Service: From ? ? 1907 to 19 February 1934 = 27+ years Service
Awards: ?
Born: ? ? 1884 to Martin & Julia at West Maitland NSWBDM 24190/1884
Died on: 19 February 1934
Cause: Suicide by pistol stemming from a Nervous Illness
Event location: Erskinville Street Police Station
Age: 48
Funeral date: Monday 22 February 1934 @ 1.30pm
Funeral location: St. Brigid’s Church, Marrickville
Buried at: Woronora Cemetery,
Roman Catholic Monumental: Section 2, position 0680
DANIEL is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
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Barrier Miner ( Broken Hill )
Saturday 20 January 1934 page 8 of 12
SYDNEY, : Saturday. – Sergeant Daniel Markham (48), of Marrickville, was found fatally wounded yesterday in a telephone box in Erskineville street Police Station. A revolver, one chamber of which had been discharged, was beside him. He had recently suffered a severe illness.
Hearing a report of firearms at Erskine-street lock-up to-night a constable rushed to the front of the building where he found Sergeant Daniel Markham fatally shot through the head. The officer, who was 48, had been in ill-health for a number of years.
MARKHAM. – The Relatives and Friends of the late DANIEL BERNARD MARKHAM ( Sergeant of Police ) are kindly invited to attend his Funeral leaving his late residence Myall, 22 Carey street, Marrickville, Next MONDAY AFTERNOON, at 1.30 o’clock, for Catholic Cemetery Woronora. W. N. Bull, Ltd., Funeral Directors.
SYDNEY. Saturday.- Sgt. Daniel Markham, aged 48, who was found fatally shot in the Erskine Street Police Station yesterday was loyal to his service to the last. Because of a nervous illness the Commissioner of Police (Mr Childs) and the Metropolitan Superintendent (Mr MacKay) frequently suggested that he refrain from duty, but he refused.
MARKHAM.-The Relatives and Friends of Mrs. EDITH MARKHAM and FAMILY are kindly Invited to attend the Funeral of her late beloved HUSBAND and their dear FATHER, Daniel Bernard; to leave his late residence, Myall. Carey-street, Marrickville, THIS (Monday) AFTERNOON, at 1.45 o’clock, for the Catholic Cemetery, Woronora. A train leaving Tempe Station at 2.24 p m. will arrive at Sutherland at 2.55 p m.
Catholic Freeman’s Journal ( Sydney ) Thursday 15 February 1934 page 4 of 40
SERGEANT DANIEL BERNARD MARKHAM.
The death took place at Sydney, on the 19th ult., of Sergeant Daniel Bernard Markham, who was attached to No. 4 Division of the New South Wales Police Force. Mr. Markham, who was only 48 years of age, was one of the most popular and efficient members of the Force. He had been in ill-health for some time, but bravely performed his duties despite his illness.
Being 6 feet 2 inches in height, of magnificent physique, and possessed of a bright and genial disposition he was a popular figure with his comrades and the general public.
Mr. Markham was a devout Catholic and a member of the A.H.C. Guild at St. Brigid’s, Marrickville. His numerous acts of kindness towards the poor and needy brought him numerous friends wherever he went.
Joining the N.S.W. Police Force in 1907, Mr. Markham was attached to North Sydney Division for some time. He later was transferred to the Traffic Department, and afterwards to No. 4 Division, where he continued to perform traffic duty for many years.
He was a popular figure along the water front, where he handled the heavy traffic with tact and courtesy. As a result Mr. Markham was promoted to the rank of first-class constable, and later to the rank of sergeant. It is safe to say that no promotion was more popular or so well deserved.
From the formation of the Police Association Mr. Markham was president of No. 4 Branch, from 1920 to 1925. The popularity of that branch was to a great extent, due to his personality. He was transferred to Clarence-street Division, where he performed varied duties, and finally was Assistant-traffic Sergeant of that very busy and important portion of Sydney. In January, 1933, Sergeant Markham was sent back to his old Division (No. 4) as Sergeant in charge of traffic there. It was during this latter period that he was stricken with a serious illness. It was hoped that he had recovered, but, to the extreme grief of his devoted wife and young family, death took place as already stated.
Mr. Markham was a native of New South Wales, and a member of a large family, all of whom are devoted members of the Catholic Church.
A Requiem Mass was celebrated at St. Brigid’s Church, Marrickville, on the 22nd ‘ult. The cortege leaving the church proceeded to the Sergeant’s late residence at Carey-street, Marrickville. A police funeral was accorded deceased.
Superintendent Lynch ( representing the Commissioner of Police ). Inspectors Winter, Collings, and Stanton, and a large squad of uniform and plain-clothes police under Sergeant Rodding, were in attendance.
Beautiful and solemn music was rendered by the Police Band as the sad procession wended its way to Woronora Cemetery. Thousands of people watched the sad procession. The burial took place in the Catholic portion of the cemetery, in the presence of a large number of his old comrades and many prominent citizens.
The last prayers were recited by the Rev. Father Lloyd (Cronulla), who afterwards paid a tribute to the Sergeant’s sterling qualities.
The chief mourners were Mrs. Markham (widow), Master George Markham (son), Misses Dorothy and Joan Markham (daughters), and James, Thomas, Frank, and Vaughan Markham (brothers), Misses Margaret and May Markham, and Mrs. A. Swanson and Mrs. F. Bullivant (sisters).
NSW Police Officers who lost their lives as a result of active Defence duty – Cemetery and Memorial sites. This is not a complete list.
**AUSTRALIA**
*KATOOMBA Cemetery HOUSTON, Kenneth Raymond – Private – 25/10/1968
Kenneth is also listed at ROOKWOOD NECROPOLIS at the Garden of Remembrance.
*LONE PINE MEMORIAL DOWNIE, John Jabez – Private – 03/05/1915 MARSHALL, William George – Private – 27/04/1915, 32yo McMASTER, Allan Hugh – Trooper – 26/05/1915, 24yo PORTER, William James – Private – 22/08/1915, 24yo
*LONE PINE CEMETERY HANCOCK, Herbert William – Sergeant – 20/05/1915, 27yo HODDER, Henry – Private – 09/08/1915 PEAT, Charles Riach – Private – 06/08/1915, 30yo
*QUINN’S POST CEMETERY, ANZAC ROBERTS, Norman – Corporal – 25/04/1915, 27yo
*BEACH CEMETERY MURRAY, Vernon William – Trooper – 22/05/1915
*POZIERES BRITISH CEMETRY, OVILLERS – La BOISSELLE ELLIOTT, Andrew – Lance Corporal – 17/18/1916, 25yo
*AVELUY COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, ALBERT BAPAUME AREA CROUCH, Norman Russell – Gunner – 13/02/1917, 26yo
*BREWERY ORCHARD CEMETERY, BOIS-GRENIER, LILLE MITCHELL, John Lumsden – Sergent – 26/06/1916, 29yo
*PURCHEVILLERS BRITISH CEMETERY, SOMME PHEENEY, David – Lance Sergeant – 25/07/1916, 42yo
**BELGUIM**
*MENIN GATE MEMORIAL, YPRES HALL, Andrew William – Sergent – 29/09/1916 HUSH, thomas – Private – 18/11/1917, 32yo WATERS, Oliver Clive – Lance Corporal – 08/11/1917
**NEW GUINEA**
*LAE WAR CEMETERY, LAE RIVER AREA GILLIES, Neil Craig – Trooper – 24/05/1945, 27yo
**CANADA**
*OTTOWA MEMORIAL, ONTARIO WILLCOX, Arthur Jack – Pilot Officer – 22/12/1943, 30yo
LEST WE FORGET
List compiled b Linda Woods – Beyond Courage FB page. Posted 23 April 2014
Others that don’t appear on the above list ( H. Chadban does appear above ) but do appear on the Newcastle Police Honour Roll of WW I are:
Eight constables‘ names appear on the scroll: — H. Chadban ( of Newcastle, killed ), F. M. Doonan ( of Lambton, killed ), H. W. Hancock ( of Newcastle Water Police, killed ), T. Connell ( of Minmi, killed ), C. W. J. Grant ( of Newcastle Water Police, returned wounded ), D. J. Long ( of Newcastle, still on active service ), V. Digre ( of Newcastle, who served with the naval bridging train and is now in the artillery ) and S. Pender ( who has re-enlisted ). Constable Connell served with the Imperial Forces, being called up as an Irish Reservist.
[alert_green] Kym IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green ]
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Kym was responding to an alleged incident, died after the police car in which he was a passenger crashed on South Road, Thebarton, S.A.
He was a beloved son and brother.
Kym Andrew GODFREY – grave stone
Inscription:
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
KYM ANDREW GODFREY
ACCIDENTLY KILLED 28.DEC.1981
AGED 22 YEARS.
BELOVED SON OF NORMAN & BERYL
LOVING BROTHER OF IAN, WAYNE, DARRYL,
NOELENE & MARY.
UNCLE OF MICKEAL
Peter Allen FIGTREE
| 20/03/2015
Peter Allen FIGTREE
AKA ?
Late of ?
NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 199B
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 21207
Rank: Commenced Training – Monday 28 November 1983
Probationary Constable – appointed 24 February 1984
Constable – appointed 24 February 1985
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Service: From 28 November 1983 to 13 June 1989 = 5+ years Service
Stations: ?, Ballina HWP
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: Friday 23 October 1964
Died: Tuesday 13 June 1989
Age: 24
Cause: Motor vehicle accident – passenger – Urgent Duty – Pursuit of SMV
About 11.25pm on 13 June, 1989 police in Byron Bay commenced a high speed pursuit of a panel van. The pursued vehicle drove south in the Coast Road, followed by the Byron Bay Police vehicle, and into Ballina. As both vehicles continued south through Ballina, a local Highway Patrol vehicle driven by Constable 1st Class Beaver, with Senior Constable Rampling and Constable 1st Class Figtree as passengers, joined the pursuit. More police vehicles arrived to assist as the pursuit continued through the township of Wardell. About five kilometres south of Wardell the Ballina Highway Patrol vehicle began to draw level with the offending vehicle. As it did so, the driver of the pursued vehicle drove across to the centre of the roadway and clipped the front of the Byron Bay Police car. As a result, the police vehicle veered across the road and skidded in loose gravel before colliding with a power pole.
All three police were trapped for some time in the badly damaged police car and when freed were conveyed by ambulance to the Lismore Base Hospital. Constable Beaver recovered from internal injuries received, however Constable Figtree died before he reached hospital and Senior Constable Rampling died a short time later.
Senior Constable Rampling was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 15 January, 1979. At the time of his death he was attached to the Ballina Detectives.
Constable Figtree was born in 1964 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 28 November, 1983. At the time of his death he was attached to the Ballina Highway Patrol.
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Peter Allen FIGTREE grave plaque
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Deadly toll
By Jonathan Pearlman November 6, 2004
Alone in his patrol car, Chris Thornton had the police siren flashing as he chased a white sedan through Woy Woy.
Thornton, 35, a highway patrolman, had been in the force for 15 years. He was, his mother says, “the best driver I have ever seen”.
The reason for the chase that night in April 2002 is unknown. Both cars were seen travelling at high speed. Thornton was about 50 metres behind.
Meanwhile, Leonard Rowley, 56, an unlicensed driver, was driving to his local KFC to pick up dinner. He saw the first car flash past and judged – wrongly – that he had time to turn out in front of the patrol car. Thornton tried to avoid Rowley’s car but clipped the back, veered onto the wrong side of the road and hit a power pole.
Thornton died on the spot, which is marked by a permanent stainless-steel cross. Rowley later received a suspended two-year sentence.
“His life from the age of 12 was about helping people,” says Thornton’s mother, Freada Thornton. “He was in the surf club and he was there to rescue people and then he went into the force and he was doing the same thing.” His father, Barry Thornton, says: “He loved life. He had been in Gosford for 15 years and was so popular with the community there.”
Police pursuits are, says Barry, a necessary evil: “If they don’t catch the criminals there will be more deaths on the roads. The ones that they’re in pursuit of are the idiots that have done the wrong thing to start with.”
But pursuits have come at a cost to the NSW Police Department. Fifteen officers have died as a result of high-speed chases, beginning with the death of Constable George Boore in 1937.
Details provided by the NSW Police Association show a steady stream of fatalities involving cars and motorcycles. The full list of casualties is as follows:
Gezza J KtBelieve it or not, I was working the radio comms for this at Lismore station that night. Called the whole thing & did all the post crash co-ord. A horrible night shift with Sgt GJ Menzies, S/C Mark Burridge, Const’s Jordan, Gahan & Me.
*****
June 2019
30 year memorial – Senior Constable Glenn Rampling – Constable First Class Peter Figtree – A memorial service will be held at the Ballina Surf Club, Lighthouse Parade, Ballina on Thursday, 13 June 2019 at 1000hr to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of Senior Constable Glenn Donald Rampling and Constable 1st Class Peter Allen Figtree.
Senior Constable Rampling was tragically killed on duty on 14 June 1989 and Constable 1st Class Figtree was tragically killed on duty on 13 June 1989, both as a result of motor vehicle collision at Wardell, south of Ballina.
Attended this morning quite a moving 30 year memorial service for Glenn Rampling and Peter Figtree killed in a car chase near Ballina. May they rest in peace.
Photo by: Glenn Taylor
Photo by: Glenn Taylor
Photo from: Geoff Lowe Peter FIGTREE back row, 4th from left. Redfern Police Academy Class 199B
Photo by: Ken Medway
Ernest ANDREWS
| 20/03/2015
Ernest ANDREWS
New South Wales Police Force
Rank: Constable
Regd. # 31??
Stations: George Street North Police Station
Served: From 24 April 1929 to 3 January 1931 = 1+ years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: ? ? 1908
Died: 3 January 1931
Age: 23
Cause: Shot – Murdered at Bondi Junction
Funeral date: 5 January 1931
Funeral location: Rookwood Cemetery
Buried: Buried in Rookwood Cemetery ( side by side with Norman Thomas ALLEN )
Zone: C Section: 09 Grave 4211
DOUBLE POLICE MURDER
Memorial location:
Ernest ANDREWS touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Ernest IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Constable Norman Thomas Allen ( 1931 )
Constable Ernest Andrews ( 1931 )
Constable Allen was shot in the street at Bondi Junction while attempting to detain an armed, deranged man named Kennedy who had earlier had an altercation with a local shopkeeper. The constable had been directing traffic and when informed of the dispute he found and confronted the offender. As he approached Kennedy from behind, the man spun around and shot Constable Allenin the chest at point blank range. He then shot the constable twice more in the heart. At this time Constable Andrews – unarmed, off duty and heading for the beach – passed by in a tram and saw a crowd gathered around the body of Constable Allen. Alighting from the tram he joined in the pursuit of Kennedy who managed to reach his home in nearby Lawson Street.
On arriving and finding the front door locked Constable Andrews went to the rear of the dwelling and burst through the back door. Unfortunately Kennedy was waiting with rifle raised and as Andrews lunged at him he shot him twice in the chest. He then took a knife and stabbed the constable in the throat. Sergeant Seery and Constable Johnson from Waverley Police then arrived and began to smash their way in through the front door. Although fired at by Kennedy, Constable Johnson returned fire, hitting Kennedy in the chest. Seery and Johnson then smashed their way in and found the offender in a bedroom bleeding to death. He died that night.
In the aftermath of the murders, the Brisbane Courier dated 5 January, 1931 published a complete account of the entire incident, and concluded with the following.
COMMISSIONER PRAISES MURDERED POLICE.
Both murdered constables were highly efficient and popular officers. Allen leaves a widow and young child. He lived in New Street, Bondi. Constable Andrews was single, his only relative in Australia being a sister, Mrs Clark. The men will be buried tomorrow with full police honours. The Commissioner of Police Mr. Childs, in an appreciation, said “I wish to pay a tribute to the manner in which both these young men carried out their duty according to the best traditions of the service. They saw their duty before them, and did not hesitate a moment in the execution of it. Although I would not make any distinction between them I cannot help referring to the action of Constable Andrews, who, though unarmed, rushed in to effect the arrest of a man who had already shot Constable Allen. “
Constable Norman Thomas ALLEN was born in 1901, joined the New South Wales Police Force on 14 May, 1926 and shortly thereafter resigned. He rejoined on 26 September, 1928. At the time of his death he was stationed at Waverley.
Constable Ernest ANDREWS was born in 1908 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 24 April, 1929. At the time of his death he was stationed at George Street North Police Station.
Funeral procession through Railway Square in 5 January 1931 for two police constables, Allen and Andrews, killed in the line of duty. Source: Sydney Mail newspaper 7 January 1931
The Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday 6 January 1931 page 10 of 14
DEAD POLICEMEN.
Impressive Scenes at Funeral.
THOUSANDS PAY TRIBUTE.
The State paid homage yesterday to the two policemen, Constable Norman Thomas Allen and Constable Ernest Andrews who met their death at the hands of a madman at Bondi Junction on Saturday. There were mourners from almost every part of New South Wales.
Many thousands lined the route as the funeral cortege moved from Wood Coffill’s funeral parlours George-street to the mortuary station; the mortuary platform was thronged when the funeral train moved off to Rookwood and thousands had assembled in the cemetery.
The scene in the vicinity of Wood Coffill’s funeral parlours is likely to be remembered by the thousands of people who thronged the streets leading into Railway-square. Early in the morning bearers of wreaths and floral tributes passed through the doors to deposit their tokens of sympathy. At the approach of noon people began to assemble on the footpath and many entered the chapel to view the coffins. The near relatives arrived at 1 o’clock and the chapel was cleared while Constable Allen’s widow and her mother approached the silver mounted caskets which rested on trestles side by side. An affecting scene followed. Then the simple Church of England burial service was conducted by the Rev Frederick Riley and the coffins were borne to the waiting hearses.
MUFFLED DRUMS
The scene was unforgettable. A solid mass of people crowded the thoroughfares. Presently the mounted troopers urged their restive horses forward and with the deep roll of muffled drums the cortege moved off. Thousands of hats were removed.
Handel’s Dead March in “Saul” was played by the Police Band. Behind the band came a contingent of foot police under the direction of Superintendent Leary. Two hundred men drawn from the various stations, marched behind. Then came the hearses, the wreath-laden carriages, and the chief mourners, Firemen, the sun glinting on brightly-polished helmets, were represented by over 40 uniformed officers and men. At the end of the slow-moving procession came numbers of retired men, friends of the dead officers, and business people from the eastern suburbs.
Along the route to the mortuary thousands stood bareheaded as the cortege passed. At the mortuary gates another huge crowd paid tribute to the dead men.
Among those who marched in addition to the police and firemen, were employees of motor bus companies in the eastern suburbs.
“THEY SAW THEIR DUTY.”
A most affecting scene at the graveside in the Church of England section of the Rookwood Cemetery was the playing by the police band of the hymns “Lead Kindly Light” and “Abide With Me.” The remains were buried side by side.
“Let men’s opinions be what they may,” said the Rev. Frederick Riley in an address at the graveside, ” we should be doing violence to the most sacred emotions of human life if we were to allow our brethren to depart without a word of farewell. We are met here today to pay honour to the memory of two men who were comrades of yours men whom we all respected and loved. Let us remember that these two men died in the carrying out of their duty. They served their King and country as men and soldiers who fall for their King on the battlefield. They saw their duty and the fear of death could not deter them. They have not created a new tradition for the traditions of the police force of New South Wales are amongst the highest in the world already, but these two men have added a new lustre to the traditions of your past. These two young men Norman Thomas Allen and Ernest Andrews, died in the execution of their duty. There is no higher glory to which a man can aspire. We pray to God that those who have been so suddenly bereaved may share the comfort which we know these two brave men are experiencing in the nearer presence of God.”
MAGISTRATE’S TRIBUTE
At the Burwood Police Court yesterday Mr. G. R. Williams, S.M. commented on the bravery of the two constables. They acted nobly and upheld the traditions of the force,” he said.
PALL BEARERS AND MOURNERS.
The pall bearers were.- For late Constable Allen: Constables Tomkins, Martin, Moore, Hudson, Steele and White. For late Constable Andrews: Constables Booth, Kimber, Fraser, O’Neill, Morgan, and Wright.
The principal mourners were Relatives of the late Constable Allen: Mrs Allen (widow), Mrs Prankish (mother-in-law), Mr and Mrs N. Frankish (brother In law and sister in law), Mr and Mrs Sutcliffe (uncle and aunt) Mrs Lamb, Mrs Hourigan, and Mrs Cummings (aunts) and Mr Rowland Allen (cousin).
Relatives of the late Constable Andrews: Mr and Mrs Edward Clarke (sister and brother in law).
The Government was represented by Mr Gosling (Chief Secretary) and Mr McKell (Minister for local Government). Police representatives in addition to the non commissioned officers and men who marched were Mr W H Childs (Commissioner) Superintendents Leary, Mackay and Linegar, Inspectors Winter, Weir, Bennetts, McCauley, Woodrow, Lynch, Duffell, Roberts, McMaster, O’Brien, Chaseling, Anderson, White, Long, Roser, Scott, Michaelis, Robson, Allen, Farley and Fowler.
Retired members of the police force who attended were ex-Commissioner James Mitchell, ex-Superintendents Roche, Cook, McIntosh, Sinclair, Thom, Drew and Park, ex Inspectors Fullerton, W J Jones (also representing the Navy and Army Veterans Association) Fraser, Tracey, Bolton, Smith, Fewster, Doran, Mankletow, Stutchbury, Briggs, Ewen, Dunn, O’Dea and Robertson, ex-Sergeants McDonald, T. Dobson, Payne, A. Smith, Taylor, J. Salmon, J. Loomes, R. C. Harper, Bath and Butcher, ex-Constables Swan and Dixon.
The Board of Fire Commissioners of New South Wales was represented by Mr T J Smith, M.L.C. (president) Mr J McNamara (Commissioner), and Mr H M Webb (secretary and executive officer).
Mr Nance chief officer New South Wales Fire Brigades was present and 38 men marched under Mr Grimmond (deputy chief officer). Inspector Neeve, District Officer McLachlan, and Station Officers Arthur, Neville, Parkes, McCarthy, Rust, Currier and Sclater.
Others who attended were:- Judge Sheridan, Mir George Cann, ex M.L.A., Mr J Herlihy ( Under-Secretary for Lands) representatives of the Prisons Department including Mr Seery (superintendent of the Long Bay Penitentiary) Mr T.W. Irish (Assistant Under Secretary for Lands) Mr H. B. Mathews, (Surveyor General Department of Lands).
Mr N. W. Bond (representing the head office Bank, of New South Wales) representatives of ambulance divisions, Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Law, Mr. A. L. Parker (representing Superintendent O. H. Parker, of Goulburn) Mr Foster Doolan (vice president Police Association), Mr B Fortescue (secretary Police Association), Mr C T Thackeray (Police Association staff), Mr F M Jackson (representing Mr F C Hackett of Merriwa), Mr W T Missingham,
M.L.A., Mr A J Pollack, M.L.A., Mr W P Monaghan (Waverley Cemetery bus service), Mr W M Niland Mrs A Shuttleworth, Mr H L Harnett (representing Mr F M Burke, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly), Mr W E Clapin (representing Sir John Peden, President of the Legislative Council), Alderman David Hunter (Mayor of Waverley), Mr T J Thompson (Deputy Town Clerk of Waverley), Mr and Mrs A Williams, Miss Williams, Miss Beryl Williams, Miss Brady, Mr and Mrs McMorland, ex Warder Charles Stone, ex Warder Little and a number of eastern suburbs business people.
The wreaths Included those from the mother and other relatives of the late Constable Allen, relatives of the late Constable Andrews, the New South Wales Police Commissioned Officers Association, comrades of No 2 Division, Redfern Police, New South Wales Police Association, members of the Railway Detective Office, officers, detectives, and staff of the C.I.B., No 3 Police, comrades of No. 10 Division, cyclists and drivers of police headquarters, officers and men of Circular Quay Fire Station, comrades at No. 4 Station, police at No 7 Station, “police pals at Bondi Junction.” end eastern suburbs bus drivers and conductors.
Service: From? to13 December 1898 = ? years Service
Awards: ?
Born: about 1863
Died on: Tuesday 13 December 1898
Cause: Drowned
Age: 35
Funeral date: Wednesday 14 December 1898
Funeral location: ?
Buried at:
Memorial location: ?
[alert_red] William is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_red] * BUT SHOULD BE
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Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), Wednesday 13 December 1899, page 1
In Memoriam.
PEARCE.—- In fond and loving memory of my beloved husband, Constable W. H. Pearce, who was accidentally drowned at Merriwa, December 13th, 1898. Inserted by his loving wife and children.
The constable was drowned in the Merriwa River, Merriwa after he had jumped into the river to rescue a drowning boy named Thomas Baker. The boy was also drowned.
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The Maitland Daily Mercury of 14 December, 1898 went into a little more depth.
“ Sad Drowning Fatality. “ A GALLANT POLICEMAN’S DEATH – MOURNFUL OCCURRENCE AT MERRIWA,
Merriwa, Wednesday – A sad drowning fatality occurred here yesterday evening. Constable W. H. Pearce was returning to town on horseback and after crossing Merriwa Bridge his attention was directed to a boy drowning in the river.
Pearce immediately dismounted and jumped into the river without undressing and attempted to rescue the boy, but being a bad swimmer both were, drowned.
The bodies were recovered after being about an hour under water. The funerals will take place this afternoon, also the magisterial inquiry.
Constable Pearce leaves a wife and six children. The boy was a son of Mr. A. W. Baker, custodian of the School of Arts. “
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The Goulburn EveningPost of 15December, 1898 carried the following very brief account.
Double Drowning Fatality. – A Brave Man Lost.
MERRIWA, Tuesday – Constable Pearce and a boy named ThomasBaker were drowned in MerriwaRiver this evening. Pearce jumped into the river to rescue the boy. Both bodies were recovered.
BRAVE ATTEMPT TO RESCUE A BOY. BOTH HAVE A WATERY GRAVE.
A sad drowning fatality occurred at Merriwa on Tuesday evening. Constable W. H. Pearce was returning to town on horseback and after crossing Merriwa Bridge his attention was directed to a boy drawing in the river. Pearce immediately dismounted and jumped into the river without undressing and attempted to rescue the boy, but being a bad swimmer both were drowned.
The bodies were recovered after being about an hour under water. Countable Pearce leaves a wife and six children.. The boy was a son of Mr. A. G. Baker, custodian of the School of Arts at Merriwa.
Residents of Scone and district learn with deep sorrow of the sad, though brave end of Constable Pearce, who was stationed here a few years ago.
It is surprising that a man so smart in other respects should be unable to swim from a small pond such as this must have been. Possibly the brave constable got fastened in some way while under the water.
The Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser.
Tuesday 20December1898 page 2 of 4
Double Drowning Fatality.— The sad news reached Yass on Tuesday afternoon that Mr. William Pearce, brother of Mr. E. Pearce of Yass, was drowned at Merriwa that day. It appeals that Mr. Pearce, who was a mounted constable, was returning home from day duty and was crossing the bridge at Merriwa when he saw a boy named Thomas Baker drowning in the river. Pearce jumped off his horse and plunged into the water with his clothes on. The boy appears to have got hold of Pearce, with the result that the unfortunate man who was doing a brave act was drowned. Mr. Pearce, who was a native of Yass, was 35 years of age, and leaves a wife and six children. Great regret was expressed in Yass when the news was received, as Pearce was a very popular and well behaved young man. Deceased is a brother of Mr. A. G. Pearce, of Adelong, who was formerly in the employ of Mr. Newman, of Tumut, and was bandmaster of the Tumut band.
Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales (Taree, NSW : 1898 – 1954), Wednesday 21 December 1898, page 2
Drowning Fatality at Merriwa,
DEATH OF CONSTABLE PEARCE.
A sad drowning fatality occurred at Merriwa on Tuesday evening, the 13th instant. Constable W. H. Pearce was returning to town on horseback, and after crossing Merriwa Bridge his attention was directed to a boy drowning in the river.
Pearce immediately dismounted, and jumped into the river without undressing, and attempted to rescue the boy, but being a bad swimmer both were drowned. The bodies were recovered after being about an hour under water.
The funerals took place the following afternoon, also the magisterial inquiry.
Constable Pearce leaves a wife and six children.
The boy was a son of Mr. A. W. Baker, custodian of the School of Arts.
[ Constable Pearce will be remembered as having been stationed for some time at Coopernook, in this district, where he made many friends. — Ed. ]
The above Court was opened at the Courthouse at ten on Saturday morning before Judge Backhouse. Mr. H. J. Leary, District Court Register, who present. Mr. A. K. Watt was the only member of the bar present. The solicitors in attendance were — Messrs. R. W. Thompson, H. V. Howe, W. W. Robinson, A. B. Shaw, and E. P. Richards.
BREAKING AND ENTERING.
William Frost (17) and Joseph Harris (16) were charged with breaking and entering, on the 12th February, the house of Joseph Heath, at Merriwa. Both accused pleaded guilty. Constable W. H. Pearce, stationed at Merriwa, stated they were swagmen and strangers in his district.
In answer to his Honor, Frost said his people were living in Sydney, and Harris said he lived in Newcastle. His Honor ordered Senior-Sergeant Moylan to procure from the accused the address of their relations, and telegraph to them to find out anything connected with them, and then remanded the accused for sentence until next day. In answer to his Honor both the accused said they had given wrong names. Accused Frost said his proper name was William Fury, and Harris that his right name was Walter Hay. His Honor told Fury that from enquiries made he found that he had been convicted of larceny in 1887, and received four days in the lockup. It appeared from that that he was now 17 ; he had started his defalcations rather early. But, however, he would treat them both as being young, and sentence them each to four months’ hard labour in Maitland Gaol.
Awards: Meritorious Unit Citation for work in East Timor.
Commendation for efforts in disarming a male carrying a replica pistol in Honiara Court.
Born: ?
Died on: Wednesday 22 December 2004
Cause: Shot – Murdered
whilst deployed on official duties at Honiara, Solomon Islands
Age: 26
Funeral date: Thursday 30 December 2004
Funeral location: ANZAC Memorial Chapel,
Royal Military College, Duntroon, ACT
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial: The main street of a new AFP training village in Canberra was named Adam Dunning Drive in his memory.
Adam DUNNING
Adam IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Tears for the fallen as Adam comes home
By Craig Skehan and Aban Contractor December 24, 2004
AFP officers farewell their mate Adam Dunning after loading his coffin into a RAAF jet at Honiara Domestic Airport. Photo: Andy Zakeli
They had slow-marched their comrade’s casket to the plane that would take him home.
Their backs were straight, but the emotions were too much: tears tumbled down the cheeks of the Australian Federal Police pallbearers as they did Adam Dunning this last honour.
Then, once his body was stowed in the hold of the RAAF jet on the tarmac in Honiara, his mates made a last gesture of solidarity with the colleague they were farewelling forever – forming a circle, heads bowed, arms locked around each other’s shoulders.
Adam Dunning, the 26-year-old AFP protective service officer who was killed by a sniper in the early hours of Wednesday morning, was accompanied home by the Minister for Justice, Chris Ellison, and the Opposition’s home affairs spokesman, Robert McClelland, but at Fairbairn air base in Canberra, where the RAAF 737 touched down just before 6pm, it was Mr Dunning’s family and friends – his parents, Michael and Christine, his sisters, Sarah and Emma, and his girlfriend, Elise Wiscombe – who formed the guard of honour.
Standing in two straight lines, they faced the plane.
With the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, standing watch nearby, Mr Dunning’s parents held their heads high, and his sisters and Ms Wiscombe quietly sobbed as eight AFP pallbearers bore his flag-draped casket from the plane. His parents held hands and seemed to stand even straighter as their only son was placed in the hearse that would take him to the mortuary.
In the Solomons, police are questioning a taxi driver about several suspects in the murder. A Solomon Islands police source told the Herald that the taxi – seen near the murder scene with several passengers before the shooting – had been seized.
On a narrow, potholed road on the outskirts of the Solomons capital, Honiara, locals offered heartfelt apologies for the shooting.
“I am so very sorry,” said one young man. “He came here to help us.”
By the roadside at Zion Junction, investigating officers had cut the long grass to help search for clues to the identity of the person who, in darkness shortly after 3am on Wednesday, shot Mr Dunning while he was on patrol in a Toyota Land Cruiser.
Zion Junction does not have a particularly dangerous reputation. Rather, locals said, other settlements further along the same ridge were known for trouble, ranging from extortion to payback shootings.
Moffat Suiga, a community elder who was awakened by the shots that killed Mr Dunning, said he and others were at a loss to explain the murder.
A middle-aged businessman said the overwhelming majority of Solomon Islanders wanted to see those responsible put in jail. He said it would be a good thing if the Australian-led intervention force remained for the next 40 years.
At a commemoration service earlier in Honiara, Mr Keelty said Mr Dunning had “died for peace”.
The Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Sir Allan Kemakeza, said the young man had been helping the country overcome ethnic strife and crime. “We will not forget him,” he said.
A police funeral will be held for Mr Dunning on a day to be announced.
AFP officers farewell their mate Adam Dunning after loading his coffin into a RAAF jet at Honiara Domestic Airport.
Photo: Andy Zakeli
Australian Protective Services officers salute the coffin in a guard of honour at Honiara Domestic Airport before Adam Dunning’s coffin was flown back to Australia.
Photo: Andy Zakeli
Australian Protective Services officer Robert Turnbull sheds a tear at the official wake in the compund before Adam Dunning’s coffin flew back to Australia.
Photo: Andy Zakeli
The RAAF jet carrying Adam Dunning’s body touches down.
Photo: Andrew Taylor
Adam Dunning’s coffin is loaded from the aircraft to a hearse at the RAAF Base at Fairbairn.
Photo: Andrew Tayl
Senior officers and other dignatories, along with family members, watch Adam Dunning’s coffin being loaded from the aircraft to a hearse at the RAAF Base at Fairbairn in Canberra.
Photo: Andrew Taylor
The girlfriend of Adam Dunning, Elise Wiscombe (far left), cries as police salute the farewell of the coffin.
Photo: Andrew Taylor
Friends of Adam Dunning after the hearse had left the tarmac.
Photo: Andrew Taylor
Memorial Tribute to Adam DUNNING, 10 years on. 22 December 2014, National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Excellent turnout at NPM this morning for Adam and his family. RIP and we remember.
Peacekeeper killed ADG’s funeral brings Air Force and police together
By FLGOFF Fiona Peacock
The funeral of LAC Adam Dunning, a member of the PAF and Air Force Active Reserve.
LAC Adam Dunning.
LEADING Aircraftman Adam Dunning, an ADG with No. 28 (City of Canberra) Squadron and former member of No. 2 Air Field Defence Squadron, was killed in December last year while on operational duty with the Australian Federal Police as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
In the early hours of December 22, LAC Dunning and an Australian Protective Service colleague were on a routine vehicle patrol in Honiara, protecting the Prime Minister’s and Governor General’s residences.
A concealed gunman shot at the vehicle, fatally wounding LAC Dunning, who was 26.
He deployed to the Solomons in October and, after only six weeks there, was awarded a commendation for disarming a man in front of the Magistrates Court.
At LAC Dunning’s funeral, members of 28SQN played a part in recognising his Air Force service. The squadron’s honorary air commodore, Air Commodore Justice Terence Higgins, represented 28SQN among the official party of Service chiefs.
Members of the Air Field Defence Wing provided the firing party and the guard of honour for receiving VIPs. The RAAF Ensign was carried by Pilot Officer Shane McGaughey and was escorted by Flight Sergeant John Forth.
Two close friends of LAC Dunning, Leading Aircraftmen Tim Gresham and David Pauli, were members of the bearer party. The President of 28SQN Association, Steve Williams, represented former 28SQN members. 28SQN members joined AFP personnel to form a guard of honour.
AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty praised No. 34 Squadron for the way it handled bringing LAC Dunning’s body back to Australia.
By Misha Schubert
Political correspondent
Canberra December 31, 2004
They stood side by side. Two long lines of blue uniforms facing each other along the tree-lined road. Like a slow Mexican wave, each snapped to attention and saluted as the body of one of their own passed by.
Adam Dunning, murdered by a sniper while on patrol in the Solomons early last week, had begun the last leg of his journey home.
Earlier, these men and women of the Australian Federal Police and the Royal Australian Air Force had wept openly as Mr Dunning was farewelled with full police and military honours in the Duntroon chapel. “He was a great man,” said his federal police mate Pat Castle.
The nation’s military chiefs turned out to pay tribute, as did Prime Minister John Howard, Governor-General Michael Jeffery and senior cabinet ministers.
But this ritual belonged to those who knew and loved Adam Dunning.
His mother, Christine, read from a tribute that she and her husband, Mike, had written to their son in February. They had praised his courage, sensitivity and mettle.
His partner, Elise, who had brought red roses for the man she had loved, said he was her greatest friend. “He was my strength, my inspiration, my love.”
Peacekeeper Beau Tennant, who was with Mr Dunning the night before he died, broke down as he recalled his friend’s generosity.
“Before he left me, his last words were: ‘Are you right for money mate?’ That was the kind of bloke he was,” he said.
Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said Mr Dunning would live on in the memories of grateful Solomon Islanders.
“Adam Dunning died for peace and law and order. His work and his death will always be remembered by his colleagues,” he told mourners.
The federal police hope to build a memorial to Mr Dunning at their new training centre for overseas police peacekeepers.
Mr Dunning also served with RAAF in Timor before joining the AFP.
Police believe his murder and another attack on police on October 21 were carried out by three former members of the Malaitan Eagle Force militia.
They have charged two men – John Ome and Philip Kwaimani – over the attacks and are hunting James Tatau, who Mr Keelty said was present at both events and had access to a cache of weapons.
Police believe the trio were working on their own, with no sign of any broader uprising against the peacekeeping effort.
It fell to Emma, who had adored her older brother, to claim his service medals and caps from the flag-shrouded coffin and hand them to her grieving parents.
As his police mates carried Mr Dunning’s coffin from the chapel into the sunlight, drummers and bagpipers ushered him on his way. A police motorcade led the cortege through Canberra’s streets to a private service and cremation.
A plane carrying the body of murdered Australian peacekeeper Adam Dunning has landed in his home town of Canberra.
The 26-year-old Australian Protective Services officer was shot twice in the back by a sniper while serving as part of a peacekeeping mission in the Solomon Islands yesterday morning.
Members of Mr Dunning’s family, and his colleagues were on hand to formally receive his body.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty returned from the Solomon Islands about half an hour before the plane bearing Officer Dunning’s body landed.
He was among those waiting for Justice Minister Chris Ellison and Labor’s homeland security spokesman Robert McClelland, who accompanied the body on the flight back to Canberra.
Commissioner Keelty, Senator Ellison, Mr McClelland and AFP officers formed a guard of honour before the coffin was removed from the plane.
Family members, including Officer Dunning’s parents Mike and Christine, and girlfriend Elise Wiscombe, stood arm in arm watching proceedings.
A guard of honour, carrying Officer Dunning’s hat, led the flag-draped coffin to the hearse.
Eight pall bearers stood tall under the weight, as Officer Dunning’s police colleagues watched on.
A cavalcade of AFP motorcycles is waiting to lead the hearse to Canberra’s mortuary.
A full police funeral will be held for Officer Dunning on a day to be announced.
Officer Dunning’s parents took the time to thank those who attended the short ceremony before the hearse headed for Kingston mortuary under police escort.
Senator Ellison later said the Solomons people were behind RAMSI and Australia’s efforts to bring law and order to the country.
He said some adjustments might be made to the conduct of night patrols but any final decision would depend on recommendations from the AFP.
He denied the Government had too quickly reduced the AFP’s military support in the Solomons.
“We’ve made fantastic progress in the Solomons and we never underestimated the danger that our people faced,” he told ABC television
By Craig Skehan and Cynthia Banham December 23, 2004
Australia is rushing 100 extra troops to the Solomon Islands in defiant reaction to the sniper murder of Adam Dunning, the nation’s first peacekeeper to be killed by hostile fire.
The murder highlights the perils of the new interventionist role in the Pacific islands, but the Prime Minister, John Howard, vowed the mission to the Solomons would go on “undeterred, unrestrained, unaffected by what’s happened”.
“We won’t be cowed by this,” the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, added.
Mr Dunning, a 26-year-old Australian Protective Service officer from Canberra who had dodged bullets while serving in East Timor, was shot twice in the back while on a patrol in a four-wheel drives Toyota Land Cruiser in the capital, Honiara, at 3.10am on Wednesday. The bullets were among six shots fired rapidly from a high-powered military rifle.
“It looks as though the person who fired it had training in the use of such firearms,” a Solomon Islands official said.
Members of former ethnic militias – who had formed gangs and reduced the country to anarchy – are now being questioned. Australian investigators say the involvement of former Solomon Islands police officers, or an individual officer, cannot be ruled out.
At his Canberra home, Mr Dunning’s father, Michael, was distraught as he spoke of his son’s honourable death.
“It is sad as he cared for the [Solomons] people so much and was doing something really good on their behalf,” Mr Dunning told the Herald. “He always has been a decent person, tough and soft-hearted at the same time. He was totally honourable and very stubborn – nobody could make him do anything that he did not think was right. He was a credit to us.”
Adam Dunning had been planning a future with his 22-year-old girlfriend, Elise Wiscombe, on his return home next month. “I’m very, very proud of what he’s done over there,” she said. “He’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met.”
Mr Dunning was part of the regional intervention force which has been seeking to stem ethnic and criminal violence in the Solomons since July last year.
A rapid-response, 100-member infantry company from the First Royal Australian Regiment was to leave Townsville on Thursday for the Solomons, just a day after the murder. The Defence Minister, Robert Hill, said: “This is to send a clear message to the thugs … that we will not tolerate the murder of our police officers.”
A meeting of departmental secretaries in Canberra recommended extra forces to support the 160 defence force personnel already there. Those troops are backing the 147 Australian Federal Police members who are serving in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) – about 95 of them from the Australian Protective Service, which comes under the federal police. The Justice Minister, Chris Ellison, and the Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, flew to Honiara on Wednesday night. Australian forensic experts also flew in.
Mr Keelty said: “Over 4000 arrests have been made and over 3700 weapons have been seized [since the intervention began]. Clearly this indicates that there are some in the community in the Solomon Islands who are not happy about RAMSI’s presence.”
He said the hot tropical climate – and the large number of weapons already recovered – were among the reasons body armour had not been used for regular patrols. However, this is now under review.
Mr Keelty called Mr Dunning “a brave and courageous young Australian” and said his killing emphasised “the danger that our people face”.
The Solomons Prime Minister, Sir Allan Kemakeza, described the killing as barbaric and cowardly.
Mr Dunning’s partner on patrol, who had been driving, tried to resuscitate him.
The murder scene, on the outskirts of Honiara, was close to two settlements which are known to be frequented by former ethnic militiaman who formed criminal gangs.
The Australian police contingent has been at the forefront of efforts to clean up local police and officers have been charged with offences from corruption to assault and robbery. A number of local politicians are either under investigation or already facing various charges.
Mr Keelty said the ammunition used indicated the murder weapon was an SLR or possibly an AK-47. This was consistent with some of the weapons used before the arrival of the intervention force. The looting of many SLRs and other military-style weapons from Solomons police armouries had fuelled the five years of unrest that prompted the intervention of the Australian-led force.
There was a major riot at the Central Prison in Honiara this year, when inmates threw rocks at Australian personnel and painted anti-Australian slogans. Two months ago, an intervention force vehicle patrol was fired on.
Protective Service Officers were deployed along with other Australian law enforcement officers in the Solomon Islands as part of RAMSI. The peacekeeping force suffered their first casualty on 22 December 2004 when PSO1 Adam Dunning was shot and killed while deployed on official duties in the Solomon Islands. Two former members of a local militia were charged but acquitted of Dunning’s murder.[5] Officer Dunning was buried with full police honours.
The main street of a new AFP training village in Canberra was named Adam Dunning Drive in his memory.[6] The $2.8 million training facility at Mount Majura just outside Canberra, has been designed to replicate situations in regional countries to which personnel might be assigned.
The main street of a new training village for Australian Federal Police and other personnel being sent overseas has been named after murdered peacekeeper Adam Dunning.
The $2.8 million training facility at Majura, just outside Canberra, has been designed to replicate situations in regional countries to which personnel might be assigned.
Prime Minister John Howard officially opened the facility on Thursday in the presence of police chiefs from across the country as well as from several regional nations.
Australian Protective Service officer Mr Dunning, 26, was fatally shot twice in the back while on night patrol in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara in December.
He was serving as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomons.
His parents attended the opening of the village, through the centre of which runs a road now named Adam Dunning Drive.
“The loss of Adam Dunning signified that this is very dangerous work,” Justice Minister Senator Chris Ellison said.
“That was the ultimate sacrifice paid in the course of his duties.”
Mr Howard said the new facility reflected the new security reality for Australia and its region.
“Events of the last five years have totally transformed both the demands and the expectations of the Australian community on the Australian Federal Police,” he told the gathering.
“In that five-year period we have seen the threatening arrival of international terrorism.
“We’ve (also) seen the emergence of an ongoing need on the part of this country, in cooperation with our friends in the Pacific region, to involve ourselves in the restoration of conditions of law and order and cooperation with police services and governments of those countries.”
The training village, to be used by a range of emergency services personnel as well as police, recreates the environment that police experience when on overseas missions.
Designed to reflect the streetscape of a small overseas township, it enables true-to-life scenario training which helps to prepare police for unknown and sometimes dangerous challenges.
It includes 18 buildings and structures including a corner store, a town hall, a police station, a school, a pub, a marketplace and even a cemetery, reflecting the fact that police are sometimes required to perform exhumations in the course of their work.
The spokesman said 124 personnel had already trained at the complex which was completed in March.
[alert_red]Stephen is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_red]
Richard Baxter, FB – Support Aussie Cops, on 23 December 2011, recalls a work mate by the name of Stephen NAYLOR being attached to Burwood ( NSW ) being murdered about 1979.
Kristine WOODS
| 20/03/2015
Kristine WOODS nee BUTT
( late of Cherrybrook & Ryde )
New South Wales Police Force
Original Regd. # 25??? ( joined around 1988 )
Rejoinee Regd. # 33682 ( rejoined in 1998 )
Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: Eastwood
Service: ( 1 ) From ???to ??? = ? years Service
( 2 ) Rejoinee – From? ? 1998 to 21 March 2002 = ? years Service
Awards: ? – Nil on It’s an Honour
Born: 29 January 1969
Died: 21 March 2002
Age: 33
Cause: Suicide – Service pistol to chest – inside Eastwood Police Station
Funeral date: Tuesday 26 March 2002 @ 1pm
Funeral location: St Charles Catholic Church, 582 Victoria Rd, Ryde
Grave location: ?
Kristine is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
]
List of the fallen should include all the victims
Date
LETTERS
Lest we forget … Police Remembrance Day. Photo: Robert Pearce
Another week, another death of a citizen at the hands of the NSW Police (”High noon at Castle Hill”, September 30). It’s a week which saw the inquest into the police shooting of Adam Salter inside his own home; a week which saw a teenage victim of robbery shot in the stomach by another cop. And now we are led to believe that a man who apparently travelled to a police station needed to be pumped full of bullets in order to be subdued. Who goes towards a police station to make trouble?
All this in the same week that Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione led his officers in another Remembrance Day for his fallen comrades, the list of which is displayed on the NSW Police website as an honour roll. The list omits the name of Senior Constable Kristine Woods, who died by her own hand on duty at Eastwood Police Station. In fact, almost the only Google reference to Ms Woods is a Hansard entry.
The NSW Police don’t list the names of innocent citizens its own members have killed. When yet another member of the public is gunned down by a blue shirt, we hear that “the officer is receiving counselling and support”. No mention is ever made of any counselling offered to the family or friends of the real victim. The bitter juxtaposition of all these events seems to have also missed the media.
A decade after the police royal commission revealed systemic corruption, the NSW Police Force is now more powerful, more numerous and less accountable than ever.
v. KRISTINE WOODS Constable Woods was stationed at Eastwood. In November 2001 Woods and her husband divorced and shared joint custody rights over their two children. In March 2002 Woods committed suicide at work.
Mr TINK (Epping) [3.38 p.m.]: I draw the attention of the House to the Epping Youth Development Group, otherwise known as the Shack. Following the compilation of a youth-at-risk study reflecting the needs of local Epping youth the Shack was found in 1992 by a group of concerned local residents, churches and businessmen. They have been operating from a disused scout hall that was converted into a counselling and recreation facility at that time. The Shack has to be seen to be believed—it is just that. There are exciting plans for a new building. The management committee, which meets monthly, comprises 10 members from the local community who voluntarily support the administration of the Shack.The Shack provides free and confidential service, home visits, counselling, family support, court support, resumé assistance, job board, youth and school liaison, health education, Centrelink assistance and referrals. The Manager of the Shack, Darlene Keenan, is an inspiration and is assisted by one other person. In the last 12 months the Shack has provided more than 800 hours of counselling for 385 people, 111 hours of court support to 44 people, 422 hours of home visits involving 127 people and many other sundry services. To try to move away from the statistics and into what the program is really about, I will read from what Darlene had to say in the annual report:
Family breakdown, separation from parents, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, sexual assault, suicide, teenage pregnancy, neglect, lack of education, unemployment and homelessness, and cultural beliefs are common issues affecting our young people in life altering ways. Behaviour is also very changeable and very real whilst any of these factors are alive.
High expectations in regard to education has seen many clients showing signs of stress where counselling has been necessary to keep self-esteem tuned. Young people suspended have further problems if they link with idle peers.
Intervention for our young showing suicidal tendencies has seen much progress in positive ways this year. Teenagers are scared, fragile and limited to rise above these very real emotions. Having positive referrals for extra support has proven to be a healing ingredient whilst temptations are being tested. Those wanting to resolve their fears and pain through suicide are just so entrenched with pain and overloaded with many challenges.
This lady and her supporters really work miracles. They are working at the very hard business end of youth at risk, so much so that their program is being copied elsewhere. The Rotary Club of Lindfield is setting up another Shack under the same program and principles. This is policing at its absolute best. I pay tribute to the links between Eastwood police and this operation. Constable Tim Drury, the Youth Liaison Officer from Eastwood police, has made a fantastic effort. Senior Constable Kristine Woods, who unfortunately took her own life at Eastwood police station, was an outstanding supporter of the Shack and did great work at all times with youth in the area. Senior Constable Rowena Thompson, Sergeant Jacky Lilley and Sergeant Bob Porter—who I understand is about to retire from the New South Wales Police Service—do magnificent work. It is an example of how our police and community workers can work together to make a difference for kids who are at high risk of ending up on the wrong side of the law.
It is important to note that the Shack would not be celebrating 10 years of effort in the community without the support of St Albans Church and Reverend John Cornish, and the tremendous support previously given by the former chairman, Mr Alan Gurman and Cathy Sanderson. The present chairman, Mr Ray Miles, from Associated Planners, provides unstinting support. The support through the church and its work in the area and a diverse range of clubs—the Rotary Club of Thornleigh, the Epping RSL and community club and all the voluntary groups and church groups throughout the area—for the operation must be seen to be believed. The Shack is presenting final plans to St Albans Church for approval for a rebuild. Preliminary approval for the plans has already been given to the initial sketches provided by the church. I wish the Shack well. I am delighted to be associated with it and with a program that really supports the kids at risk and, in doing so, takes some risks itself. It is to be commended for its work. [Time expired.]
Mr FACE (Charlestown—Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development) [3.43 p.m.]: I thank the honourable member for Epping for bringing this matter to the notice of the House. It reinforces what I said a few moments ago about volunteers, Charity Awareness Week, and people who put so much effort and time into serving other people within our community. Although I am not directly aware of the group’s activities, because it started towards the end of the time that I was the chairman of police youth clubs in this State, I know that it was one of the more diverse organisations that was helping kids, particularly recedivist kids and youth at risk that a lot of other organisations were not prepared to help. That was at a time when the police youth club movement was moving away, to some degree, from completely structured organisations and what the original youth clubs were set up for, which has been of considerable benefit.
This is another great effort of a community accepting its responsibility to ensure that it is able to contend with people who, in many cases, are less fortunate than others. They are not always people from lower socioeconomic circumstances. It can be a result of communication breakdowns regardless of where they sit in the social strata. During my time as chairman of the police youth clubs I became aware that many kids were lonely and in need of someone to put a hand out to them—some of them were from the so-called better areas of my electorate and other parts of this State. The Shack is doing a great deal of good work. The community is to be congratulated on its efforts.
[10.20 p.m.]: Tonight I speak on the dereliction of policing services in the Ryde area. While the Commissioner of Police, Peter Ryan, was seeing the sights of Athens, the people in the Ryde area were suffering from an ill-equipped police force and falling police numbers. The Minister for Police said that all police, including the commissioner, would be involved in regular street patrols, but while Commissioner Ryan takes time out to see the sights of Salt Lake City or to pay a visit to the Parthenon, the people of Ryde are being neglected with a diminishing police presence.
On 6 March the
Northern District Times
reported that police would be having a three-day operation in the West Ryde area, getting to know the people and letting them know that they are out and about. For three days people in the West Ryde area got to know who some of the officers that served and protected them were, but a month later the question is: Where are they now? For three days in March the citizens of West Ryde got to see some police patrolling their streets but now they have been taken away, back to their desks perhaps or to other poorly equipped areas. Maybe the police were merely there for the show, to appease the community’s justified concerns about the level of crime. However, having a three-day operation does not show that the police are serious about maintaining a real presence on the streets.
Late last month a 16-year-old boy walking through Boronia Park in Ryde was assaulted and had his mobile phone and wallet stolen by two men, one of whom punched him in the back of the head. On 28 March a security guard was badly beaten during a ram-raid at the Fujitsu warehouse in North Ryde. Perhaps Commissioner Ryan should spend less time on his passion of Olympic security consulting in Athens and visit the streets of West Ryde, where there is still a marked lack of police. Perhaps he will be sent there around the time of the next election for a day trip, but there needs to be a genuine lift in the level of service for the people of the Ryde area long before then.
Police are desperately needed by the community, and after the tragic murder of Constable Glenn McEnallay and the suicide of Senior Constable Kristine Woods at Eastwood police station on 21 March, it is time for Commissioner Ryan to show some leadership and to help the police force get back to the basics of serving the community. Police are needed on the streets to fight crime, not for three-day operations that merely serve as a political stunt, similar to the stunt that was viewed by all in the Auburn by-election last year.
On 12 December 2001, the West Ryde Chamber of Commerce wrote to the honourable member for Ryde regarding police numbers, the lack of patrols in the area and the physical remoteness of West Ryde from Gladesville police station—Gladesville being the station that serves the people of West Ryde. What was the result? Merely the three-day operation I have referred to that took place early in March, not a real commitment to increasing police numbers and improving the quality of service. The police Minister likes to make an announcement almost daily about his finesse in fighting crime, but when it comes down to it, when we see where the promises are allegedly being acted upon, the result is disappointment—like the disappointment for the people of the Ryde area.
Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, who was appointed commander of Gladesville police station in January this year, is the sixth commander of the station in the past four years. Police in Gladesville must find it difficult to do an effective job with so many different commanders, no doubt all of whom have a different way of performing their job, different ideas and different ways of running the station. The residents of Ryde are being punished because of the commissioner’s inability to appoint a commander who will serve the community for a long period. Superintendent Katsogiannis has been appointed only until 31 December this year. Why has he not been given a longer contract? Clearly, Commissioner Ryan has very little faith in his local area commanders. This must be a terrible thing for police morale, prohibiting them from getting on with the job.
The people of the Ryde area need some stability and a serious police commitment on the streets so that levels of crime are reduced. People are still unsafe on the streets of Ryde. This clearly demonstrates that policing must be taken more seriously and that greater police numbers should be on the streets. There needs to be a genuine and substantial police presence in the Ryde area, not merely a passing show in the hope of buying a few votes for next year’s election.
Ashes: Sydney War Cemetery, Memorial Ave, Rookwood
Memorial located at:
Lance is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of RemembranceBUT SHOULD BE
37 years later ( 2019 ) and this man is still not recognised by the NSWPF – but WE – the people who Served in NSWPF, still Remember and Honour our Fallen
A Senior Constable Lance Meline committed self harm with a police revolver at Helensburgh Police Station on the 8 April 1982. He was apparently having trouble with hoodlums in the Helensburgh area too.
Lest we forget … Police Remembrance Day. Photo: Robert Pearce
