never be another Tony; he was unique, a champion of his community who will forever be remembered with great fondness. On behalf of the Newcastle constituency and the Hunter region I conclude by saying that our thoughts are with Senior Constable Tamplin’s family, friends and the entire NSW Police Force during this difficult time. I commend his life’s work to the House.
Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie) [10.10 a.m.]: I acknowledge the fine contribution of the member for Newcastle and join my colleagues in paying tribute to Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. It is hard to believe that I will not be seeing Tony at community and charity events, so ubiquitous a presence and so dominant a personality was he in the Hunter region. Tony was indeed the everywhere man. As the member for Newcastle noted, and as I am sure other members will note, Tony was the face of the NSW Police Force in the Hunter and he had been for 29 years, but his public profile went much deeper than that.
Tony was attached to numerous charities, among them the children’s charity Variety, cancer fundraising groups, the Blood Bank and Hunter Life Education. His picture was constantly in the local newspapers or on the news on television in connection with the promotion or support of events for charities such as these, with photographs inevitably showing him hamming it up for the camera or flashing that wide trademark grin that even his equally characteristic bushy beard could not hide. I am sure that members can conjure up a picture of Tony Tamplin at a Variety bash with his good mate Super Hubert, that marvellous magician in the Hunter.
Mr Andrew Cornwell: The world’s skinniest magician.
Mr GREG PIPER: The world’s skinniest magician and one of the Hunter’s biggest cops. When we talk about Tony Tamplin we should not forget such wonderful imagery. I first met Tony Tamplin in the 1990s when I was a councillor on Lake Macquarie City Council. In subsequent years I had cause to share a stage or to mingle with him at many events in my capacity as a councillor and later as mayor of Lake Macquarie and State member. A few years ago we officiated together at a ceremony to mark the beginning of the first stage of the children’s park at Speers Point. Variety, which is a significant partner, helped to create an adventure playground that is accessible to children with disabilities. I know that the member for Swansea would agree with me that Speers Point Park is a wonderful park.
With shovel ready, standing on the top of a double decker bus, I announced to the assembled dignitaries and onlookers that we were there to turn the first sod. I then quipped that I thought that was no way to talk about Tony. He laughed, of course, showing his customary goodwill—as always, happy to be the butt of the joke and more than capable of good naturedly returning the compliment in spades. I cannot imagine how much money Tony’s advocacy of charity causes has helped to bring in for those organisations but I hasten a guess that it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Away from the cameras and that public persona he was generous with his time in other ways as well. In between his official media liaison duties and his charity work he attended countless community functions to speak to people about crime and safety issues. Whether it was addressing a handful of retirees about home security at a midweek morning tea or hundreds of people at a major crime forum, he gave the same enthusiasm to all. Through these grassroots activities and by using his public relations skills to harness the reach of the media, Tony was at the vanguard of proactive and pre-emptive policing. He was forever spearheading public announcements to remind people to be wary to lock up their homes when there was a spate of thefts, to observe speed limits and safe driving guidelines as busy school holiday periods loomed, to alert people to scams doing the rounds, or to warn parents to urge their children to be vigilant about stranger danger.
Tony Tamplin has been the voice of calm during many a crisis. As Newcastle Herald reporter Dan Proudman so aptly wrote in his obituary in Tuesday’s paper, Tony was “a soft, reassuring hand on the region’s collective shoulder”. He was a soothing presence during the notorious June long weekend storms and floods of 2007, keeping order among the media masses at the site of the Pasha Bulker’s beaching at Nobbys and making sure the critical emergency messages reached their targets. He also had an opportunity to use his liaison and public relations skills while working with the NSW Police Force at the Sydney Olympics—an experience I understand was a career highlight.
While perhaps most fondly remembered for his skylarking and good-natured support of community causes, it is important to acknowledge the absolute professionalism he displayed in all aspects of his job and his innate ability to project the right mood for the circumstances. Much of the work he did managing communications at the interface between the police and the community involved difficult and traumatic events. He always dealt with such matters sensitively and reasonably, respecting the balance between public interest and the privacy of victims and others affected by criminal acts or accidents. I spoke to Superintendent Craig Rae, formerly the local area commander of Lake Macquarie Area Command. Craig wants to pass on his message of respect for Tony Tamplin who did so much to elevate the standing of police in the region.
The balance that Tony Tamplin struck is not always easy to attain, and sometimes relationships between media and police are strained as a result, but Tony earned the utmost respect of those within the Hunter media, as evidenced by the tributes they have made on hearing of his passing. Indeed, there has been a huge public response to his death—one that I would say is unprecedented for a member of the Police Force and a measure of the high regard with which he was held by all in the community. Tony died just two weeks after marking 35 years with the Police Force—he joined as a teenager—and he spent nearly 30 of those years serving in the Hunter region. On the occasion of his thirty-fifth anniversary last month he nominated his colleagues as the reason for his enduring enthusiasm for his job. He said:
The job itself is an intriguing, wonderful, hard, emotional job but the reason you keep coming back every day is the people you work with.
I keep getting up every day, not thinking I have got to go to work as a copper but thinking I am going to go and see my mates. This is the biggest club in the world. There are 16,000 people in my club.
Tony was renowned as a family man—a father of six and one of six siblings. He was a popular marriage celebrant, known for his ability to soothe the nerves of brides and grooms with his characteristic humour and terrible dad jokes. Always a good sport, he entered into the spirit of any ceremony—even donning an Elvis Presley wig and cape to preside over the wedding of a couple who had won a radio competition that allowed listeners to decide on aspects of the wedding, including the celebrant’s dress code. One of the last times I saw Tony was at the annual bikers’ toy run at Christmas, another of his favourite community causes. He was in the thick of things as usual, laughing, talking and working the crowd. As I said when I commenced my speech, it is hard to believe I will not see him playing that role again. His death is an indescribable loss to our community and I offer my deepest sympathies to his wife, Sonia, to his children and to all who loved him.
Mr GARRY EDWARDS (Swansea) [10.16 a.m.]: Today we are acknowledging and remembering one of the greatest icons in the Hunter—Senior Constable Anthony William George Tamplin. It is with real sadness that I speak of the sudden and unexpected loss of a dedicated community man and a hardworking and loving family man at the age of just 54. I would have expected to have been speaking about Tony and his many accomplishments at perhaps his retirement in another decade or so. I extend sincere condolences to Senior Constable Tamplin’s family, friends and colleagues. Only a fortnight ago Senior Constable Tony Tamplin celebrated his thirty-fifth year as a member of the NSW Police Force—35 years of passionate dedication, 35 years of caring and integrity not just for the NSW Police Force but also for communities in New South Wales and in Australia.
For many years Senior Constable Tony Tamplin has been seen as the face of the NSW Police Force in the Hunter and a man who, despite the ever-changing world around us, could always be trusted. A generation of young folk in the Hunter have grown up recognising, listening to and believing in Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. As public relations officer for Hunter police since 1984, Senior Constable Tony Tamplin was and still is the face of the region’s police ranks, but his dedication and commitment stretched further than that. Senior Constable Tony Tamplin was a unique and committed community man, well recognised and respected for his ongoing charitable work. Notably he spent more than a decade raising awareness and money for the children’s charity Variety. Senior Constable Tony Tamplin will be remembered by many as a true, real and rare Aussie character. His wicked sense of humour, larger than life personality and ability to take the mickey out of himself endeared him to all who met him.
No-one has done a better job of bringing the police and the wider community closer together in our region—at least not in my time in this place or in the region—than Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. Once again I express deepest condolences to Tony’s wife, Sonia, to his children, Natusha, Anthony, Yelena, Anikka, Alexander and Kalina, to his dad, Tony senior, to his mum, Anne, and to all his siblings on their loss. A statement by Superintendent John Gralton, Commander, Newcastle City Local Area Command, in the
Newcastle Herald
on Tuesday 30 April 2013 sums up Tony’s passing, “The Hunter has lost a piece of its heart.” Vale, Anthony William George Tamplin, husband, dad, police officer, charity worker, civil marriage celebrant, community builder and bloody good Aussie bloke. Tony, your name will survive you as a true son of the Hunter.
Mr TROY GRANT (Dubbo—Parliamentary Secretary) [10.20 a.m.]: I make a short contribution to this condolence motion in memory of my former police colleague and mate Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. I endorse everything that has been said, and will be said, by my parliamentary colleagues from the Hunter about a great man who was larger than life. I have spoken in this Parliament on a number of occasions about child sexual assault issues in the Hunter Valley and those comments are well recorded in Hansard and in the media. But what has that to do with Tony Tamplin? The first two victims in what has now become a plethora of incidents, which have had an unimaginable impact on that wonderful region, went to Tony Tamplin and his staff to seek guidance and advice on how to face the most difficult chapter ever to enfold their lives. To me that pretty much says it all as to the level of regard and respect with which Tony was held. Members will talk about that respect today but I witnessed it firsthand.
Tony played an important role in the media that followed the arrest and investigation of Father Ryan and the subsequent investigations. The contribution he made cannot be understated, particularly in his support of the victims. Two guys, in the infancy of these matters, choose to place their trust in Senior Constable Tony Tamplin to help them work out how they would bring forward the most damaging chapter in their lives. For that those victims and I will be forever grateful. I cannot sufficiently express how deeply remorseful I am and how shocked I was when I learnt of Tony’s passing. I offer my deepest sympathies to his family and colleagues; my condolences and thoughts will be with them for a long time. As the member for Swansea said, Tony loved the cops and his colleagues, and they loved him right back. Vale Tony Tamplin.
Mr CLAYTON BARR (Cessnock) [10.22 a.m.]: Whilst Tony’s influence did not extend to the Cessnock area the people in my electorate still chose to call him with their issues. Some of my constituents told me, “I rang that Tony Tamplin. He is on TV. He seems really nice. I thought he would help me.” Sadly, the heinous crimes that the member for Orange spoke about are occurring right across the region. I commence my contribution by acknowledging how lucky we are today to be talking about Tony Tamplin in this place—not lucky because he died but lucky because we knew him. Many people, for instance, from Sydney, the Illawarra and out west did not get to know him but that is their loss. Tony was an outstanding individual.
Tony started presenting the police news at a time when Brian Bury and Brian Henderson were presenting the evening news, Graham Kennedy was at the top of his game and Paul Hogan was on television. I have grown up with only Tony Tamplin reporting the police news. For 30 years the Hunter region had only one cop on television, radio and in the media reporting police news. That was the person he was to the people of the Hunter. Tony Tamplin was larger than life. Interestingly, his wife, Sonia, noted that 20 years ago he had said to her that when he died he wanted his life to be celebrated and for people to have fun remembering him. I will start by having a bit of fun at his expense. The Newcastle Herald reported that Tony had left behind big shoes to fill. Tony was a big guy and he would have seen the irony in that. He had bloody big shoes to fill, physically and literally.
In preparing my speech I rang a friend who had worked with Tony Tamplin over the past 10 years in Variety to ask him for his thoughts about Tony. My friend, a significant character in his own right, said that Tony was hard to describe. He was just big but he exuded positivity and optimism. People wanted to be around him and he brought them together when they were around him. Tony gelled with people. He had enormous respect and empathy for people. He had a big smile, a hearty laugh and he was humble. My friend will be attending the service that is being held today for Tony at Newcastle Town Hall. Tony Tamplin’s last column for the Star sums up why I love the people of the Hunter and why I enjoy the privilege of representing the people of the Hunter in this Chamber. In that article Tony reflected on the enormous support he had been given in recognition of his 35 years of service as a member of the NSW Police Force. Tony said:
It is because of this tremendous current of support that I love this city. We are a community, we still recognise one another as people, not as house or unit numbers lost in a concrete maze. When Mother Nature bares her teeth, a resident falls on hard times, a person falls victim to an illness, or when crime threatens our community, we all pitch in.
He finished that column by saying:
Thank you for showing kindness as we pass one another.
All members should remember that and we all need to do it. I sometimes wonder whether I am doing the right thing when I look someone in the eye as I pass him or her in the street. I do not know these people—they could be Joe Blow or Jenny Blogs—but I like to show kindness to the people in the street. Tony Tamplin did that. Vale Tony Tamplin.
Mr ANDREW CORNWELL (Charlestown) [10.26 a.m.]: I too make a brief contribution about the life of Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. Tony grew up in a large family and he and his wife, Sonia, raised a large family. But Tony was also a member of a family of 16,000 police colleagues and a family of 500,000 fellow Hunter residents. Tony was loved and adored by all those families. He was the face of policing in the Hunter. In many ways the respect with which our police are held today was reflected in the respect that people had for Tony. Tony never used police lingo in the media; he used language to which the public related. He would never talk about an alleged perpetrator or a group of youths. He would say, “Some idiot has been snapping trees in the main street of Wallsend”, or, “Some dope has gone and done this in Cardiff”. People genuinely warmed to him because the way in which he described things reflected what they felt.
Tony always struck an appropriate note. It was always stern but it was always sincere. It was evident from the way in which he communicated his message to the community that he clearly loved his job. Tony devoted a large amount of his time to charity work. One was more likely to see Tony standing beside Big Dog or Super Hubert, the world’s skinniest magician, than standing beside the Commissioner of Police. Tony and Super Hubert were brothers in arms for the Variety charity. Tony used his profile to assist in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Variety. It would be remiss of me if I did not use this opportunity to shamelessly plug Variety as that is what Tony would have done. He would have had a brief opportunity of about 30 seconds to talk about a policing issue and he would then take about five minutes to plug Variety. Charity work was core business to him. Tony was a lover of life. He was generous in both time and spirit, self-effacing and sincere. He was a big bloke; he was bighearted. Vale Tony Tamplin, you will be sorely missed and a great loss to the Hunter community.
Ms SONIA HORNERY (Wallsend) [10.28 a.m.], by leave: In this motion of condolence we are talking about the distinguished career of a wonderful police officer from the Hunter. I agree with the comments of the member for Newcastle about Tony’s quick wit. Tony was definitely a much-loved community figure and probably one of the most popular coppers in the NSW Police Force. I agree with the comments of the member for Lake Macquarie that Tony would have been instrumental in helping him, as mayor of Lake Macquarie, to open the children’s park and get on with it. I love the way the member for Cessnock described Tony Tamplin as “indescribable”, because he certainly was.
As the member for Charlestown said, Tony was much loved and adored by the population of the Hunter. In my contribution I will refer to two particular encounters with Tony that were quite memorable. The first encounter was when I asked Tony to speak at a seniors forum on advocating for home security. I liked Tony’s frank and fair discussions with the seniors of the Wallsend community—he did not muck around about ensuring that they were aware they had to take responsibility for their own home security. That is what I liked about Tony: When it came to the nitty-gritty Tony knew how to explain to people that as members of the community they had to take responsibility for their own safety. That is important.
The second opportunity I had to meet with Tony and his wife, Sonia, was about another important issue: disadvantaged children. By the way, Tony’s wife, Sonia, is a lovely woman and their children are wonderful. I am sure this is a sad time for Sonia and the family and on behalf of the House I pass on my condolences to them. Tony, Sonia and I talked about disadvantaged children in a particular school. They were concerned about ensuring that we had teachers’ aides for the students with disabilities. Tony did everything right. He was a model constituent; he is the kind of constituent a member wants when there is a problem. They ring the office and make an appointment. They write a letter explaining the problem; they are courteous. They wait for an agreeable time to meet and then they discuss the problem.
Tony wrote to me about the fact that some disadvantaged students in a local school were about to lose their teacher’s aide, who was sorely needed in that classroom. He thought that the students would not be able to learn without the teacher’s aide. So we wrote to the school and the department, and we were successful in retaining the teacher’s aide for those disadvantaged students. We did it all right and everyone was happy. In conclusion, Tony was a man of diplomacy and he did not muck around. He was much admired not only by the Wallsend community but also by the Hunter community, and it was well deserved. I am worried about Sonia; I hope she is okay. I imagine it is tough to have six children and to be without a dad. No-one wants to hear about that. I simply pass on my condolences, and I hope the family is okay. Tony will be sorely missed in the community.
Mr CRAIG BAUMANN (Port Stephens—Parliamentary Secretary) [10.32 a.m.], by leave: I add my humble contribution to the worthy tributes to Senior Constable Tony Tamplin. Words at a time like this are so often inadequate—there are only so many ways that we can describe someone who has left an indelible mark on our community and will be missed so very dearly by so many. The fact that my Hunter colleagues on both sides of the House are united today as one, speaking in unison on this motion, is a testament to the deep loss felt in all our communities. This is one thing that the eight of us agree on, and unfortunately we are united by grief.
As we speak, the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for the Hunter, the Hon. Michael Gallacher, is representing the Government, the Parliament and, more personally, the Hunter members—Liberal, Labor and Independent—at Tony’s funeral. The Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage, and member for Maitland, the Hon. Robyn Parker, is representing the Government outside Parliament this morning but I know her thoughts are with us as we speak and with Tony as he is laid to rest.
Along with the Newcastle Knights and the Jets, Tony Tamplin was another vital piece of fabric in the fascinating patchwork that makes up the Hunter. The community’s outpouring of sadness at Tony’s passing is evident in the stories still running in the media and the many social media sites being inundated with tributes. A true servant of the public for 35 years, Tony Tamplin has left his mark on our community. Tragically taken at what I consider a young age, his legacy has left our community with a fine example of the blue uniform—a worthy citizen who gave so much to so many.
Through his day-to-day work, Tony personally touched thousands of people. Through his work in the media, he touched countless more. So many people feel they knew Tony Tamplin personally—he was in our living rooms at night and on our radios in the car during the day, giving us the latest information. He was the always reliable, dependably soothing voice of the police, whether it be warning us about a new scam by criminals, delivering the bad news about a tragedy or appealing to the public for assistance in a missing person’s case. His dulcet tones were the balm we needed when there was a local crisis.
The well-known beard became familiar to us all, his soothing voice one we all came to trust when we heard it on the radio. He was a popular celebrant who married hundreds of Hunter couples; he was renowned for sharing in the couple’s joyous day as if it was the first ceremony he had ever officiated. He was a champion of charities, in particular the Variety Club and autism research. I heard the member for Charlestown mention Super Hubert. That is the second time Super Hubert has been mentioned in Hansard. But Tony Tamplin was so much more than the fundraiser, the popular celebrant or the jovial face of police in the Hunter. We must not forget that he was a much-loved husband and father, a cherished son and brother. The House extends its sincere sympathy to Tony’s wife, Sonia, and his family. I hope they are in some small way comforted by the incredible outpouring of grief by people they will likely never meet, such was the respect and admiration for Tony. Vale Tony Tamplin.
Mr DAVID ELLIOTT (Baulkham Hills) [10.36 a.m.], by leave: As most members from the Hunter Valley know, I try to write myself into the Hunter Valley script, given that my family has lived there since the 1860s. But that is not the reason I make this contribution. I knew Tony professionally, as did the member for Dubbo. It was 20 years ago, in 1993, that as a university graduate I decided to make an honest career in the NSW Police Force media unit. That is when I met Tony, who was the media liaison officer based in Newcastle. Tony was, as members have described him, larger than life. I remember as a 23-year-old working in the police media unit with those tough, seasoned coppers, particularly in the Hunter Valley. Tony was a reassuring figure who would be happy to put his arm around me and give me some sage advice, particularly when I was under the pump.
I was always in awe of how much the media in the Hunter Valley, and particularly Newcastle, respected Tony. I do not think there was an incident in Newcastle that Tony did not control. And if he was not in control of it, particularly so far as police operations were concerned and the broader emergency services portfolio, he used to hide it well. There were always unwritten rules in police media relationships—nods and winks and the like. I suspect that Tony perfected that early in his career because neither the police commanders nor the media ever seemed to give him a hard time. I am conscious of Tony’s charitable work. I am conscious that he had been in the job for 35 years, but the media embraced him as one of their own. When one works in public relations one knows that the greatest way to free oneself of spin or the accusation of spin is to be written into the script and to be seen as one of the media, and Tony certainly did that.
Whether it was floods and storm emergencies, or indeed serious crime, Tony put a human face to the NSW Police Force. At the time I started working with the NSW Police Force media unit my wife, Nicole, also started in the unit. Although we were young, single people, Tony, Nicole and I would often attend police events. Tony would tell me that it was a scandal that I was going out with the superintendent’s daughter, and not long after we got married Tony said it was a scandal I had married the superintendent’s daughter. Tony was that way inclined. He could talk to people from all levels of society. I conclude by touching on something the member for Wallsend said. If I know Tony well, I know that he would be horrified to think we would leave his wife and kids without support, love, prayers and indeed encouragement.
Tony was a father to so many people and now I think the people of the Hunter and the police family need to take a leaf out of his book and we need to be family to his children and to his wife. We sit here today depressed, sad and mourning over the fact that we have lost a great stalwart of the community and wondering who is going to pick up the slack. But there is a family now with six kids that has been left with an even bigger hole. So I join the member for Wallsend in making sure that Tony’s family is aware that this Parliament is conscious of the fact that they are in mourning and without a father. If there is anything we can do to encourage the police and the people of the Hunter Valley to support them we will do it. Vale Tony Tamplin.
Mr NATHAN REES (Toongabbie) [10.41 a.m.], by leave: Today I make a brief contribution regarding the passing of Tony Tamplin. Most of the material about the integrity, decency and courage of this gentleman has already been covered by the fine contributions of the previous speakers. I take this opportunity to extend my condolences to his wife, his extended family, his loved ones and friends, and also to the 16,000-plus men and women of the NSW Police Force, who are part of his broader family. I had a couple of dealings with Tony, first as Minister for Emergency Services when the Newcastle storms hit in June 2007 and again as Premier. Tony was not just a fine policeman; he was a fine Australian and, as the member for Baulkham Hills said, a man who was decent, upright, straight up and down, and who had the respect of the media—and that is no small feat.
Tony had the quality of being irresistibly likeable—and those of us who work in politics know how valuable that is. Many of us try every day to narrow the awful gap between Tony and us. He was a gentleman, a father figure to many, a mentor to hundreds and a man extraordinarily well regarded in his community. The fact that so many people in this place have paid tribute to Tony this morning and that his funeral today is so well attended demonstrates the impact that he has had on his community. Tony was a man who was larger than life and who had a positive impact on everything he went near. The community and the country were very lucky to have him. Vale Tony.
Mr TIM OWEN (Newcastle) [10.42 a.m.], in reply: I thank members representing the electorates of Lake Macquarie, Swansea, Cessnock, Charlestown, Wallsend, Port Stephens, Dubbo, Baulkham Hills and Toongabbie for their warm and heartfelt contributions to this motion. There is not too much more to say. The police Minister is at the funeral this morning and I know that he will pass on the warm regards of the Parliament to the family of Tony Tamplin. As members have said this morning, it is a sad day for the city and for the Hunter Valley region. It is, of course, an extremely sad day for Sonia and the family.
Tony will be remembered as a great police officer, a great community man, a great family man and a man of great charity. But as the member for Cessnock said, we should all celebrate a life of extraordinary colour and commitment. Tony was a man whom I knew very well. In fact, I was due to ride on the Variety Bash with him in a couple of weeks. I know that he will be sorely missed. It is a sad day but we should remember Tony with great joy and celebration, and be grateful that the community of New South Wales had the privilege of having him with us for the past 54 years. On behalf of all members I say: Rest in peace, Tony—an extraordinary life that will be well remembered.
Question—That the motion be agreed to—put and resolved in the affirmative.
Motion agreed to.
Members and officers of the House stood in their places as a mark of respect.
[alert_green]WILLIAM IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green ]
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Funeral location:
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The Capricornian ( Rockhampton, Qld ) Saturday 28 August 1915 page 31 of 52
The funeral of Constable James William Harris, who met his death as the result of an accident on the Scrubby Creek Bridge, took place yesterday afternoon. A large body of officers and men of the Rockhampton police force, as well as others from outside stations, assembled at the police barracks, and, in charge of Senior sergeant M J. Carmody, marched in royal blue uniforms and white helmets to the late residence of the deceased in Arnold street and afterwards followed his remains to the Rockhampton cemetery, three marching on either ride of the hearse and the others immediately in the rear. Among those present at the funeral were the Police Magistrate, Mr. H. L Archdall, and the Clerk of Petty Sessions, Mr. W. G. Moran. The Rev. Father T. Grogan officiated at the graveside.
Morning Bulletin ( Rockhampton, Qld ) Friday 3 September 1915 page 10 of 12
MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY.
A magisterial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Constable William James Harris, at the Rockhampton General Hospital on the night of the 24th of August last, as the result of an accident on the Scrubby Creek Bridge the same night, was held before the Police Magistrate, Mr. H. L. Archdall, yesterday.
Senior-sergeant M. J. Carmody, conducted the examination of witnesses.
Senior-sergeant Carmody deposed that he instructed the deceased on the morning of the 24th of August last to go to Kabra to make some official inquiries and expected his return that night unless something occurred to delay him. About eight o’clock, that night he was advised by telephone from Gracemere that the deceased had met with an accident on the Scrubby Creek Bridge and that the ambulance was taking him to the Hospital.
After stating his course of action immediately before the deceased’s death and subsequently, witness added that the horse ridden by the deceased was quiet. The deceased was twenty-eight years of age and had a wife and a child fifteen months old. He was an excellent horseman and a most reliable and trustworthy constable.
Robert McKim, labourer, living at Gracemere, deposed that when on horseback within 100 yards of Scrubby Creek Bridge, about seven o’clock on the night of the 24th of August last he saw a horseman on the bridge. The horse shied and bounded about 4 ft. into the air. Both horse and rider fell on the off side ( right side ). Witness hurried to the scene as quickly as possible, and as be got on to the bridge the horse came towards him. Having tied up both horses, witness went towards the man, and recognised him as a constable, as he was in police uniform. He could get no reply from the constable as to whether he was hurt. Through the slabs he could see a fire underneath the bridge at a man’s camp, though he did not see a man there until shortly afterwards. The horse was just about over the spot where the fire was when it bounded. Rain had fallen in the afternoon, and, in consequence, the bridge was slippery. If a horse with shoes on slipped on a board, it would fall very heavily. The reflection from the light, he thought, caused the horse to shy and bound. He was satisfied that the horse was only walking on to the bridge when the accident occurred. If the horse had been cantering witness would have heard it. Witness telephoned to the Ambulance Office from the Gracemere railway station, a mile from the bridge.
In reply to the Police Magistrate, witness said that he could not say whether the horse fell on the deceased or whether the deceased struck the slabs independently of the horse.
W. G. Daniel, Superintendentof the Ambulance Brigade, gave evidence to the effect that, when summoned, he went in the ambulance motor car to the Scrubby Creek Bridge, five miles distant from Rockhampton, and on the bridge saw Constable Harris, who was quite unconscious. There was a contused wound, with effusion of blood, on the forehead over the right eye. The deceased, who was in a serious condition, was conveyed in the car to the Hospital.
Alexander MacDonald, butcher, Gracemere, testified that he had known Constable Harris as a steady and reliable and a good horseman, and adding that, after inspecting the bridge with Constable Cullen on the following morning, he had formed the opinion that the horse bounded just after it got on to the bridge, jumped to get over the reflection of the fire, and then fell owing to the bridge being slippery from the rain. The horse was marked on the off shoulder.
The inquiry was then adjourned to a date to be fixed.
Morning Bulletin ( Rockhampton, Qld ) Thursday 9 September 1915 page 6 of 12
THE DEATH OF CONSTABLE HARRIS.
The inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Constable James William Harris, as the result of an accident on the Scrubby Creek Bridge, was continued before the Police Magistrate, Mr. H. L. Archdall, yesterday.
Senior sergeant M. J. Carmody conducted the examination of the witness, Constable Robert Lindsay Cullen, who, in the course of his evidence, stated that his examination showed that the deceased’s horse was going at a walking pace to the bridge and afterwards slipped about 9 ft. on the bridge when attempting to bound, and then skidded about 15 ft. before it started to scramble to get on its feet.
It appeared to him that the horse bounded over the reflection of the fire underneath the bridge.
Judging by marks, the horse fell on the off side ( right ).
The deceased was a good horseman and a very careful man with horses, while he was most sober and reliable.
The bridge was very slippery on the night of the accident, and it was a dangerous bridge at any time. The inquiry was further adjourned.
The WA Police Union has extended its deepest condolences to the family of an officer who died of a gunshot wound.
The union is supporting family and friends of the officer, who died after a firearms incident while he was on duty on Kalgoorlie’s outskirts on Friday evening.
“We will continue to work with WA Police to ensure the best possible outcome for all involved, given the circumstances.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the member’s family, friends and colleagues,” union president George Tilbury said in a statement on Saturday.
Investigators said earlier the incident was not being treated as suspicious.
* For support and information about suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78)
Today our hero from Western Australia police will be laid to rest.
Our condolences and thoughts go out to his family, friends and the thin blue line at this difficult time.
Thank you for your service and dedication sir. We will keep you and your family in our hearts, never forgotten.
Rest easy Detective Sergeant.
”As the sun surely sets,
dawn will see it arise.
For service above self,
demands it’s own prize.
You have fought the good fight,
life’s race has been run,
and peace, your reward,
for eternity begun.
And we that are left,
shall never forget,
rest in peace friend and colleague,
for sun has now set.
We will remember, We will remember ,
hasten the dawn.”
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BLANCHARD:
WA POLICE UNION Members are invited to attend the Funeral Service for our late serving member Scott Andrew Blanchard 9360 at Karrakatta Cemetery on THURSDAY (6.8.2015) at 2.30pm.
BLANCHARD (Scott):
Our hearts once beat together, my Scotty, but now mine beats alone. I know we’ll be together one day. Until then, I continue alone. My soul mate, my lover, my best friend and rock. Scotty, you meant the world to me and will be forever in my heart.
Love you babe, Jussy.
BLANCHARD (Scott):
Dad, we love you more than life itself and we will miss you every single day. Forever you’ll be in our hearts and we’ll see you in our dreams.
Jarrod, Ayden, Miranda
Published in The West Australian on July 28, 2015
41 entries | 20 photos
“Deepest sympathies to Rod, Susan, Dale, Lee and families on…”
A 50-year-old Derby man has survived a night at sea in crocodile infested waters after being washed off his boat and having to swim ashore.
Police say the man was sleeping alone on his boat about two nautical miles north of Point Torment.
Large waves washed him overboard and sank the boat before he could activate an EPIRB.
The next morning a fisherman spotted the empty dinghy and called police, sparking a land and sea search.
The missing man was spotted in mangroves, exhausted and dehydrated but able to cry out to authorities.
Acting Senior Sergeant Scott Blanchard says the man is lucky to get away unharmed.
“One of the police cars that was up there searching the land actually just saw a crocodile that was estimated to be about four metres in the blue holes,” he said.
“So my advice would be just not to go out on your own overnight and just always be checking your boats before you go away.
“On a boat make sure all your EPIRB gear and your life jackets are working correctly.
“Going out to those areas is not the best idea on your own, especially overnight.
“You know you’re talking about areas where the tides can range up to 11 metres, so one minute you’re on sand or in water and the next minute you’re off the water on a rock or something worse might happen like … what happened overnight.”
WA Police officer dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Cockburn station
Updated
WA Police are investigating the death of an officer at a police station in Perth’s southern suburbs.
Key points:
Officer apparently shot himself at Cockburn Police Station with his police-issue firearm
WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the force was in shock at the news
Death comes after state coroner calls for more support services
It is understood First Class Constable Darren Igglesden, 50, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Cockburn Police Station on Monday morning.
In a statement, WA Police said support services were being offered to other officers.
The station has been temporarily closed, and the public has been asked not to attend the station until further notice. They have instead been redirected to nearby Fremantle or Mandurah stations, both of which operate 24 hours a day.
‘Popular member of the force’
Police Commissioner Chris Dawson extended his condolences to the family of Constable Igglesden and colleagues at Cockburn Police Station.
“It appears Darren has drawn his service-issued pistol from the police armoury this morning (Monday), shortly after 6:00am,” he said.
“He was found deceased by colleagues within the Cockburn police building.
“Darren’s death has come as a complete shock to his family, to his friends, and indeed the entire police force.
“At this difficult time I extend my condolences to Darren’s family, his friends, his work colleagues and everyone who knew him.
“A coronial investigation is now underway and so we should let that full investigation be completed, but there does not appear to be any other persons present at the time Darren lost his life.”
Commissioner Dawson said Constable Igglesden was a popular member of the police force.
“Constable Igglesden has been with the WA Police Force for six-and-a-half years, he joined us at about 44 years of age, he has had a varied career in the private sector prior to joining police,” he said.
“Well liked, well respected, a very popular member of the police force.”
Coroner called for more police support
The tragedy comes nearly a month after WA Deputy Coroner Evelyn Vicker released her findings into the suicide of police officer Scott Blanchard, who shot himself while on duty at Kalgoorlie in July 2015.
Ms Vicker found that while Detective Sergeant Blanchard appeared to be coping well with his job as a police officer, he had become “obsessed” that health problems he had were undiagnosable and “consequently took matters into his own hands …”
The inquest into Sergeant Blanchard‘s death heard details of the WA Police Service’s Health and Safety Division, which provides services such as confidential psychological counselling, peer support programs and chaplaincy services to officers and their families, to try to help them manage stress or issues that may arise as a result of their employment.
“At this difficult time I extend my condolences to Darren’s family, his friends, his work colleagues and everyone who knew him.
“A coronial investigation is now underway and so we should let that full investigation be completed, but there does not appear to be any other persons present at the time Darren lost his life.”
Commissioner Dawson said Constable Igglesden was a popular member of the police force.
“Constable Igglesden has been with the WA Police Force for six-and-a-half years, he joined us at about 44 years of age, he has had a varied career in the private sector prior to joining police,” he said.
“Well liked, well respected, a very popular member of the police force.”
Coroner called for more police support
The tragedy comes nearly a month after WA Deputy Coroner Evelyn Vicker released her findings into the suicide of police officer Scott Blanchard, who shot himself while on duty at Kalgoorlie in July 2015.
Ms Vicker found that while Detective Sergeant Blanchard appeared to be coping well with his job as a police officer, he had become “obsessed” that health problems he had were undiagnosable and “consequently took matters into his own hands …”
The inquest into Sergeant Blanchard‘s death heard details of the WA Police Service’s Health and Safety Division, which provides services such as confidential psychological counselling, peer support programs and chaplaincy services to officers and their families, to try to help them manage stress or issues that may arise as a result of their employment.
Police Minister Michelle Roberts said she believed the culture within the organisation was changing.
“I think the police force has changed dramatically over the last 10 years or so, in terms of encouraging officers to come forward and to show some additional care for themselves and their fellow officers,” she said.
“It used to certainly be the case that the attitude was ‘toughen up’ and to show any emotional vulnerability was seen as some kind of weakness. That’s not the attitude that’s been taken by police in recent years.
“We have had some shocking and tragic incidents in recent times where officers have had to turn out to shocking scenes, and sometimes they go to road crashes where they see shocking scenes, so we need to know that they have got the support there.
“And I have certainly received assurances from the Commissioner of Police and others that we have got good supports in place. Sometimes, though, people need to avail themselves of that support.”
Valour Award & bar – VA for act performed in February 1999
Born: 20 November1961, Bridgetown, W.A.
Died on: 3 August 2000
Cause: Murdered – shot
Location: Stuart Hwy & Old Bynoe Rd, Livingstone, N.T.
Age: 37
Funeral date: Saturday 7 August 1999
Funeral location: St Mary’s Cathedral, Darwin
Buried at: Cremated. Ashes scattered at Daly River Crossing, N.T.
Memorial Service: Saturday 3 August 2019 ( 20th Anniversary ) 10.30am –
Glen Huitson Memorial, cnr Stuart Hwy & Old Bynoe Rd, Livingstone, N.T.
Brevet Sergeant Glen HUITSON
[alert_green]GLENIS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
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Brevet Sergeant Glen Huitson memorial, 3 August 2015
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????GLEN HUITSON MEMORIAL????
TWENTY YEAR REMEMBRANCE SERVICE
Saturday 3rd August 2019 will mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Brevet Sergeant Glen Huitson who was killed in the line of duty in 1999 whilst stationed at Adelaide River.
We will honour Glen with a gathering on Saturday 3rd August 2019 from 10.30am at the Glen Huitson Memorial, located at the corner of the Stuart Highway and Old Bynoe Road, Livingstone, N.T.
All current and former members are invited to join Glen’s family in remembering a husband, father, son, and workmate who was tragically taken from his family 20 years ago.
Glen HUITSON joined the Northern Territory in January 1987. He served in both Southern and Northern districts of the Northern Territory.
During his service in the Northern Territory Police, Glen Huitson received a Commendation from the Commissioner of Police on 17 March 1994 when he attended a disturbance at a Community near Alice Springs. He disarmed a drunken person who was armed with a knife star picket and was threatening another person with a billy of boiling water.
In February of 1999 in Litchfield Park, Glen Huitson disarmed an armed man who was threatening the driver and passengers of a bus. He received a Valour Award over this incident.
On 3 August 1999 Glen Huitson was on duty at a road block on the Stuart Highway, 60 kms south of Darwin, in bushland.
There were on watch for an armed offender who had already shot and wounded two other persons several kilometres away during the previous night.
The armed offender had managed to come through bush on one side of the road block where he opened fire with a .30/30 calibre rifle. He fired the first round into the back of a civilian then a second shot at Huitson which struck him and was fatal.
For this incident he received the Australian Bravery Medal and a bar to his Valour Medal.
This park was named in memory of the late Sgt. Glen Anthony Huitson BM, VA, Service No. 1520 on 3 August 2000.
Sgt. Huitson was the officer in charge of the Adelaide River Police Station. He died on 3rd August 1999 as a result of gun shot wounds received in the execution of his duties whilst manning a roadblock on the corner of the Stuart Highway and Old Bynoe Road.
Twice Decorated as a serving Police Officer, Glen Huitson lived his personal life with the same intensity, and was an integral part of community life in Adelaide River. His untimely death has left a gap in this community which will never be filled. Glen is survived by his Widow Lisa and children Joey & Ruby.
Citizens of the Coomalie Region joined with serving Members of the Northern Territory Police Force at this site on 3rd August 2001 to dedicate this memorial stone on the occasion of the second anniversary of Sgt. Huitson’s death.
We honour the life and the achievements of a remarkable citizen.
“On 3rd August 1999, at about 10:45 am, there was a shooting incident on the Stuart Highway at the corner of Old Bynoe Road in the Darwin rural district. In the course of the incident, two persons were shot dead. One, Glen Anthony Huitson, was a Sergeant of police on duty at the time he was killed.” (Coroner’s Findings)
Glen was performing duties on a roadblock with his partner in Livingstone at the Old Bynoe Road Turn off on the Stuart Highway, 55 Kilometres south of Darwin. They were stopping traffic entering the police cordon following a shooting incident the previous evening when the offender Rodney Ansell ambushed the roadblock shooting Huitson fataly and wounding a civilian in the back with his 30/30 rifle. For this incident he received the Australia Bravery Medal and a bar to his Valour Medal posthumously.
On the night of the 2nd of August 1999 Rodney William Ansell and Cherrie Ann Hewson went to a property on Kentish Road. Ansell fired 6 shots at a caravan occupied by Stephen Robertson and Lee-Anne Musgrave who were minding the property. A neighbour, David Hobden, drove his truck over to see what was happening and Ansell fired through the windscreen blinding him. He ran to his residence and another occupant, Brian Williams, ran over to stop Ansell who was trying to steal Hobden’s truck. Ansell shot Williams in the hand. He lost an index finger and shots were fired at his house. Ansell appeared to be yelling about child abduction which was a delusion that had manifested itself during his amphetamine addiction. He fled into scrubland with a 30/30 rifle and Hobden’s shotgun.
Police responded and set up a forward command post in the area. Roadblocks were set up on the Stuart Highway and other roads. Sergeant Glen Huitson and Senior Constable James O’Brien manned the roadblock on the corner of Old Bynoe Road and the Stuart Highway armed with their Glock Pistols a shotgun and a .308 rifle. It appears that during the night Ansell had escaped the cordon but for some reason chose to sneak up on the roadblock at Old Bynoe Road. Hewson had left the area.
At about 10.45 am on the 3rd of August 1999 the roadblock at Old Bynoe Road was still in place. A local man had approached the road block to talk to the police members and was leaning on the police vehicle when suddenly he was shot in the pelvis from behind a large water pipe in nearby scrub. Huitson used the shotgun from the police car and O’Brien returned fire with his Glock pistol. Huitson was hit by a 30/30 round and fell to the ground. O’Brien reloaded the shotgun and returned fire. He called on Ansell to put his weapons down but he called back “Your all dead”.
In response to the gun battle two Territory Response Group vehicles raced to the scene. Just prior to the roadblock the first vehicle swerved and braked and was struck by the second vehicle causing it to roll over. As police exited both vehicles and began to take up positions Ansell got up on one knee to position himself to fire at the arriving police members. This left him exposed to fire from O’Brien and the shotgun fire finally stopped him. As the Coroner, Mr Wallace, said “There is little doubt his (O’Brien’s) bravery prevented further loss of life”.
It was later determined that there were seven entry wounds on his body from return fire from Huitson and O’Brien and numerous grazes. His covered position behind the water pipe and a small tree had protected Ansell from more serious injury until he was forced to change position.
Background – Glen Huitson
Glen Huitson joined the Northern Territory Police in January 1987, served in both Southern and Northern districts and was stationed at Adelaide River Police Station.
He received a Commendation from the Commissioner of Police on 17 March 1944 when he attended a disturbance at a Community near Alice Springs. He disarmed a drunken person who was armed with a knife star picket and was threatening another person with a billy of boiling water.
In February of 1999 in Litchfield Park Glen Huitson disarmed an armed man who was threatening the driver and passengers of a bus. He received a Valour Award over this incident.
Glen was survived by his wife Lisa and young children Joseph (2) and Ruby (6 months).
Roadside memorial alongside Stuart Highway where Sgt Huitson was killed
Huitson was honoured with a full police funeral in Darwin. About 30 officers formed a guard of honour while six others carried Huitson’s coffin.
Huitsons widow Lisa receiving her husband’s police cap and National Medal Award from the police commissioner
Constable 1st Class Glen Huitson
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HUITSON, Glen
This page only contains a eulogy. If you have material that can be added contact the webmaster.
FUNERAL SERVICE FOR SERGEANT GLEN ANTHONY HUITSON
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY SATURDAY 7 AUGUST 1999EULOGY GIVEN BY COMMISSIONER BRIAN BATESSERGEANT GLEN HUITSON WAS A DEVOTED AND LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER OF LISA, JOSEPH AND RUBY. I CAN ONLY CONVEY THE HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES AND SYMPATHY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY POLICE FORCE AND INDEED THE COMMUNITY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY TO GLEN’S WIFE, CHILDREN AND BOTH THEIR FAMILIES. WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP THEM, NOT ONLY THROUGH THIS TIME BUT IN THE TIME TO COME.IN HIS LETTER OF APPLICATION TO JOIN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY POLICE FORCE, SERGEANT GLEN HUITSON SAID, AND I QUOTE:“I WAS BORN ON 20 NOVEMBER 1961 IN BRIDGETOWN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, THE OLDEST SON IN A FAMILY OF THREE. MY PARENTS OWNED AND OPERATED A SMALL TIN MINE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF GREENBUSHES WHERE I LIVED FOR 12 YEARS. GREEN BUSHES WAS A GREAT ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH TO GROW UP AS A CHILD, BEING A SMALL TOWN SURROUNDED BY BUSH. WE SPENT MANY HOURS EXPLORING AND DISCOVERING NATURE.LOOKING BACK ON MY CHILDHOOD I AM GRATEFUL TO MY PARENTS FOR THE STRICT BUT FAIR METHOD OF INSTILLING IN ME A SET OF MORAL STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES IN KEEPING WITH COMMUNITY IDEALS. THIS GUIDANCE WAS TO BENEFIT ME LATER IN LIFE.”
GLEN GOES ON TO TALK ABOUT HIS GROWING UP YEARS AND HIS EARLY EMPLOYMENT, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE FAMILY MOVED IN 1978 TO BUSSLETON WHERE HE WAS INVOLVED IN THE LOCAL FOOTBALL CLUB AS A PLAYER AND AN ADMINISTRATOR, AS A COACH AND UMPIRE AND FOR THREE YEARS AS A FIREMAN IN THE VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE AND WITH THE LOCAL ROSTRUM CLUB. TOWARDS THE END OF THIS LETTER OF APPLICATION GLEN SAYS, AND I AGAIN QUOTE:
“APPROXIMATELY FIVE YEARS AGO I DECIDED THAT IF AT THE AGE OF 25 I WAS STILL DISAPPOINTED WITH THE WAY MY CAREER WAS HEADING, THIS WOULD BE THE TIME TO MAKE A START IN A POSITION IN LIFE THAT I WOULD ENJOY. THE MOST HONEST WAY I FOUND TO FIND A CAREER I WANTED WAS TO SIT DOWN WITH A PEN AND PAPER AND WRITE DOWN JOBS IN WHICH I WOULD WORK FOR NO FINANCIAL REWARD. MY LIST CONTAINED THE FOLLOWING: FISHERIES INSPECTOR, CUSTOMS OFFICER, AMBULANCE OFFICER, WELFARE WORKER AND A POLICE OFFICER.
SINCE WRITING DOWN THAT LIST I HAVE WORKED TOWARDS EQUIPPING MYSELF FOR ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS. THIS HAS INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING: BEING A FIREMAN WITH OUR LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE, ACHIEVING A FIRST AID CERTIFICATE WITH A ST JOHN AMBULANCE BRIGADE, INVOLVING MYSELF HEAVILY IN COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, MAINLY THROUGH SPORT, AND INVOLVING MYSELF IN PUBLIC SPEAKING. AFTER READING ABOUT THE POSITION OF POLICE OFFICER FOR THE NORTHERN TERRITORY I DECIDED THAT THIS WOULD INDEED OFFER ME THE CAREER I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR. AS A POLICE OFFICER IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY I WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION IN MAKING THE NORTHERN TERRITORY A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE IN, THEREBY ACHIEVING MY GOAL OF JOB SATISFACTION.”
ALL OF US WITHIN THE POLICE FORCE AND INDEED THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES, ARE EXTREMELY SHOCKED BY THE DEATH OF SERGEANT GLEN HUITSON. HIS LOSS IS A TRAGEDY FOR THE POLICE SERVICE AND THERE ARE SIMPLY NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THAT SENSE OF LOSS, THE WASTE AND THE TRAGEDY THAT THE WHOLE POLICE FAMILY FEELS TODAY.
I WOULD ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PRESENCE HERE TODAY OF SERVING POLICE OFFICERS FROM ALL STATES AND TERRITORIES OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.
IT IS TRITE TO SAY THAT ALL POLICE FAMILIES KNOW THE DANGERS OF POLICE WORK, BUT NOTHING CAN EVER PREPARE US FOR SOMETHING LIKE GLEN’S DEATH.
NO POLICE FORCE COULD BE MORE PROUD THAN TO HAVE IN ITS RANKS AN OFFICER OF THE CALIBRE OF GLEN HUITSON. HE TOUCHED AND AFFECTED SO MANY PEOPLE’S LIVES, NOT ONLY WITHIN THE POLICE FORCE BUT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY THAT HE SWORE TO SERVE AND PROTECT.
AND HE DID MORE THAN THAT – BECAUSE ON NO LESS THAN THREE OCCASIONS, THE THIRD TRAGICALLY RESULTING IN HIS DEATH, HE WAS CONFRONTED WITH LIFE-THREATENING SITUATIONS.
GLEN RECEIVED MY COMMENDATION FOR AN INCIDENT ON 17 MARCH 1994 WHEN HE ATTENDED A DISTURBANCE AT A COMMUNITY NEAR ALICE SPRINGS.
HE DISARMED A DRUNKEN PERSON WHO WAS ARMED WITH A KNIFE, STEEL BAR, NULLA NULLA AND A STAR PICKET. THE PERSON WAS THREATENING ANOTHER COMMUNITY MEMBER WITH A BILLY OF BOILING WATER. WITHOUT REGARD FOR HIS OWN SAFETY SERGEANT HUITSON PREVENTED THIS PERSON THROWING THE BOILING WATER BUT IN FACT WAS STRUCK AND COVERED IN BOILING WATER HIMSELF OVER HIS UPPER BACK, RIGHT UPPER ARM AND LEFT FOREARM. HIS QUICK ACTIONS ALLOWED OTHER POLICE OFFICERS TO RESTRAIN THE OFFENDER AND REMOVE HIM AS A THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY. THE BURNS GLEN RECEIVED CAUSED HIM CONSIDERABLE PAIN AND SUFFERING AND HE REQUIRED HOSPITAL TREATMENT.
AND THEN THERE WAS THE INCIDENT IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR WHEN SERGEANT HUITSON DISARMED AN ARMED MAN WHO HAD JUMPED ON THE BULLBAR OF A TOURIST BUS IN LITCHFIELD PARK.
THE MAN WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS AND ARMED WITH A LOADED .22 RIFLE AND WAS THREATENING THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS OF THE BUS ON BATCHELOR ROAD.
GLEN KNEW THAT HELP WAS ABOUT 15 MINUTES AWAY AND WAS DEEPLY CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE DRIVER, PASSENGERS AND PASSING MOTORISTS. HE SINGLE-HANDEDLY ATTEMPTED TO DIRECT TRAFFIC, ENGAGE THE MAN IN CONVERSATION AND KEEP POLICE COMMUNICATIONS ADVISED OF THE SITUATION. HE THEN APPROACHED THE MAN TO DISTRACT HIS ATTENTION FROM THE BUS AND PASSENGERS, PLACING HIMSELF AT CONSIDERABLE RISK.
GLEN ENGAGED THE MAN IN CONVERSATION FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND EVENTUALLY CONVINCED HIM TO PLACE THE FIREARM ON THE BULLBAR OF THE BUS AND WALK A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY WHERE GLEN TACKLED HIM TO THE GROUND AND WAS THEN HELPED BY OTHER POLICE WHO HAD JUST ARRIVED. THIS WAS WITHOUT DOUBT AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF PERSONAL COURAGE, AND SERGEANT HUITSON WAS IN FACT DUE TO RECEIVE A VALOUR AWARD OVER THAT INCIDENT.
IN SERGEANT GLEN HUITSON THE NORTHERN TERRITORY POLICE HAD A TRUE BUSH COPPER AND AN IDEAL ROLE MODEL FOR OTHER POLICE.
HE WAS A TOTAL PROFESSIONAL WHO GOT ALONG WITH COLLEAGUES AND THE PUBLIC ALIKE AND WAS EXTREMELY POPULAR WITH ABORIGINAL PEOPLE HE WORKED WITH, IN THE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE TERRITORY. WHAT A TREMENDOUS LOSS HE IS, NOT ONLY TO THIS POLICE FORCE BUT TO THE TERRITORY.
IN CLOSING THERE IS PERHAPS NO BETTER WAY TO TALK ABOUT THIS OUTSTANDING AND COMPASSIONATE POLICE OFFICER THAN BY TELLING YOU ABOUT A REPORT HE RECENTLY SUBMITTED, AND I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT I SHARE THIS WITH YOU ALL.
GLEN HAD RESEARCHED THE HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY POLICE SERVICE AND HE FOUND MANY EXAMPLES OF UNRECOGNISED SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY BY FORMER MEMBERS, AND PARTICULARLY POLICE TRACKERS. HE SAID IN HIS MEMO THAT THIS UNRECOGNISED WORK WAS, AT THE TIME, NO DOUBT CONSIDERED TO BE JUST PART OF THE JOB, AND UNLESS YOU HAPPENED TO DIE ON DUTY OR REACHED A HIGH RANK, VERY LITTLE WAS DONE TO PRESERVE THE MEMORY OF THOSE MANY FORMER MEMBERS.
GLEN APPRECIATED THE SERENITY AND BEAUTY OF THE ADELAIDE RIVER WAR CEMETERY WHERE HE ALSO NOTICED SEVERAL PLAQUES DEDICATED TO MILITARY MEMBERS. HE HAD SEVERAL IDEAS TO HONOUR THE MEMORY OF POLICE MEMBERS, INCLUDING PLANTING TREES WITH PLAQUES DEDICATED TO MEMBERS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MEMORIAL AVENUE IN OUR POLICE COMPLEX, THE PETER McAULAY CENTRE. HE SUGGESTED NEW PLAQUES COULD BE DEDICATED ANNUALLY ON A SIGNIFICANT DAY, FOR EXAMPLE, POLICE REMEMBRANCE DAY. THERE TOO, HE EMPHASISED THE WHOLE COMMUNITY SHOULD BE INVITED AND INVOLVED.
IT IS MY INTENTION TO HONOUR GLEN’S SUGGESTIONS IN THAT REPORT, AND ALSO PAY TRIBUTE TO HIM, IN A WAY I FEEL SURE HE AND YOU WOULD APPROVE OF.
FINALLY, IN THE WORDS OF THE 13TH CHAPTER OF CORINTHIANS:
“THERE REMAINS THEN, FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, THESE THREE; BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE.”
ABC News: Aboriginal communities to send reps to police officer’s funeral
Trudy and Rod BrayFri, 6 Aug 1999 00:26:27 -0700
Fri, 6 Aug 1999 11:41 AEST
Aboriginal communities to send reps to police officer's
funeral.
The Gurindji Aboriginal people, from two communities south-west of Darwin, are sending
representatives to the funeral of a Northern Territory police officer.
Sergeant Glen Huitson was killed by Rodney William Ansell on Tuesday.
The sergeant's partner, Constable Jamie O'Brien, returned the fire, killing Ansell.
A Gurindji representative, Roslyn Frith, says the sergeant was given the skin name, Japalyi,
because of the community's respect and love for him.
She says he will be missed greatly.
"To the community he wasn't just a policeman, he was just another person who belonged to
the community," Ms Frith said.
"He got involved - like if there were ceremonies he'd go down and make sure everything was
alright.
"With the younger generation, he took them out. Like he was with the emergency services out
here, he went out fishing and hunting with them," she said.
� 1999 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
https://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2@paradigm4.com.au/msg01295.html
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NT: Aborigines planning funeral for Ansell in Arnhem Land
AAP General News (Australia) 08-09-1999
NT: Aborigines planning funeral for Ansell in Arnhem Land
By Catharine Munro
DARWIN, Aug 9 AAP – Rod Ansell, the original Crocodile Dundee who shot dead a policeman last week, is expected be given an Aboriginal funeral in Arnhem Land.
Ansell, 44, was killed in a shootout with police after fatally wounding Sergeant Glen Huitson, 37, about 50km south of Darwin last Tuesday.
The violent deaths followed a 12-hour search for Ansell, who had shot at two houses in the area the previous night.
His motives remain a mystery and the case is being investigated by the coroner.
The events shocked Darwin, where Ansell was known as a buffalo hunter and a bushman who had been living on an Aboriginal-owned property in Arnhem Land, about 600km south-east of Darwin.
Ansell’s two sons, Shaun and Callum, are believed to have requested that an Aboriginal community at Mt Catt, near Bulman in central Arnhem Land, allow a funeral to be held on their grounds.
“The two boys said they want to have the funeral at Mt Catt,” said Lorna Martin, who works at the clinic at Bulman.
Ansell spent some time in the area in the 1980s as a buffalo catcher and continued to make frequent visits.
The service will interrupt an important ceremony being held at Mt Catt but arrangements were being made for the proceedings to be halted for one day for the funeral on Thursday, Mrs Martin said.
“Everybody said it’s okay,” she said.
Ansell’s parents, George and Eva, both in their 70s, are understood to have journeyed to the Northern Territory from their home in Murgon, 260km north-west of Brisbane, to say goodbye to their son.
Meanwhile, the widow of the slain policeman, Lisa, said she had just returned from Daly River Crossing, where she had scattered her husband’s ashes.
Mrs Huitson told reporters she had spent three happy years there with Sgt Huitson and they had taken their son, Joseph, two and Ruby, six months, back there to be baptised.
“It was just a special place for us,” Mrs Huitson said.
Sgt Huitson‘s brother Bevan, sister Julie and parents Carole and John attended a press conference to thank the police and the people of the NT for their support.
Rod Ansell – The inspiration behind Crocodile Dundee
The day the real Crocodile Dundee Rod Ansell was shot dead
ELLIE TURNER
Herald Sun
January 05, 201412:00AM
Rod Ansell in the Outback in 1987.
ROD Ansell’s amazing story of Outback survival is one many Australians know – although they’ve probably never heard of his name.
As strong as an ox and as brave as a lion, the blond haired, barefoot bushman survived for more than seven weeks on a small island at the mouth of a crocodile-infested river in the remote Northern Territory, sleeping up a tree with a brown snake at night to avoid the salties lurking below.
His story was the inspiration for the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee. But the film only tells part of the story of Ansell’s wild life.
More than a decade after his tale of survival brought fame and fortune to actor Paul Hogan, the real Crocodile Dundee was shot dead by police after a drug-crazed rampage that saw a police officer killed and three other men wounded.
***
STRONG men in uniform broke down on the side of the Stuart Highway the day Territory police officer Glen Huitson was shot dead in a gun battle with Rod Ansell.
It was like a scene from a cops and robbers movie.
But nobody won.
Sergeant Huitson was gunned down at a roadblock in bushland 60km south of Darwin by Ansell, who had been on the run from police.
Ansell was shot in the chest as Senior Constable James O’Brien returned fire.
“The only verbal communication I had with the gunman was when I was reloading the shotgun for the first time,” the surviving officer, who has never spoken openly about the ordeal, said in a statement almost 15 years ago.
“I called out to him to put his weapons down. He called back, ‘You’re all dead‘.”
Ansell was deranged and wired on speed, more than 20 years after he emerged from the wild, a handsome young hunter armed only with a knife, a gun and a story to tell, his boat having capsized on the remote Victoria River.
His crazed life came to an end on August 3, 1999, but not before he had gunned down a police officer, leaving two young children to grow up without a father.
Northern Territory police say they lost “an all-round good bloke” that day.
Sgt Huitson’s family was robbed of much more.
In 1994, Sgt Huitson had been commended for bravery after arresting a knife-wielding drunk man – who was also armed with a star picket and a billy of boiling water in a bid to harm another person – at a community near Alice Springs.
He received a Valour Award after he talked delusional man Wayne Costan – who had tried to hijack a tourist coach with a sawn-off .22 rifle – into dropping the weapon, before tackling him to the ground at Litchfield Park in February 1999.
Six months later Sgt Huitson was killed, aged 37.
His then-infant daughter, Ruby, and five-year-old son, Joseph, grew up without their dad.
His widow, Lisa, took home her husband’s posthumous Australia Bravery Medal and a broken heart.
Former NT Police assistant commissioner John Daulby was among those who raced out to the double killing.
“Everyone was stunned,” he said. “It was just a tragedy.”
Darwin police officer Glen Huitson was one of two policemen shot by gunman Rod Ansell.
“The grief at the scene is something that sticks with me – grown men in tears.”
Ansell had wounded two men on a shooting spree in Darwin and fled into the bush, raving mad, on the night of August 2, 1999.
He was convinced members of the Freemasons had kidnapped his sons – Callum, then aged 20, and Shawn, 18.
His girlfriend, Cherie Ann Hewson, had told him that as a child she had witnessed the sacrifice of young girls that her family – members of the secret medieval fraternity – “brought out of the woods”. They were bound, raped and slaughtered, she said.
The shared paranoia came to a head when Ms Hewson claimed she spotted three bow hunters, dressed in camouflage with night vision goggles, near their bush camp.
NT Coroner Dick Wallace would later say the “wretched drivel” was at the root of Ansell‘s madness, after the couple visited mates Steven Robinson and his partner, Lee-Anne Musgrave, on a property at Noonamah, about 50km south of Darwin.
Ansell fired six shots at their caravan on Kentish Rd.
Resident David Hobden jumped in his truck, armed with his double-barrel shotty, and went to investigate the shootings. He lost an eye when Ansell put a bullet through the windscreen of his truck.
He ran to alert his neighbour, Brian Williams, who “waxed wrath” at the state of his mate’s face and grabbed a baseball bat.
He charged at Ansell, who was trying to steal Mr Hobden’s truck.
“I smacked him straight down the forehead, and that’s when he blew my hand off,” Mr Williams told police.
“He was going on about stealing his children, and Freemasons, and being a baby killer … oh, just, he was mad, mate.”
Ansell fired shots at the Williams‘ house.
Then he ran away, his rifle in one hand and Mr Hobden‘s shotgun in the other.
Ms Hewson disappeared before the police shootout. Some feared she had committed suicide.
About 11pm, Territory Response Group sent two troop carriers with six cops in each to set up a command post. They manned the north roadblock.
Adelaide River police station boss Sgt Huitson and his second-in-charge, Sen-Const O’Brien, guarded the south cordon – at the corner of Old Bynoe Rd – with a pistol each, a 12-gauge shotgun and standard police issue .308 rifle.
About 10.30am the next day, a removals worker named Jonathan Anthonysz was leaning on the cop car, chatting to the officers when a bullet blew a hole “the size of a baseball” in his pelvis.
He was flung forward, screaming, on to the ground.
Mr Anthonysz’s colleague – David Hobden‘s brother, Anthony – dragged him out of view as Snr-Const. O’Brien covered them.
The shots were coming from light scrub behind a roadside water pipe.
The cunning fugitive had sneaked through the bush and was hidden by dappled tree shadows.
In his statement, Snr-Const O’Brien said: “I heard Glen shout out, ‘Get on the ground’.
I swung round to look over the boot of the car with my Glock drawn …
“I saw my shots hit the ground close to where (Ansell) was,” he said.
Sgt Huitson called TRG for help and grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun.
He fired a shot through the windows of the police car and two shots over the roof.
But a bullet from Ansell‘s .30-30 lever-action rifle ricocheted off the top of the metal door and struck him in the abdomen.
His bulletproof vest hadn’t been properly fastened. The bullet tore through a velcro strap that should have been covered by a Kevlar panel.
Sgt Huitson fell, landing on top of the shotgun.
Snr-Const O’Brien, who wasn’t wearing a vest, dodged a bullet and rolled his bleeding colleague off the shotgun, reloaded it and returned fire.
“I realised unless TRG arrived I could run out of ammunition, in which case I would have to retreat with the others,” he said.
“I loaded two more rounds, looked up and saw the gunman wriggling forward.
“I heard a sound like a match being struck just past the right side of my head.”
Then the TRG troop carriers came hurtling down the highway.
The first driver hit the brakes and swerved as he heard gun fire – the 4WD rolled when the second car crashed into it, unable to stop in time.
Ansell got up on one knee and began lining up the cops, who were crawling out of the vehicle.
Snr-Const O’Brien got a clear shot.
The autopsy showed 33 bullet wounds and grazes to Ansell‘s body.
Two were fatal. One shot had ripped through his aorta.
He fell face down in the dirt.
Sgt Huitson was declared dead after being rushed to Royal Darwin Hospital.
Snr-Const O’Brien was scrutinised and cleared of any wrongdoing after a rigorous police investigation.
His actions were praised as “simply outstanding” when Magistrate Wallace handed down his coronial findings in September 2000.
“If he felt any fear, it seems to have been submerged by his concern for his wounded colleague and others,” he said. “There can be little doubt his bravery prevented further loss of life.”
Ms Hewson handed herself in to Queensland police four days later.
Evidence that Ansell clung to the back of a road train and escaped the roadblocks fuelled a question that would never be answered – why would a skilled bushman give up his ticket to freedom and return to gun down police when he could have slipped away?
IT was no secret the 44-year-old buffalo hunter and grazier was bitter.
Writer Robert Milliken, who spent time with Ansell while working on projects in the NT, said Ansell never saw a penny for the myth surrounding his tangled life, despite being the inspiration for the main character in Crocodile Dundee, which propelled actor Paul Hogan to fame in 1986.
Ansell blamed his troubles on a Federal Government program to wipe out wild buffalo, his livelihood, to eradicate tuberculosis from the cattle industry. He had told reporters he was living on unemployment benefits and “bush tucker”.
Magistrate Wallace heard Ansell believed police and the government were against him.
He had moved to the Territory aged 15 from the small town of Murgon, 270km north of Brisbane, in country Queensland.
The ordeal that brought him fame happened when he took a fishing trip in a motorboat on the Victoria River in May 1977.
When the boat sank, he jumped in a dinghy and salvaged his two eight-week-old bull terriers, a rifle, a knife, some canned food and bedding. The tinny drifted out to sea, washing up on a small island at the mouth of the Fitzmaurice River.
He slept in the fork of a tree, out of reach of crocodiles, at night, but shared the branches with a brown tree snake.
Ansell never counted on being rescued. He roamed for seven weeks before stumbling on two Aboriginal stockmen and their boss.
But he kept the adventure under his hat – fearing his recklessness would upset his mother – until media got hold of the yarn.
Dubbed the “modern day Robinson Crusoe”, Ansell said: “I think if you come through in one piece, then nothing else really matters.
“It’s like going out to shoot a kangaroo.
“You don’t come back and say you missed by half an inch – you either got him or you didn’t.”
Mr Milliken described Ansell as “strikingly handsome with blond hair, blue eyes and bare feet” when he met him in 1988. It was the year Ansell was named Territorian of the Year for his role in putting the Top End on the map.
At the time, he lived with his wife, Joanne van Os, and their two small sons on their buffalo farm at Melaleuca, between Darwin and Kakadu.
“He was charming,” Mr Milliken said.
“He seems never to have worn shoes, even when travelling on aircraft and staying in city hotels at the height of his fame.
“The press went mad over his story and no one seemed to mind if the details grew ever more incredible.
“A hero had been born.”
He said Ansell once told British TV personality Michael Parkinson he preferred to sleep on the floor of his five-star Sydney hotel in his swag rather than in the kingsize bed.
Ansell’s Parkinson interview sparked the interest of Hogan and led to the creation of Mick “Crocodile” Dundee.
But the fame took its toll on Ansell’s personal life. His marriage disintegrated.
In 1992, he was convicted of cattle rustling and assaulting the owner of a cattle station in Arnhem Land.
Police raided Melaleuca. He eventually lost the property.
For more than a year before his death, Ansell had been living with Ms Hewson, a former tour guide, on a billabong at the Aboriginal outstation Urapunga, on the Roper River, about 480km south of Darwin.
He was initiated as a white member of local Aboriginal clan and got on well with the Ngukkur community. But the spiral into a drug-induced psychosis continued as Ansell smoked cannabis and injected amphetamineswith vengeance.
“I didn’t know Ansell really well, but I’d met him a few times,” long-time Territorian and former reporter Chips Mackinolty said.
“He was tough as nails, the sort of person that could do what he said he did, and did do it when he was working as a stockman, as a wrangler and that stuff.
“He was an extraordinary person at that level, but it ended up in tears.”
Mr Mackinolty was heading to Katherine and had been allowed through the roadblock earlier on the day the killing happened.
“It was one of those ‘goose steps on your own grave’ sort of feelings – you were very close to what ended up being a very awful thing.
“It’s always sad when the threat of poverty and frustrated ambition get mixed up and send people off the edge, big time,” Mr Mackinolty said.
“I was completely shocked, as were a lot of people who knew him in the earlier years.”
In his coronial ruling, Magistrate Wallace said the contrast between the “original Crocodile Dundee who appeared on television” and the emaciated drug addict – who weighed just 53kg when he opened fire on police – could hardly be more marked.
“His drug abuse rendered his mind so addled he believed fantasies that a child would dismiss with contempt,” he said.
“His pointless and destructive actions caused immediate agony and suffering to the men he wounded.”
The infamous rampage means Ansell is remembered in Darwin not as a knockabout bushman, but as the man who murdered a heroic cop.
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Sergeant Glen Huitson
Posted on
Along the side of the Stuart Highway, heading to Batchelor and points south, there’s a turnoff at Old Bynoe Road. On this corner there’s a simple cross like far too many you see on Australian roads. This one is the same in that it marks the point where a loved one lost his or her life. The ever-present, neatly-arrayed booze bottles testify to the fact that his friends have not forgotten him.
However this site is also different. It doesn’t mark a road fatality, but rather the death of a police officer on duty, Sergeant Glen Anthony Huitson, killed protecting the community from a man who had gone on an overnight shooting spree. The further tragedy is that this death, left a young widow and two little children who will never know their father: the risks that police face daily in doing their duty.
The Policeman from the bush
By all accounts Glen Huitson was a quietly impressive young man and an excellent policeman who was soon to receive the Police Valour medal, given posthumously to his wife, Lisa. Huitson had worked out bush and was well respected by the communities he’d worked in. Stationed at Adelaide River at the time of the shooting, Huitson is also remembered by a memorial there.
Across the new railway track on the Old Bynoe Road, there’s a different kind of memorial from the simple cross with beer bottles. It’s the official memorial in Glen Huitson Park. It has an impressively large stone brought from a distance and plaques to honour the man and the police officer.
Roadside memorial stone
I recognise that another family lost a person they’d loved that day. No doubt as they pass Huitson’s memorial they think of their own loved one. However for me this is about the loss of a man doing his duty. As you go about your routines today, please remember all those police officers who daily risk their lives to protect us.
I leave you with Glen Huitson’s eulogy, testifying to his concern for others and his true community spirit. Rest in Peace, Sergeant Glen Huitson, you did your duty well.
On the Darwin Esplanade, near the Cenotaph, there’s is a memorial to all Northern Territory Police and Emergency Services workers who gave their lives in service to the community.
4 thoughts on “Sergeant Glen Huitson”
What a wonderful tribute …thank you for bringing us this introduction to a man without whom the world is a poorer place.
Thanks Chris. It happened a couple of years after we got here and was a great tragedy. I really feel for his family and the loss of a good man.
I stumbled across this post today… For some reason Glen came to my mind, and I did a search. Maybe this all came about as I saw a photo of his gorgeous sister and his 2 beautiful children.
Glen was a friend and I know his family well. He was a great man and it was an extremely sad day the day he left this life.
hi Vicki, sorry I hadn’t realised I’d omitted to reply. Thanks for sharing…it was indeed a tragic day for all concerned…we have a connection through the other officer that day though we didn’t know him at the time.
IT was 15 years on Sunday since one of NT Police’s darkest days.
On August 3, 1999 Brevet Sergeant Glen Anthony Huitson was manning a roadblock on the Stuart Highway at Livingstone when he was shot and killed by “Crocodile Dundee” Rod Ansell.
Ansell was then hit with fatal return fire by Sgt Huitson’s partner, Senior Constable Jamie O’Brien.
He was the first policeman to be murdered on duty in the Territory for 47 years, and to this date he remains the last.
Sgt Huitson’s wife Lisa said the anniversary was always emotional.
“But he’s always with us and it’s good to see his colleagues and friends return,” she said.
“It’s nice to come back.”
The couple’s children Joe and Ruby were just 2 and 10 months old when their father was killed.
Police Commissioner John McRoberts said the memorial was a sobering reminder of the dangers of policing.
“It’s really good to pay our respects to a man who died doing what he loved and wanted to do – which was serve and protect,” he said.
Sgt Huitson joined the NT Police in January 1987. He served in both Southern and Northern districts.
During his service, he received a Commendation from the Commissioner of Police in March 1994 when he attended a disturbance at a community near Alice Springs. He disarmed a drunk armed with a knife and star picket, and was threatening another person with a billy of boiling water.
Then in February of 1999 in Litchfield Park, he disarmed an armed man who was threatening the driver and passengers of a bus. He received a Valour Award over this incident.
For the incident which cost him his life, he was awarded the Australia Bravery Medal, and a bar to his Valour Medal.
Joined NSW Police Force via NSW Police Cadet system on 2 February 1976
Cadet # 3222
Redfern Police Academy Class 157
Regd. # 17765
Uniform # 1822
Rank: NSW Police Cadet – commence 2 February 1976
Probationary Constable – appointed 5 December 1977
Constable – appointed 4 December 1978
Senior Sergeant – Death
Stations: ?, The Rock – O.I.C., School of Traffic and Mobile Policing ( S.T.A.M.P. ), Police Academy, Goulburn
Service: From 2 February 1976 to 8 June 1995 = 19+ years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 16 September 1993
Born: Thursday 4 December1958
Died on: Thursday 8 June 1995
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – Police cycle – Rider
Location: Picton Rd near Almond St, Picton
Age: 36
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: NSW Police Academy, Goulburn
Buried at: Bega Cemetery, Princes Hwy ( South )
General Section 6, Row E, Lot 11
Wayne Raymond GEORGE
Hanging at the Police Driver Training School, Goulburn.
Wayne Raymond GEORGE – Grave
Wayne Raymond GEORGE – Grave
Wayne Raymond GEORGE – Grave
Wayne Raymond GEORGE memorial plaque at NSW Police Driver Training ( S.T.AM.P. ), Goulburn
WAYNE IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Funeral location: ?
On 8 June, 1995 Senior Sergeant George was riding a police solo motor cycle from Goulburn to Sydney to attend a meeting. Whilst he was riding along Picton Road, near Almond Street, Picton his cycle was struck by a motor vehicle. The sergeant was thrown to the roadway where he was run over by a number of passing vehicles including a semi-trailer. He died as a result of injuries received.
The senior sergeant was born in 1958 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a cadet in February, 1976. He was sworn in on 5 December, 1977. At the time of his death he was attached to the School of Traffic and Mobile Policing, Police Academy, Goulburn.
Have searched Trove and Google without success for the articles in relation to this man.
Bernard Louis CAMPBELL
| 13/08/2015
Bernard Louis CAMPBELL
aka ‘ Bernie ‘
NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 137
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 16091
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 17 December 1973
Constable 1st Class – appointed 17 December 1978
Final Rank: Constable 1st Class
Stations: ?, Central ( 1975/76 ) 1 Division, Collaroy – Death
Service: From? ? pre Dec 1973? to 22 July 1981 = 7+ years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: Sunday 17 January 1954
Died on: Wednesday 22 July 1981
Cause: Suicide – Service revolver
Event Location: at Collaroy Police Station
Age: 27 yrs 6 mths 5 days
Funeral date: Friday 24 July 1981
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium, Plassey Rd, Macquarie Park, 2113
Grave Location: Roman Catholic Lawn, Block 14, Grave 0142
BERNARD is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *BUT SHOULD BE
Bernie was apparently being ‘interviewed’ inside Collaroy Police Station and when he was left alone in the room, with a loaded gun in a drawer, Bernie has committed suicide with the use of the Service weapon.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS REQUIRED ABOUT THIS MAN AND INCIDENT AT THE COLLAROY POLICE STATION
David BELL
| 13/08/2015
David BELL
aka Dave
Redfern Police Academy Class # 132
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 15502
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 31 July 1972
Probationary Constable – appointed 11 September 1972
Constable – appointed 11 September 1973
Constable 1st Class – appointed 11 September 1977
Senior Constable – appointed 11 September 1981
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 31 December 1987
Senior Sergeant – appointed 28 August 1996
Final Rank: Senior Sergeant
Stations: ?, 24 Division ( Sutherland ), Miranda,
28 July 1974 transferred to the metropolitan special traffic patrol car crew until 30 September 1975,
East Maitland ( G.D’s ),
Maitland ( G.D’s from 25 June 1988 ),
Patrol Tactician – Cessnock ( 28 August 1996 – ),
Sector Supervisor – Cessnock
Service: From 31 July 1972to 25 October 1999 = 27 years, 2 months, 24 days Service
1989 commendation for his devoted duty during the Newcastle earthquake.
Born: Sunday 13 March 1949
Died on: Monday 25 October 1999
Cause: Fatal heart attack in the meal room of Cessnock Police Station
Age: 50 years, 7 months, 12 days
Funeral date: Thursday 28 October 1999
Funeral location: the church his father helped build in Mayfield.
Buried at: Cremated at Beresfield Crematorium, NSW
Memorial location:
Unknown with David Bell
Memorial stone for David Bell at Beresfield Crematorium
DAVE is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * BUT SHOULD BE
As of May 2021, Dave Bell is still NOT Mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Senior Sergeant Dave Bell was the Sector Supervisor at Cessnock Police Station.
On Monday 25 October 1999 he suffered a fatal heart attack in the meal room while he, Senior Constable Mick Wood & Constable Tracey Ward were having morning tea together.
Dave is still not on the list for remembrance day, despite numerous requests/inquiries with Northern Region.
Handshake At End Of Long Arm Of The Law
Newcastle Herald
Thursday April 6, 2000
Andrew Kelly
FIFTY Lower Hunter police and community members were honoured yesterday in a ceremony at Maitland Town Hall.
Awards were presented to several officers for bravery and outstanding policing, and to members of the community who have given up their time to help the police.
Hunter Region police commander Terry Collins presented six officers with the first clasp to the National Medal, recognising 25 years service, including a posthumous honour to Senior Sergeant Dave Bell, who died on duty at Cessnock last October.
Mr HICKEY (Cessnock) [11.45 a.m.]: I bring to the attention of honourable members the death of Senior Sergeant Dave BellatCessnock police station on Monday 25 October. I extend my sincere sympathies to his wife, Noelene, and their four daughters. The Cessnock community has lost a truly remarkable police officer who was extremely dedicated to his position as team co-ordinator and worked very hard building up the morale of the men around him. I first met Dave Bell at the Cessnock police station in early April and was impressed by his positive attitude to his team and his devotion to the community. He was quick to point out that if any problems existed with manning levels, as had been constantly heralded by the former Mayor of Cessnock, Merv Pine, those problems lay with District Inspector Phelps for not allocating the necessary manpower to Cessnock.
Merv Pine’s continued concern in itself had placed pressure upon those at the Cessnock police station to perform above and beyond the normal benchmark, first to appease the mayor and, second, to avoid pressure being applied to the men at the station. Dave Bell raised the issues that I had referred to him: the manning of the station and police carrying out the duties of corrective services officers during court sitting days. He suggested that it would be more beneficial for front-line policing if those duties were returned to corrective services officers.
While being shown around the station by Dave I asked him about the job of escorting prisoners from the holding bays to the court, which I considered left the police in a dangerous situation. Dave was concerned about the safety of the officers but suggested that I should raise the matter with the Minister and the department. Dave Bell’s record shows clearly what the community knew already: that he was a dedicated officer.
Senior Sergeant David Bell joined the New South Wales Police Service on 31 July 1972. After attending the Redfern academy he was stationed at No. 24 division and later worked at Miranda, where he performed highway patrol and general duties. He was promoted to the rank of constable on 11 September 1973. On 28 July 1974 Senior Sergeant Bell was transferred to duty on the metropolitan special traffic patrol car crew, and performed duties in that role until 30 September 1975, when he accepted a transfer to Maitland highway patrol. In 1977 he was promoted to the rank of constable first-class, and he devoted 11 years to this specialist class of duty. In 1981 he was promoted to the rank of senior constable.
Senior Sergeant Bell transferred to East Maitland police station in a general duties role, and in the same year achieved the rank of sergeant third-class. On 25 June 1988 he was transferred to Maitland station, where he served the community for eight years. On 14 December 1988 he received the National Medal, which rewarded him for 15 years of police service. The following year he received a commendation for his devoted duty during the Newcastle earthquake. On 28 August 1996 Sergeant Bell was promoted to the rank of senior sergeant when he took up the position of patrol tactician at Cessnock police station. He later performed general duties.
At the time of his passing Senior Sergeant David Bell was stationed at Cessnock station as the team co-ordinator for all staff at Cessnock and outlying stations. Affectionately referred to by police and colleagues as “Dave“, Senior Sergeant Bell had a unique form of respect from police of all ranks. He was a great believer in preserving the traditional ideals, attitudes and respect instilled in police during their early police days. He shared a concern for each and every person at the station, as well as the community in general. His workmates have described him as a true gentleman and scholar.
In the short time I knew Dave, I realised that was completely true. He expected from his troops a high standard of professionalism but showed equal fairness in his discipline. Nothing was a problem to him, especially when it came to his men. His door was open at all times to anyone with a concern or problem, and his confidentiality was always assured to all. I believe that, because of Dave Bell’s service to the Cessnock community, his memory should be highlighted.
Mr WHELAN (Strathfield – Minister for Police) [11.50 a.m.]: The untimely passing of Sergeant David Bell at the age of 50 is tragic. It is, indeed, a great tragedy for his wife, Noelene, and his four daughters and granddaughter. David was much loved, not only by his family but by everyone who serves in the Police Service in the area in which he worked. He was a great and strong member of the community. Yesterday I spoke to his widow and expressed sympathy for the untimely loss of such a dedicated officer. It appears to be true that the harder one works the more dedicated one becomes and that often leads to an early and untimely death. That seems to be what happened in this case.
Dave worked very hard in both the community and the Police Service. He was well respected and revered by other police for the work he did. This is a sad time. Such is the depth of feeling in the community about the untimely passing of such a wonderful police officer who was dedicated to law enforcement in New South Wales and spent so much time looking after the community that I have asked the Deputy-Speaker to represent me at Dave’s funeral today. He will be sadly missed by everyone in the New South Wales Police Service.
St George, Shire police memorial for Woronora Cemetery
By Kahlia Beichert
Remembering: NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione helped unveil a new police memorial at Woronora Cemetery Sutherland on Thursday. Picture Chris Lane
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione helped unveil a new police memorial at Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland on Thursday. Pictured from left: Andrew Scipione, Tony Grant and Phil Peters. Picture Chris Lane
Remembered: Graham Boyd and Phil Peters at the police memorial will will be opened on Thursday. Picture: Chris Lane.
Remembered: Graham Boyd and Phil Peters at the police memorial will will be opened on Thursday. Picture: Chris Lane.
Remembered: Graham Boyd and Phil Peters at the police memorial will will be opened on Thursday. Picture: Chris Lane.
NSW Police Memorial Woronora Cemetery Thursday 9 April 2015
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has officially dedicated a new memorial honouring fallen officers in St George and Sutherland Shire.
The Commissioner joined local police, families, friends, and colleagues, for the dedication of the NSW Police Memorial, led by Police Chaplain, Reverend David Warner, at Woronora Cemetery on Thursday April 9 ( 2015 ).
“As we unveil the plaques today, we reflect on the lives and achievements of the officers who died while serving this community. “One of the toughest challenges for police is starting work each day not knowing what will happen yet understanding they may have to risk their own life to save another.” – NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione”
The memorial honours 24 NSW Police officers who have died on duty while serving in the St George, Sutherland and Miranda Local Area Commands or who were cremated or laid to rest at Woronora Cemetery. (See list below)
Commissioner Scipione said the plaques and memorial wall were a perfect way to honour local officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
“The NSW Police Memorial at Woronora Cemetery is our first collective police tribute in a private cemetery,” Commissioner Scipione said.
“As we unveil the plaques today, we reflect on the lives and achievements of the officers who died while serving this community.
“One of the toughest challenges for police is starting work each day not knowing what will happen yet understanding they may have to risk their own life to save another.
“It is with great pride I dedicate this memorial and honour the officers, whose names are inscribed, remembering their selfless sacrifice and courage. They will not be forgotten,” Commissioner Scipione said.
The names of the 24 local fallen officers, who died on duty since 1862, are inscribed on the wall of the memorial.
An additional two colonial police killed in 1845, prior to the inception of the NSW Police Force, will also be remembered in the form of separate plaques.
Officers honoured on NSW Police Memorial at Woronora Cemetery:
Sergeant 1st Class William Smith, killed on duty at Port Kembla on 1 September 1951, age 53
Constable Garnet Mortley, killed on duty at Waterfall 1 June 1953, age 25
Constable Edward Dilks, killed on duty at Corowa on 21 October 1954, age 28
Sergeant 2nd Class Cecil Ellis, killed on duty at Sydney on 29 April 1956, age 58
Constable William Lord, killed on duty at Randwick on 23 December 1958, age 24
Constable Colin Robb, killed on duty at Auburn on 7 September 1963, age 28
Constable 1st Class Cyril Howe, killed on duty at Oaklands on 20 December 1963, age 31
Constable Allan Shaw, killed on duty at Belmore on 11 May 1964, age 24
Constable Colin Roy, killed on duty at Kirrawee on 12 May 1967, age 28
Sergeant 2nd Class Adam Schell, killed on duty at Bobbin Head on 8 October 1968, age 52
Probationary Constable Warren Burns, killed on duty at Sutherland on 30 October 1968, age 25
Detective Senior Constable Denis Ware, killed on duty at Sutherland on 2 October 1970, age 32
Constable Joseph Gibb, killed on duty at Miranda on 23 January 1972, age 28
Senior Constable Neville Parker, killed on duty at Sans Souci on12 November 1972, age 34
Sergeant 2ns Class John Gill, killed on duty at Hurstville on 12 May 1973, age 47
Sergeant 1st Class John Colbert, killed on duty at Kingsgrove on 11 March 1979, age 58
Detective Sergeant Jillian Hawkes, killed on duty at Milsons Point on 22 April 1986, age 46
Probationary Constable Dana Heffernan, killed on duty at Randwick on 17 April 1987, age 20
Constable 1st Class Mark Burns, killed on duty at Tamworth on 17 March 1988, age 25
Constable John Burgess, killed on duty at Annandale on 27 April 1989, age 29
Constable Kenneth Short, killed on duty at Yarrawarra on 11 July 1990, age 27
Sergeant John Proops, killed on duty at Enfield on 22 May 1993, age 42
Senior Sergeant Raymond Smith, killed on duty at Calga on 13 July 1998, age 47
Senior Constable James (Jim) Affleck, killed on duty at Glen Alpine on 14 January 2001, age 43
Colonial police honoured:
Corporal Stephen Kirk, killed on duty at Heathcote on 12 November 1845, age 32
Trooper Luke Dunn, killed on duty at Heathcote on 21 November 1845, age 33
EARLIER STORY:
Fallen police officers from the region will be remembered with a police memorial at Woronora Cemetery to be unveiled on Thursday, April 9.
Eleven St George and Sutherland Shire officers will have their names engraved on the memorial alongside 13 other NSW police officers killed in the line of duty.
The memorial was the idea of Phil Peters, who chairs the Local Retired Police branch, and retired local commander Henry (Harry) Brennan.
It took more than 18 months for the project to be competed during which time Mr Brennan died.
Mr Peters said the unveiling was bitter-sweet.
‘‘It’s a beautiful memorial and I’m so proud that we’ve achieved this in 18 months,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m sorry that he [Mr Brennan] won’t be there in person but I’m certain he will be looking down with a mischievous grin to see that we got to his goal.’’
One of the officers honoured is James (Jim) Affleck who was killed at Glen Alpine in 2001.
The senior constable was laying out spikes to stop the driver of a stolen 4WD when the driver swerved, hitting the police officer.
He was killed instantly.
Mr Peters said the local memorial was the first of its kind.
‘‘This memorial will perpetuate their memory forever,’’ he said.
‘‘By having this memorial it keeps their memory alive and that’s important to me.’’
Woronora Cemetery chief executive Graham Boyd said the memorial sat close to a section honouring missing people.
‘‘Symbolically it fitted,’’ he said.
‘‘Police really give their all, so it links.
‘‘They are the backbone of society so we were proud to work with them.’’
Service: From 20 December 1899 to 7 September 1913 = 14 years
Awards: ?
Born: ? ? 1870
Event: Tuesday 2 September & Wednesday 3 September 1913
Died on: Sunday 7 September 1913
Cause: pneumonia
Age: 41
Funeral date: 5.30am, Monday 8 September 1913
Funeral location: Sandgate Cemetery
Buried at: Roman Catholic portion of Sandgate Cemetery
Catholic 1 Portion, Section 13, Lot 11
Location of Grave:
GPS: -32.87081693341898 151.70432472502705
NSW Death Registration # 13497/1913
[alert_red]JOHN is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_red] *BUT SHOULD BE
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Newcastle Morning Herald & Miner’s Advocate Monday 8 September 1913 page 5 of 8
CONSTABLE JOHN MURPHY. DEATH IN HOSPITAL.
Plain-clothes Constable John Murphy died in the Newcastle Hospital at half-past five yesterday morning, after a short illness. On Thursday he was admitted to the hospital suffering from an attack of pneumonia. His condition was very serious, and but little hope was held out of his recovery.
Forty-one years of age, Plain-clothes Constable Murphy had had about fourteen years’ service in the police force, during all of which he was stationed at Newcastle, and he had been doing plain-clothes duty for about eleven years.
A smart, capable detective, he was associated as a plain-clothes constable for over eight years with Senior-detective McHattie, and during that time those officers did some very creditable work in clearing up some forgeries and big railway robberies. He was also associated for a time with Plain-clothes Constable (now Detective) Ramsay.
Since the transfer of First-class Detective Surridge from Sydney to Newcastle, ten months ago, Plain-clothes Constable Murphy had been working with him, and they were instrumental in clearing up a number of serious and minor offences. He was popular with his colleagues, and particularly well liked by those with whom he came into immediate contact ; and his good-nature was well-known. On many occasions he has put his hand in his pocket to help even those who had come within the reach of the law. He was also popular with the public, and his death will be regretted by a large circle of friends.
His last duty was with Detective Surridge on Tuesday and Wednesday nights last attending to certain offences that had been committed between Hornsby and Newcastle, necessitating both officers spending two nights in the bush. He complained on Thursday morning of feeling ill on the return journey to Newcastle, and later in the day he was ordered into the hospital.
His father is Mr. Edward Murphy, a grazier, of Collingwood station, Murrumburrah, to whom telegrams have been forwarded. His sister, Mrs. F. Cooper, and her husband arrived at Newcastle yesterday from Sydney.
The funeral will leave the Newcastle Hospital at twenty minutes to three o’clock this afternoon for the Roman Catholic portion of the Sandgate Cemetery. The district police will be present, and Mr. Day, the Inspector- General, last night gave his sanction for the Police Band from Sydney to attend if the members could be notified in time for them to catch the train this morning.
Newcastle Morning Herald & Miner’s Advocate Tuesday 9 September 1913 page 4 of 8
LATE CONSTABLE MURPHY. THE FUNERAL.
The funeral of Constable John Murphy, who died in the Newcastle Hospital at an early hour on Sunday morning took place yesterday afternoon from the hospital, and the large attendance was a tribute to the deceased’s popularity.
The procession, which attracted hundreds of people along the line of march, proceeded by way of Telford-street, Hunter street, Extended, and Watt-street, to the railway station.
The Newcastle and district police, under Acting Superintendent Banks and Sub-inspector McHardy, to the number of nearly 100, headed the procession, then came the hearse and the general public. The length of the procession may be estimated when it is stated that the front portion had turned into Watt-street before the rear had reached the municipal jubilee memorial in the park.
The pall-bearers were Senior Detective McHattie, Detective Surridge, and Constables A. Roberts and G. Ferguson. Wreaths were sent by Miss Zoe Brady, Mr. Myer Cohen, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Hough, Mr. and Mrs. J McHattie, Mr. Banfield, Mr. and Mrs. Howden, Mr. and. Mrs. J. Probert, Mr. E. W. Bearby, and the Newcastle and sub-district police. The police also sent a beautiful wreath of immortelles.
The chief mourner was Mrs. Cooper, a sister of deceased. At the graveside, the Rev. Father M Keenan, of St. Mary’s, Newcastle, conducted the service, which was of a most impressive character, the deceased being buried with all the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Maitland Daily Mercury ( NSW ) Saturday 13 September 1913 page 6 of 12
Constable T. Ryan who for some time has been lockup-keeper at Wallsend, has been appointed to the plain-clothes branch of the Newcastle police, in succession to the late Constable John Murphy. By the way, it is stated as a sad circumstance in connection with the death of the popular officer named, that he was to have been married on the date of his demise.
This man is NOT recorded on the Police Memorial system but it is apparent, from reading these two articles, that the man contracted pneumonia from direct exposure over two nights in the bush in order to capture offenders.
He returns to his station on the 3rd day, and is directed to hospital where he dies three days later from pneumonia.
That sounds like a duty related death under those circumstances to me.
What a wonderful tribute …thank you for bringing us this introduction to a man without whom the world is a poorer place.
Thanks Chris. It happened a couple of years after we got here and was a great tragedy. I really feel for his family and the loss of a good man.
I stumbled across this post today… For some reason Glen came to my mind, and I did a search. Maybe this all came about as I saw a photo of his gorgeous sister and his 2 beautiful children.
Glen was a friend and I know his family well. He was a great man and it was an extremely sad day the day he left this life.
hi Vicki, sorry I hadn’t realised I’d omitted to reply. Thanks for sharing…it was indeed a tragic day for all concerned…we have a connection through the other officer that day though we didn’t know him at the time.