Hi, I am trying to find is a David Christopher BOURKE who immigrated to Australia and was a Queensland Police Service Officer. He took leave from the police to join the Australia Army during WWI. He died on 2 May 1915. His NOK was his mother, Mrs K Bourke, 90 Coventry Drive, Dennistown, Glasgow. I am looking to see if his name appears somewhere on a local war memorial or cenotaph where his family is from. Mel
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 31 October 1966 ( aged 23 years, 4 months, 9 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 12 December 1966 ( aged 23 years, 5 months, 20 days )
Constable – appointed 12 December 1967
Constable 1st Class – appointed 12 December 1971
Senior Constable – appointed 12 December 1975
Appears in the 1989 Stud Book as a SenCon
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: North East District ( 1967 ), Newcastle, Carrington, HWP ( Cyclist ) at Scott St, Newcastle ( ? – June 1969 ), Gunnedah HWP – Cars – Sept 1972 – ), PCBC Gunnedah – ( Police Citizens Boys Club ), Lake Macquarie PCYC ( Police Citizens Young Club 1979 – ) – retirement
Service: Frompre 12 December 1966to? ? ? = ? years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 22 April 1983
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 27 August 1992
Born: Tuesday 22 June 1943
Died on: Tuesday 3 May 2016 at Mayfield Aged Care, NSW
Due to an accident he had while in the Highway Patrol, he was always on pain killers and for more than ten years he has been using morphine patches, the prolonged use of these medications had a detrimental effect on his health this, coupled with his lifestyle, contributed to his early death.
Bruce had been ill since around August 2015 and had a bleed on the brain and surgery in September 2015.
Unfortunately Tarro had a few setbacks since that time and needed 24/7 care and was placed into the Mayfield Aged Care & Wallsend Nursing Home.
May he forever Rest In Peace.
Some work ‘history’ of Tubby from Gunnedah:
His stint on the motorcycles ended in June 1969 in Newcastle, when a VW failed to give way to Bruce when he was dispatched to a bank hold-up (hoax). He spent four months in the Mater Hospital in Newcastle and returned to work full-time the following year in highway patrol cars.
He transferred to Gunnedah in September 1972 as the only Highway Patrol officer in the town, about a year later he transferred to the PCBC to become the assistant constable at the GunnedahPolice & Citizens Boys Club and shortly after he was made the Officer in charge.
He lobbied for a better site for a multi-functional club and plans were drawn up for the new PCYC on the Gunnedah Showground, before the building was finished Bruce was offered a transfer to Newcastle to build another club in the Lake Macquarie area.
In 1979 we returned to Newcastle and Bruce commenced the task of raising funds and planning the new club. This task was achieved with support from local businesses and a very strong committee and the new club was opened by the then Prime Minister the Honorable Bob Hawke AC on 1st October 1983.
Bruce continued to run the club until his retirement due continued complications from the motorcycle accident back in 1969.
Info: Mary Tarrant
A childhood friend of Bruce, comments: Although Bruce and I ( Anthony Stevens ) were never stationed together, we were both good childhood friends living in Whitegates, Wallsend and attended school together in Newcastle.
6 July 2020
Clive Maxwell WRIGHT
| 03/05/2016
Clive Maxwell Timothy John WRIGHT
late of Lachlan St, Cowra
New South Wales Police Force
Father of Robert # 30890 ( Windsor HWP ) & Steven # 29509 ( Lake Macquarie District – Toronto GD’s )
Joined NSW Police Force via NSW Police Cadet system on 5 December 1960
Cadet # 1639
Police Training Centre – Redfern Academy Class 95B
Regd. # 10643
Rank: NSW Police Cadet – commenced Monday 5 December 1960 ( aged 16 years, 8 months, 14 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 21 March 1963 ( aged 19 years, 0 months, 0 days )
Senior Constable – appointed 21 March 1972
Sergeant – appointed 2 April 1979
Final Rank: Sergeant 1st Class
Stations: Sydney Metropolitan Area ( including STP ), Plain Cloths & GD’s at Broken Hill, Tumut, Talbingo ( around late 1960’s – early 1970’s ), 6th Contingent to Cyprus from 13 May 1969 to 16 June 1970 as a Civilian Police Peace Keeper, Blayney, Tea Gardens, Buronga ( 1980’s ), Cowra, Retirement due to poor health
Wentworth & Newcastle.
Service: From 5 December 1960to 5 September 1996 = 35 years Service
Passed away suddenly 21st April 2016, aged 72 years.
Late of Lachlan St, Cowra.
Loving husband of Judy & devoted father and father in law to Rob & Julie, Steve & Shayne.
Adored Pop to Liam, Jessica, Travis & Laura.
Clive’s family & friends are respectfully invited to attend his funeral, to be held at St Raphael’s Catholic Church, Cowra, commencing at 11.00am on Monday 2nd May 2016.
Cronulla riots: Lebanese Muslim gang behaviour incites riot
Martin Lehmann – 13 December 2005
The left-wing, politically correct mainstream media had a field day blackening Australia’s reputation following the Cronulla riots.
All Arabs unite as one, we will never back down, the Aussies will feel the full force of the Arabs. Destroy everything, gather at Cronulla December 18 at midday – spread the word. Together exterminate the enemy at Cronulla. Send this to every lion of Lebanon. – Text message circulating amongst Lebanese gang members
Tension had been building for months as gangs of Lebanese swarmed on to Sydney’s Cronulla beach, jostling elderly patrons, abusing Australian families and threatening to “rape Aussie sluts” for wearing bikinis. They did not come to enjoy the beach in the Australian tradition. They came to flout their disrespect for Australian culture and for Australian law and order.
Matters came to a head the previous weekend when two young Australian lifesavers were bashed by a Lebanese gang.
Following a series of text messages, 5,000 Australians turned up on Sunday December 11, 2005 at Cronulla determined to “reclaim the beach”.
Unfortunately, the combination of alcohol, hot sun and a group of neo-nazi infiltrators turned the demonstration into a raging mob. There were disturbing scenes of mob violence and attacks on police and ambulance officers.
Meanwhile the Lebs were planning a speedy retaliation. After dark, more than 40 carloads of Lebanese thugs descended on nearby Maroubra and indulged in an orgy of smashing car windscreens, jumping on car roofs, smashing shop windows and beating up anyone of Anglo appearance.
One man was stabbed in the back in a cowardly attack.
That evening around 100 locals of Punchbowl, New South Wales (a suburb 20 km to Cronulla’s north–west) gathered together at the local Punchbowl Park. Additional groups, armed with baseball bats, also gathered at The Promenade and Arncliffe Park.
The groups formed a convoy of “more than 40 cars” and drove down to the beaches “to get revenge” with many of the cars ending up in Maroubra.
At 22:45 the cowardly police command ordered police “not to approach convoys of men of Middle Eastern appearance” however car details and registration details were to be recorded.
Police subdue some of the Lions of Lebanon
A local of Maroubra reported that each of the cars that arrived was “full, you know had four passengers.” The convoy was reportedly armed with bars and bats, knives, machetes and guns. The group assaulted several people, knocking one unconscious and threatening another with rape, and damaged between 60 and 100 cars, setting at least one on fire.
Police in riot gear moved to contain the violence and the crowds responded by throwing bricks and glass. Residents reported that in some streets “every car” had had their windows smashed, with glass covering the streets. Police also confiscated 40 iron bars and arrested 14 people.
A 26-year–old mechanic dubbed “Dan” was stabbed in the back three times and twice in the thigh with a 9.8 centimetre blade. The incident occurred outside Woolooware golf club when two cars carrying a group of males “described as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance” approached the man and his friends. Dan and his friends attempted to flee from the group who were shouting “Get the Aussie dogs … get the Aussie sluts”, Dan was knocked to the ground and was repeatedly kicked in the head. The attack ended when the 9.8 centimetre knife snapped off in the victim’s back.He was taken to hospital in a serious condition as the blade had narrowly missed his spine and lungs.
Jake Schofield was attacked by a group of four men of “Middle Eastern appearance”, the men beat Schofield repeatedly, stabbing him twice and hitting him with a piece of concrete before stealing his wallet and keys. The attack left him with a fractured eye socket and fractured nose.
How did the print media portray it? All the emphasis was on the “racist” attacks by Australians. Very little
Lebanese gang leader, Jeffrey Ismail was sentenced to 12 months jail for helping to organise the revenge attacks.
mention of the Lebanese thuggery.
I trawled through the websites of the mainstream media next day, including The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun. There were dozens of pictures of the Cronulla riots but not one picture of any of the dozens of car and shopfronts trashed by the Lebanese gangs. There were no pictures of the Leb gang members, not even a picture of the man who was rushed off to hospital with a Leb knife protruding from his back.
The mainstream media, particularly the print media, are an absolute disgrace.
The journalists portrayed the Cronulla riots as “racist” attacks but the lebs orgy of destructions is dubbed a “retaliation” attack, totally ignoring the clearly racist insults, text messages (above) and threats by the Muslims.
The Leb problem has been simmering for years, but the journos have applied a Maxwell Smart cone of silence. People like ex-NSW detective Tim Priest have been warning of the dangers of Lebanese criminal gangs for years.
The night after the riots the detestable Ellen Fanning interviewed Prime Minister John Howard on Nine’s A Current Affair. In an incredibly biased piece of journalism Fanning desperately tried to get Howard to say that the Cronulla riots were racist and indicative of racism in Australia. Howard, to his credit was having none of it.
Even the electronic media refer to Cronulla as “race riots” and the Lebs violence as “ethnic violence”.
If the media had done their job they would have exposed the looming problem with Lebanese lack of respect for law and order months or even years ago and perhaps avoided Sunday’s confrontation.
It is no wonder that journalists are so despised.
Some time later, journalist Miranda Devine, gave a more balanced account of the incident, although she couldn’t avoid the racist slur, when she wrote on December 22, 2005 While the NSW police lock down entire beachfront suburbs, instruct stores to stop selling baseball bats, and apply the full force of the law to pasty-faced nerds with a taste for Nazi literature, they continue to cower from the real hardmen, the Lebanese-Australian criminal gangs of Sydney’s south-west who have ruled the roost in this city for at least a decade and now number in their thousands.
So when parents and children attending Christmas carols on Monday night, December 12, at St Joseph the Worker Primary School in South Auburn were abused and spat on by “young men of Middle Eastern appearance”, there were no police to protect them. Not even when the sounds of gunshots echoed inside the church, and parked cars were pumped full of bullets. “Police were called by a number of parents and the principal, but they were unable to attend because they were needed elsewhere,” said Cardinal George Pell in a statement.
The police were busy that night – Sydney’s mini Kristallnacht “night of the broken glass” – as carloads of men drove east from Lakemba and Punchbowl to systematically attack whole streets of parked cars with bats and machetes. Identified by police as being of the proverbial Middle-Eastern appearance – code for Lebanese Muslim, despite the fact many are second-generation Australians – they also stabbed a man, smashed a woman’s head with a bat, attacked another woman in a pizza shop and a man who was putting out his rubbish.
They were extracting revenge for the riot the day before on Cronulla beach when a protest against continuing intimidation of beachgoers by thugs described as Lebanese turned ugly and drunken racists attacked passers-by suspected of being “Lebs”.
At the height of the Cronulla race riots a 16-year old Muslim boy climbed the local RSL club’s flagpole and threw the Australian flag down to his mates. They spat and urinated on it before setting it ablaze. The boy, Ali Ammar, was charged and penalised for his actions, and later apologised. His remorse was real and so touched RSL State President Don Rowe he invited him to carry a flag at the ANZAC Day march. All hell broke loose for a second time. RSL members were outraged. The shock-jocks had a field day. The offer was withdrawn, but another remarkable plan was hatched to allow the boy to say sorry publicly and to experience first-hand why the Australian flag is so important for so many: Ali Ammar would walk across the legendary Kokoda track. Compass had exclusive access to follow Ali’s redemptive journey. This timely story touches on themes of national identity, religion and history.
Story producer: ABC
Story
Thanks for joining me. Tonight we conclude our two-part examination of Australian patriotism with a remarkable story you won’t easily forget. We follow a young man who accepts a pretty tough challenge to atone for his actions during the Cronulla riots and we watch a gradual build towards his moment of truth. Along the way we find out why he did what he did and a lot more, questions that strike at the heart of what we Australians aspire to, at our core.
(ABC News Footage) Reporter
A week of simmering racial tensions boiled over into mob violence today in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. Man 1
“It’s our beach. Aussies’ beach. They can go.”
Narr
December 2005. Racial tensions flare up in Sydney’s southern suburbs. There were so many provocative acts, but one incident in particular would focus the anger of the media. A teenage boy tore down an Australian flag from the roof of the Brighton RSL, threw it to his mates, and burnt it.
Don Rowe- State President of the New South Wales RSL
Why would you go and pick on the symbol of your nation to do something that despicable to it? It’s a symbol of us as a people.
Ali Ammar
Thinking about it now it wasn’t a good idea. But, at the time, we just wanted to show how angry we were.
(ABC news Footage) News Reader
A Sydney teenager who burnt an Australian flag will now carry one in next year’s Anzac Day parade.
Narr
But this offer of reconciliation soon became a catastrophe.
(Talk back Radio) Caller 1
I don’t want that person anywhere near my flag. Caller 2
Instead of peeing on the flag they should pee on him.
Ali Ammar
I felt like, did I hurt this much people? What I’d done? Like something so small but so effective.
Narr
Ali spent several months in juvenile detention for his crimes but, far from destroying his life, it set him on a new path, a path that’s helping him reassess his life, his flag, and his country. And now it’s about to lead him to the greatest challenge of his life, walking the legendary Kokoda Track.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Why are you here? Because I guarantee over the next ten days you’re going to hit the wall. Physically you’re going to get to a point where you’ll wonder if you can go on. If you know the reason you’re here, you’ll keep going.
Tim – age 17
I’m here because I want to know about Kokoda. I am really patriotic about Australia and this is where Australia fought off the Japanese invasion.
Aaron – age 19
The main reason I came over is to just challenge myself, learn about the people who fought for us. Just figure out what it was like for them.
Courtney – age 19
Don’t ask me why I decided to do it. I’m a bit crazy and thought it would be a fun idea.
Jennifer – age 20
I often represent Australia.
Narr
This group is about to set off on an incredible journey. They’ve all been sponsored by Australian RSL clubs who believe the experience could change their lives. Some are high achievers. Others have had a more chequered past.
Brady – age 19
The reason why I came on this challenge was I got voted in by the Wagga RSL Club. Yes, I was a hectic kid.
Tim – age 17
I want to see what happens when I hit the wall, If I can go through it. And if when everyone else hits the wall, if I can pull them through it.
Ali Ammar
Hi, my name’s Ali.
Narr
Ali is here as a bold gesture by the RSL, an attempt to mend some of the damage caused by the Cronulla riots.
Ali Ammar
I think I’m here to learn about Australian qualities and Australian history basically.
Narr
But none of his new friends know who he is or what he’s done.
Ali Ammar
And I heard that by the time this trek finishes it should make me a better man.
Narr
Over the next ten days the trekkers will experience a real test of physical endurance, Heat, humidity, primitive conditions and no days off. A team of local carriers will look after the camping and cooking, but the trekkers will be expected to carry their own packs. It’s well organised, but no holiday. The Track runs from Kokoda to Owers Corner, near Port Moresby. It’s only about a hundred kilometres, but they’ll be hiking through some of the most inaccessible and punishing terrain on earth. The trekkers are expecting it to be tough. But what may not realise is just how emotional this journey will be. Because they’ll be following in the footsteps of an earlier group of young Australians, who found themselves here 65 years ago.
Narr
It’s 1942, and a Japanese invasion force has landed in New Guinea. Their aim, to take Port Moresby and be in striking distance of Australia. All that stands between is a small band of largely irregular soldiers. The militia. Ill equipped, and poorly trained, they’ve slogged for days over the mountains to meet the enemy at Kokoda. Over three months they’ll resist the Japanese. Their stories of determination, of courage, and mateship will burn into the Australian psyche to rival Gallipoli.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
This quiet, beautiful place 65 years ago was just a slaughterhouse. And yeah some men that the country doubted stepped forward, the militia, the chocos, they stepped up. And somehow, I believe, that these young guys we’ve got on the track, when they’re asked to, they’ll step up. And that’s all they need is belief, opportunity and belief. And that’s I believe what we can give them, both of those on the track.
(John talking to the group)
This is the Kokoda plateau, this is where the Kokoda campaign started and finished. Now, we’re going to follow the battle from this end as the Australians retreated up through Isurava.
Narr
Team leader John Nalder has walked Kokoda many times. He’s become an expert on the people and places that give the Track meaning.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
The purpose of this is to bring the history to you, create and interest, and most importantly expose you to the opportunity to learn some lessons about your life.
It’s going to hit them from so many degrees. One, the physical challenge of it strips away the veneer of their day to day life. The people, the carriers, will touch them enormously, and that’ll touch them emotionally. And then the history. So it’s really three-fold. It becomes almost a spiritual experience when you combine those.
Narr
It’s a long way from what Ali’s used to – the suburbs of Sydney and a Lebanese Muslim upbringing.
Ali Ammar
When I was a kid growing up in Australia it was sort of weird, because I used to have different lunch to everyone else. And they’d have birthday parties and things like that, or just places they’d go different to us.
Hassain Ammar – Ali’s Uncle
He was a brilliant boy. He was a very polite, very active, brave little kid you know. He always jumped in front of you doing things. Top soccer player. When he moved to high school he started mixing with the wrong crowd, I think. Smoking, girls, and alcohol.
Ali Ammar
Always go out on the weekends. Go and have fun with my friends. Spend my money. Just to have a good time mainly. Because as a kid I was hardly allowed out and things like that. But, I dunno, sort of my dad’s upbringing was no friends, no going out, things like that. Like, when I was sort of caged in for that long I just burst.
Narr
It’s the second day, and the first big challenge, the hill that leads up to the new Australian Memorial at Isurava. Many of the trekkers are already feeling the heat. Teneil is the youngest in the group. She’s only sixteen and it’s her first big trip away from home. Brady, a tough, knock-about farm boy from Wagga. He’s seen a fair bit of life already.
Brady – age 19
It’s where my ex girlfriend stabbed me. With a butter knife. Oh just where me and a bloke had a puncher in there. He sliced me with a bottle. I got heaps, not good.
Narr
And then there’s Aaron, nineteen years old. And from a family of battlers. He’s never done anything like this before. And he’s really doing it tough.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Little steps, mate, little steps. Big steps take a lot out of you. Get into a rhythm. Nice and slow, gentle rhythm. And your breathing, breath deep. Nice deep breaths into your diaphragm. Are you with me? Let’s do it, nice and slow.
Narr
Like Ali, Aaron’s also had a troubled past having had a few run-ins with the police in his early teens. Now he’s a youth worker himself, wanting to pass on lessons learned on the track.
Aaron – age 19
Oh it’s killing me now, it’s unreal, but it’s good. Pretty much want to get right through it and just encourage kids when I get back, just to go through life one step at a time. Pretty much, for sure. Mainly just for leadership with a lot of the kids that I work with and stuff. Just so you can sort of let them know that life isn’t as easy as they think it is.
Narr
But John’s starting to get nervous about Aaron.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Yes, he’s battling physically. Mentally he’s still strong which is a good thing; he’s determined to get there. But as the physical deteriorates then the challenge is how his mental holds up, because at the moment, physically, he’s shot. Normally, I’d look at someone in that condition and say, no, not going to make it.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
My feeling, and obviously you’re a part of it, but we’ll make this decision together. I don’t think you’re going to make it up to the top, much as I’d love to see you at the Memorial. And the pain was just getting sharper and sharper over that last bit, wasn’t it? Tell me what you think.
Aaron – age 19
It’s not that I don’t want to go there but I just don’t want to injure myself.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
I know. It’s not a question that you want to be here. But it’s just physically we’re not going to, I’m not prepared to see you do long term permanent damage to yourself over what’s a goal that can be set again. Do you want to come with me and we’ll go over and let the group know?
Aaron – age 19
Yep.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Aaron’s knees have gone on him. We’ve made a decision. He’s going back. It doesn’t mean one iota less for Aaron. I’ve made the decision in conjunction with him and to go on is just going to cause too much damage to him. We’ve also made the goal to each other. He’s going to go back, do the work, get ready, and he’s going to come back and do it again. Now, we’ve had some really good people who have failed first time and they’ve come back and done it again. And in life, as here, no matter how many times you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up again.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
You’re now at a site that I’ll say is second only to Gallipoli. So really take in the words on those pillars, courage, endurance, mateship, sacrifice.
Narr
At the end of the day’s climb is the Isurava memorial, dedicated to those men who fought a desperate and ferocious battle here early in the campaign with the loss of many mates.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
No matter how many times I’ve been here, I still choke up. Every time I come here this place chokes me up.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
I just want to share a poem with you. It’s called “What do you say to a dying man?”
“What do you say to a dying man
D’you call him Bob, or digger or mate?
As you look at the face you knew so well,
The look in his eyes says it’s late.
And you know if you happen to survive this onslaught,
They will surely ask you of his life’s end.
Just three minutes ago he was so full of life,
Firing his Bren from the hip.
The platoon attacking as it had so many times before.
When all of a sudden he’s hit.
And my best mate falls at my feet.
‘Tell them I tried’, he said.
My words of goodbye froze on my lips.”
Would you make him proud of that sacrifice?
Brady – age 19
I’d be fighting pretty hectic. I’d give it a go. Because I’d also be fighting for my mates as well as my country. Like, I have to say one thing. Hats off to them all. They’re soldiers. They’re good.
Jennifer, age 20
When I went up to the memorial and I was looking at the four stones I think “Sacrifice” is the one that jumped out at me. Not because it’s something we have to do but it’s our inheritance. It’s the boots that we have to fill. And I think that’s a big thing for us.
Ali Ammar
You’ve got to have courage, and not just that, if you’re going to see your mates dying around you because the courage isn’t there, it’s going to go back to mates. Like you’re caring that they’re falling out on the battlefields and things like that. And you want to show them that you can stand up to a force even if it’s that big.
(News footage of riots) Crowd
“Fuck off Lebs, fuck off Lebs …”
Narr
Back in 2005, in the thick of the Cronulla riots, Ali’s own mateship and allegiances were to be put to the test.
Ali Ammar
And my mate came back with stitches from his eyebrow down to his cheek. That’s what made us really shitty. We just felt like we had to do something about it. We just wanted to show how angry we were.
Narr
On the following night Ali and some of his mates met in the car park at Brighton le Sands. Trouble was in the air.
Ali Ammar
When you are around so many people and that many ideas and that many thoughts going through your head and you’re in a situation like mine you’re not really thinking.
Narr
They found themselves outside the RSL. Ali’s mates pointed to the flag fluttering defiantly above the crowd.
Ali Ammar
Well someone boosted me up on the telegraph pole and from there I climbed up. And before I knew it I brought down the flag. As I came on to the edge people were screaming out throw it to me, throw it to me, things like that and then I just threw it down. That flag looked like the people that … represented the people that were rioting in Cronulla and going against us and things like that. We felt unwanted, we felt hated,
(Back on the Kakoda Track) Trekker 1
“Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget.”
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Some of these kids have never been out of the city. They’ve never experienced bush let alone jungle. They’ve never been in a tent. It’s just so far out of their comfort zone. So I guess I slowly expand that.
Narr
Day three, and out of Isurava is a series of steep and slippery hills, where going up is exhausting, and coming down even worse.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
This is the wartime village of Eora Creek. This is where the wounded were staged. There’s photos taken here during the war and it was just a scene of utter confusion. And one thing that was very common throughout the withdrawal was that, people refused help. There was always, a very common one was, no, I don’t need to be carried, look after them. They’re worse. So there were people with horrific wounds who walked, people with shot-up arms combining with someone with a shot-up leg and together they provided the propulsion to get up and down this terrain.
Narr
And it’s not long before the trekkers have to cope another casualty of their own.
Brady, age 19
I dislocated my knee, yes. I was walking across a bridge and my boots were wet. And these aren’t real good for rocks and stuff. And I just moved the wrong way and it popped out. And luckily I pulled my knee back in the right way when I got back up and it popped itself back in. Straight across there, swollen, very sore.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
The boys are going to bring the stretcher down in a moment.
Narr
Which makes Brady an ideal volunteer for John’s next demonstration.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
The most critical part of carrying a stretcher is the lift. You’ve got a wounded guy in there so you’re not going to put any packs on top of him. In this case we’ll have Brady with his pack and that’s it.
So the person is in there head first here and feet down there.
Narr
It’s an exercise in how wounded soldiers were evacuated down the track.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Now lie in there and I know that’s going to be hard for you, you’ve got to shut up. Ok, Ali, there’s your casualty. Organise your people, let’s get ready to go.
Ali Ammar
I need two people on either end and.
Narr
For Ali, who’s been content to stay somewhat in the background so far, it’s a chance to pull his head up and make an impression.
Ali Ammar
So whoever’s the same height I want them next to each other please. Two at the back, two at the front. You two at the back and, hold on. Tim, you and Tim and Adam on the front. Let’s go.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
The track touches them and you see a lot of them, there’s really only “I” in their life. And that’s it. And as the track affects them they start to look sideways. They start to help other trekkers, people they’re with and a bit of the selfishness starts to disappear. Because I work on the philosophy they’ll forget what I said, they’ll forget what I did, but they’ll probably never forget how I made them feel.
Narr
Back in 1942 the diggers absolutely relied on native stretcher bearers, the “fuzzy-wuzzy angels”. In impossible conditions, and at great personal risk, they saved hundreds of injured soldiers. John hopes that the example of those wartime angels will rub off on the trekkers.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
In doing the stretcher carry brings them together and starts to promote the teamwork side of it. And what I’ve done now is turned them loose and said basically go for home. So now I‘m watching to see who’s helping. And some of the faster ones I see have stopped to go with Brady which is good. Some of the others they’re not really caring what’s behind them and they’re really just going for home.
Narr
But unfortunately for Brady, what was a simple demonstration just this morning is now only too real. The tough terrain has finally felled him. The descendants of those wartime angels must carry him out. Brady’s trek is over, and John has got a few hard lessons for everyone else.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Interesting day. Since lunchtime I’ve seen some real true Kokoda spirit and I’ve seen some bloody selfish behaviour. Where people are locked on themselves and not even looking sideways. I’m not going to specify anyone, but as a group get your act together. Look sideways. It’s not just about you. Some of you were on one course on that last stretch. To get here as fast as you could. And there wasn’t a bloody consideration for a few others. I saw one person virtually knock someone off the track passing them, and not even a word, because they were in a hurry.
Ali Ammar
Every corner you take you think we’re getting there, but it just keeps going and going and going. And then I’ve hit stages where I just want to get there and I don’t worry about anyone else. And I know that was wrong.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Some of you displayed real true Kokoda spirit. Let’s get it right through the group. Come on guys, you’ve got the potential. You’re there.
I’d like to introduce you to a very special man. This man was a carrier for the Australian Troops in the Second World War here in Papua New Guinea. This man was wounded during the war, shots fired, he lost fingers. He spotted a Japanese ambush and he saved the lives of Australians by diving off the track. So he’s a very special man.
“Many mother in Australia
When the busy day is done
Sends a prayer to the Almighty
For the keeping of her son.
Asking that an angel guide him
And safely bring him back
Now we see those prayers are answered
On the Owen Stanley Track
Slow and careful in bad places
on that awful mountain track
And the look upon those faces
makes us think that Christ was black.”
He does this to me all the time. This is a very special man and for each of you this is a very special moment.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
One more thing, if you look at these medals on his chest, there’s not one from the Australian Government. They’ve all been donated by trekkers. There’s police medals from policemen that I’ve brought over. One policeman from Western Australia actually gave his bravery medal for me to bring back for this man. There’s not one medal there from the Australian government.
Ali Ammar
The way the carriers I think feel is that the Australian Government, not the Australian people, there’s nothing wrong with the Australian people, but the Australian Government have been short on a lot of things. Mainly just recognising. Recognising does a lot. Like it can change a whole country, just if you recognise them.
Narr
Two days later and the trekkers are more than half way. They’re heading towards the highest point of the track more than 2000 metres above sea level. The air has become cool and thin.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
The high spirits of Aduri are starting to fade on the steep climb and it’s pretty quiet after a very noisy descent. They’ve gone silent. I think they’re more concerned about oxygen at the moment.
Narr
Ali has lately drifted towards the back of the pack.
Trekker 1
Someone just shoot me now … We’re the KT Boys, the Kokoda Track boys.
Trekker 2
Our paths crossed. Now we’re at the back of the pack, because we’re slow
Trekker 1
You know, when I get home I’m going to give my mum and my dad the biggest hug.
Ali Ammar
There’s nothing like family. Situations like this that’s when it actually hits you in the head. You know what you’ve really got and you’ve taken it for granted, taken advantage of it.
Narr
Ali’s family was shattered by his act of vandalism during the Cronulla Riots. They felt angry, shamed by his insult to their adopted country.
Hassain Ammar – Ali’s Uncle
Australia treated us very well. We were lucky to be here. We never are the type of people that you sort of eat from somebody’s plate and you spit on it as we say in a phrase.
(ABC news footage) News Reader
A teenager who burned an Australian flag in retaliation for the riots will spend the next fortnight in custody.
Narr
When Ali was arrested he was already on a good behaviour bond for previous offences. He ended up spending seven months in juvenile detention, and it scared the life out of him.
Hassain Ammar – Ali’s Uncle
Nothing was getting into him till this happened, when he got locked up. He says that he started thinking things over and he sort of like, what am I doing? Why did I do this?
Ali Ammar
Well my burning the flag, I hurt many people. Basically families and that grew up under this flag. And war veterans and things like that. It’s not their fault the Cronulla riots happened. And me doing that, burning the flag, just cut em even more, like put em in the position where I was showing them hate. And as much hate as was shown towards us, why should I show it to anyone else?
Don Rowe
I think I was pleased to hear that somebody had been apprehended for it.
Narr
Don Rowe, State President of the New South Wales RSL, first met Ali at a Reconciliation Conference after he came out of detention.
Don Rowe
It became pretty obvious to us that he was remorseful in what he had done and was very sorry what had happened. And his attitude and the sincerity in his voice convinced us that he was fair dinkum. And he was a young fellow in the wrong place at the wrong time, and had done something really stupid.
(ABC news footage) News Reader
A Sydney teenager who burnt a flag will now carry one in next year’s Anzac Day parade. The RSL says it’s an attempt to create something good out of last year’s violence around Cronulla.
Narr
So the RSL in a bold gesture of forgiveness, hatched a plan for Ali to march on ANZAC Day.
When the news broke that the flag burner would be become the flag bearer, talk back radio went wild.
(Talk back Radio) Caller 1
We don’t want him to be a hero, we just want him to go away.
Caller 2
He doesn’t deserve to go anywhere near that flag. And to be quite frank with you, he and his parents and everyone else can go back to where they came from.
Caller 3
That young fella should realise he’s living in the best country in the world. Instead of peeing on the flag they should pee on him.
Don Rowe
There’s lots of people said they were going to spit on him and abuse him and throw eggs at him and kick his arse every time they saw him. That’s just not on.
Ali Ammar
I felt like, did I hurt this much people? What I’d done. Like something so small but so effective.
Don Rowe
It doesn’t help the cause, it doesn’t help any young person who respects and relies on the values of what Australia is about.
Narr
And so Ali came to Kokoda instead. Except this time it was all kept very secret. No-one except John knows about Ali’s past. But the thought of telling his new friends is starting to weigh heavily on him.
Ali Ammar
I think if I do there’s going to be a big difference on my trip here. Like people are going to be looking at me a lot differently. And maybe if they do find out, maybe one time when I put my hand out to help them up a ledge or something, I don’t think they’re going to take my hand.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
He’s got these barriers up because he doesn’t want to get hurt. And yes he’s going to risk hurt, but he’s never going to be able to really advance and build relationships until he takes that step.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
I want to pose a question to all of you. It’s a question that’s also a challenge. Maybe ask yourself in life, when the going gets a bit tough, do you immediately stop? Or would you push through it? Because what I’m seeing at the moment, is a group of guys, you’ve done some hard yards, but this morning for some reason, you’re stopping all the time. And what you’re doing is that you’re training yourself to stop, every time it gets a little bit hard. Now, nothing’s easy in life and it’s not easy on the Track but you’re not gaining anything by continually stopping. You’re actually making it harder for yourself.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
The lessons are touching him. The Track works on you whether you like it or not. And, yes, he is being touched. What I can’t judge at this stage is the depth of how far it’s gone.
Narr
By day six, the lessons are coming thick and fast. They’re now on their way to Brigade Hill, and the scene of one of the most devastating battles in the campaign. Here, a small group of diggers, against impossible odds, held out to protect their mates, knowing full well that they would die.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Sit there for a couple of moments with your own thoughts and think about what those young men, how they felt. How would you feel, and I ask myself this question, and I can’t answer it. How would you feel taking off your identity disc and handing my pay packet, knowing that I was going to my death?
Look over this area here. You’ll see a lot of indentations. That’s the remains of 62 Australian soldiers who died here at Brigade Hill. Are we living up to the ideals that would honour their sacrifice? In all of you I see such enormous potential. And the only thing standing between you and your potential is your thinking. We owe it to these men to achieve our full potential.
(Trek Group sings Advance Australia Fair)
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Thanks guys, I’d say you’re the first group who’ve had the courage to do it up here. Well done. I’m really proud of everyone of you. Well done.
Narr
Emotionally and physically battered the trekkers are sensing that the end is within sight. But the track hasn’t finished with them yet
Trekker 1
That rain’s definitely coming closer.
Trekker 2
What will your mum say about this, Ali?
Ali Ammar
Oh, Mate, she’ll sack whoever sent me. What can I do about it? I can’t tell it to stop raining.
Narr
At first the rain seems a novelty…but a few hours later, for sixteen year old Teneil, it’s no fun at all.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
It’s just an emotional, everything comes to the front, it’s just an emotional thing and the best thing for her now is not sympathy, but to push on.
Teneil
I want to carry something
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Now, guys, it’s wet, so what? We can’t control it. Enjoy it. Go with it. Let’s put it into perspective. This weather is what almost that entire campaign was fought in, day and night. No-one’s being shot at. So let’s keep it in perspective. Go with it. Find the positive in it.
That’s actually really good. They’re starting to encourage each other and work together.. And they’ve got to. The misery meter’s going to be right up with the rain. There’s a few of them suffering emotionally, they’ll need some support from those around them, but it’s good.
Ali Ammar
It’s up to the knees, soldier on. My leg’s stuck, give me a hand.
Narr
Day eight, and the trekkers are on the long climb up to Imita Ridge. Here, 65 years ago the Australians’ fortunes finally changed. They dug in, stopped the Japanese advance, and began to slowly push them back along the track. It was to be an Australian victory, and the diggers’ dogged determination and resilience would become part of our folklore.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
This is coming towards the top of Imita Ridge, towards the end of a very tough climb. You’re asking a lot of them both physically and emotionally here.
Come on John-o, push it through. You’re nearly at the top there. Good man, breath deep. Some of them probably don’t realise but they’re doing things now that, eight or nine days ago, they would have been bawling heaps on the ground. Here comes one classic case, Teneil. She’s just going so well. She’s pushing through barriers, which is fantastic. All she’s got to do is get back into life and keep doing it. Just your pace, your goal, you’re nearly there. Finish it off, great going.
Teneil
Thanks, John.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
I’m going to do something that’s been done by myself very rarely. This is coming off me. This is my father’s dog tag. He was over here. Only about four people have ever worn this.
(John gives it to Teneil).
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Today’s been a real breakthrough for quite a few of them. Ali at the front. And I said you stay here. He said, I’m proud. I said I’m proud of you for being here. He’s totally broken away from this comfort circle at the back and he’s come up the front and he came up there and actually pushed himself through a bit of pain which he’s generally been a bit reluctant to do. So it’s good.
And now I want them to, I guess we’re working towards the end of the trek. I want them to come out with a few things that they’re going to change. Because it’s only another couple of days and they leave me, they leave the track.
(John talking to group)
I’m going to ask you to think about something you’re going to leave on the track. Something you’re going to change. Something you’ve done in your life and think, no, that’s it. It’s finished. It’s on the Track, I left it. I’ll give you an example. I’ll expose myself here. While I’m looking at each of you. I’ve got no trouble doing it. The respect that’s grown for each one of you over the last eight days. Now, I’ve a great son, a great daughter, but sometimes I’m a real hard prick. And I have a bit of trouble telling them I love them. That stays on the Track. When I get back, I’m not going to be a trek leader, I’m going to be a father. I’m going to tell them I love them. No mistakes, no regrets. It’s on the Track.
Jennifer, age 20
I think when we first turned up at the airport and I saw everybody and it was, oh, no, I’m going to be stuck in the jungle with this load of people for ten days and I really don’t want to do it. And I think I was judging you guys without really knowing you. And that’s something I’m going to try and leave behind.
Martin
I’ve got the strength to say, I don’t need to look back, it’s over. I’m a changed person because I can do this track. Thanks.
Narr
For most of these kids the Track has weaved its magic. But for Ali, his fears are still holding him back
Ali Ammar
I’m just trying to feel the right time. Something I’ve done, but it will probably change their, I dunno if it will, but hopefully it won’t. Seems the way they’re going and that it won’t change their actions or anything towards me, but I dunno.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Ali, can I tell you something from my heart? Would you judge yourself harder than other people are going to do? No-one’s going to change the perception of you. They’ve shared an experience with you. I’ve seen you grow. They’ve seen you grow. Pull down the walls. These people are accepting you really good, but you’ve got fences up.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
It’s something in his life that he has to deal with. It’s an issue that’s boiling there and under the surface of Ali’s, his personality, of who he is. It’s almost, I’d describe it as a boil there under the skin and he’s going to have to break it and deal with it.
Narr
Later that afternoon Ali finally bites the bullet.
Ali Ammar
I dunno, just a couple of things I want to let out and maybe some of you would want to know. There’s things I’ve done in the past. When the Cronulla riots were on, I was part of the burning of the Australian flag, and that’s why I’m here today. I’m not here because this is my consequence or anything like that. I’m here because I want to be here. I’m here because I hope that people that see me going through what I went through and the mistakes I’ve been through, and me admitting and owning up to my mistakes will change them.
A lot of things and a lot of people have done stupid things at that time, and, I dunno, I’m just owning up to it. And I’m trying, I’ve been trying hard, actually, ever since I got out of juvenile, I’ve been trying hard to make everyone understand and to make myself understand and to keep myself out of trouble. Don’t get me wrong I’m not perfect, but I’m trying. And the reason why I didn’t tell you earlier was because I didn’t want you to get a different picture about me. I wanted you to know who I really was first.
And coming here, coming here I was wishing I get a better understanding, a better understanding of how you guys feel about things like this and what is Australia and things like that. Different races, different things, everyone’s got a different opinion about each other. Don’t get me wrong, there’s bad people in each community and there’s good people in each community. But, I dunno, I think we should just socialise more and things like that. It’s just not going to work if we keep hating each other.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
Pretty big of Ali to come out and say that. And I’ll stand beside him, so mate to mate, good to share it with you.
Narr
Ten days, a hundred kilometres of pain, and they’ve finally made it, together.
John Nalder – Trek Leader
You are less accepting of yourself than what these people are. You need to go out now and be a leader in your community. Help bridge the gap between our two communities. You can be a leader.
What are your memories of that awful day? Comment below
WHEN photographer Craig Greenhill boarded a Cronulla train 10 years ago, he risked his life to capture the brutal bashing that shamed Australia. Here he tells Yoni Bashan about the story behind his iconic photographs.
“IT WAS a normal Sunday morning 10am shift. Nothing was happening.
The picture desk turned to me and said ‘why don’t you go down to Cronulla, have a bit of a stroll and see what’s happening’. I drove down and got there just after lunch.
Cars on the Cronulla beachfront. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Thousands of people flocked to the area. Picture: Craig Greenhill
To be honest, I was a little naive to what was going on. I didn’t know what I was walking into but as soon as I arrived it was apparent straight away this was a volatile situation.
It was literally thousands of people on the beach front, flying flags, driving their cars, pushing shopping trolleys with beer stocked in them. It seemed undermanned by the police. It was out of control.
When there was a flare-up, it turned into a bushfire and took over.
Men fly the flag up a tree at Cronulla before the riots kicked off. Picture: Craig Greenhill
“It was literally thousands of people on the beach front, flying flags.” Picture: Craig Greenhill
It seemed calm until some people with a bit of colour walked on the beach front and that was when the crowd turned and chased them down.
It was violent — bottles being thrown. The police had to rush in and protect the three innocent people on the beach and they were being chased. They eventually got past a wall of police to safety. That’s where the crowd turned. They got the smell of blood and the tension ramped up.
The crowd quickly turned ugly and began abusing a couple on the beach. Picture: Craig Greenhill
“They got the smell of blood and the tension ramped up.” Picture: Craig Greenhill
Police protect the innocent people from the angry mob. Picture: Craig Greenhill
The couple were rushed to safety behind police lines. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Tension brewed among the crowds in the morning. Picture: Craig Greenhill
One person I remember most from the Cronulla riots, from all the faces and people that I photographed that day, is Sergeant Craig Campbell.
I’m pretty sure Sergeant Campbell saved my life on the train that day.
It was the middle of the day and the crowd was raging, a mob mentality had taken over and there was an atmosphere of pandemonium: people were climbing trees and walking around with their chests puffed out, chanting racist slogans; some guy had written “Wogs out of Nulla” on his body in black texta; fights were breaking out between girls out the front of the Northies Hotel; and the police had no control over what was happening.
Police had little control over the crowd. Picture: Craig Greenhill
People rushed to the train station after a rumour spread about a “pack of Lebanese”. Picture: Craig Greenhill
“The crowd was raging, a mob mentality had taken over.” Picture: Craig Greenhill
A rumour had made its way through the crowd, something about a “pack of Lebanese” coming into the area; suddenly everyone started running to the train station, even the people who hadn’t heard the rumour. They were just following the crowd. As a photographer, I did the same.
The station was only about a kilometre away and when us photographers got there we saw everyone looking for this “pack” of men who’d supposedly come in to Cronulla for a fight. Instead, there were just two lone Middle Eastern guys sitting in the upper deck of a carriage trying to keep a low profile. I think they were actually trying to leave the area and waiting for the train to disembark. They weren’t doing anything wrong.
I remember seeing people jumping over fences and the turnstiles at the station to get close to the action. I saw a few people hop on the train, hesitate, and then come back onto the platform.
Hundreds of people jumped the fence to storm the train station. Picture: Craig Greenhill
The Daily Telegraph photographer Craig Greenhill won a number of awards for his Cronulla riot pictures. Picture: Supplied
A few moments later the situation escalated when these two guys ran onto the train and made their way to the upper level of the carriage. I followed them and started taking photos, trying to get as far into the corner as possible to capture the scene. There wasn’t any time to change lenses or anything. Within seconds carriage was full of people throwing punches and bottles at these two guys.
In my mind I wanted to record what was happening so I kept the camera trained on it all, but after a few seconds I put the camera down and yelled out, screaming almost.
“Get the f**k off ‘em! You’re going to kill ‘em,” I yelled.
Thugs rushed into the top carriage to attack two young men waiting on the train. Picture: Craig Greenhill
The innocent men were beaten senseless. Picture: Craig Greenhill
It became clear if I didn’t do something these guys would be in serious trouble. These guys were being pulled apart in front of me by a pack of dogs attacking their prey.
A few of the guys kind of stopped and looked at me. They sized me up and when they realised I was by myself and not a threat they just kept going, laying into those two guys.
That’s when Sergeant Campbell arrived, coming in old school.
The situation was just totally out of control and he responded in kind; his baton was out and he just charged forward, smashing everyone in front of him. I was lucky not to get hit.
“These guys were being pulled apart in front of me by a pack of dogs attacking their prey.” Picture: Craig Greenhill
This iconic image titled ‘Train Bashing’ won a Walkley and the 2006 News Awards Photograph of the Year. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Sergeant Campbell saved those guys and I felt like he saved me. I was the one left holding the evidence. Once the victims were incapacitated, I would have been their next target.
[blockquote]“Could I have done more on that day to step in and help these guys out? That’s a question I often ask myself”[/blockquote]
Much later I gave evidence in court against one of the main characters who hopped on the train that day. A few of the photographers there that day were asked by police to hand over their images to assist the ongoing investigation.
Suddenly Sergeant Craig Campbell rushed into the carriage and beat the attackers back with a baton. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Police quickly saved the Middle Eastern men from the attackers. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Tensions were high on the platform. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Police hold back the crowds. Picture: Craig Greenhill
My pictures from the carriage were used against one guy in particular, Brent Lohman, and he ended up getting a conviction. The same photo, which I called Train Bashing, ended up winning a Walkley Award for news photography.
It’s kind of ironic because, today, the Cronulla riots is used as an example of what photographers should not do in a riot situation.
Instinct took me onto the train, but, looking back, there was no escape route in that carriage and the circumstances were extremely dangerous.
If the same thing happened today I would probably be breaking a rule by doing the same thing.
Of course, if I did that, we wouldn’t have a visual record of what happened that day.
Police line block the crowd in Cronulla. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Police later arrested men of Middle Eastern appearance who were armed after their car was pulled over in Cronulla. Picture: Craig Greenhill
Police arrest men of who were driving into Cronulla armed in response to the train bashing. Picture: Craig Greenhill
In 2005 police sergeant Craig Campbell fought off a pack of Cronulla rioters while defending the lives of two young men who had been cornered on a train. It cost him everything.
Ten years after the Cronulla riots there are still ramifications. I am no longer the frightened 14-year-old worried an “Aussie” is looking to fight me, but those events did affect my outlook, feelings and sense of belonging for a long time, writes Mohamed Taha.
I was shocked, disgusted, angry and confused as I walked into my school the day after the Cronulla riots. I was 14 years old.
Granville Boys High School was a great place. The students were predominantly Lebanese Muslims, followed by Polynesian and Turkish students. I was a warm, bubbly student – a “cool” geek that was just awarded the Dux of Year 9 weeks earlier. The staff were strong-willed and many students were a little rough around the edges. There was a ghetto-like subculture among some students.
On that Monday, tensions were really high at the school. The riots were the talk of the playground. A lot of students were venting about the media reports they witnessed a day earlier: images of violence, drunkenness, vandalism, offensive slogans and racism. Particularly the images of Australian flags draped over the shoulders of Caucasian men who were targeting anyone who looked remotely Middle Eastern in appearance.
It all felt incredibly personal for a lot of the Lebanese students, including me. In class, I recall hearing some students saying how their parents were “packing their bags” or how they would “bash an Aussie” if they saw one. My friend referred to the racist catchcry, “We grew here, you flew here”. One student joked, “Don’t worry boys, just tell them, ‘You came in chains, we came in planes’.”
The funny thing is we were all born and raised in Australia. It didn’t matter though, as many of us were angry and some wanted revenge.
The “us and them” mentality had overpowered rational thought with fear and anger. At recess, I saw three Lebanese boys pushing another student against the wall. When I got closer, I realised they were about to punch one of the fair-skinned Italian students.
“Are you an Aussie dog or not?” one yelled as he grabbed the student’s shirt collar with his other fist clenched. The student pleaded he wasn’t “Aussie”. I intervened and told them to leave him alone. I said he’s Italian, not Aussie and that he was against the riots.
[blockquote]My mum was concerned about our welfare and told us to be careful in public. Weeks after the riots, we were only allowed to go to and from school.[/blockquote]
They stormed off. He was visibly shaken. I remember helping him stand and reminded him to tell people that day he was Italian, not “Aussie”. In retrospect that was wrong, but at the time it seemed like the only way to quell the anger.
By lunchtime, a text message had circulated among students that a bunch of white Aussie boys from the Shire were coming down to “punch on” with us after school. Apparently they were meeting us at Granville train station. I was shocked and a little frightened. I remember asking my older brother what we should do. He said we should do nothing but if anything happens, we will defend ourselves.
We lived in Lidcombe, which meant we had to travel east to get home, while the other boys travelled west to Granville, Guildford and Merrylands. This put my brother and me at risk of confronting the Caucasian group alone.
While I was worried about my own safety, others in the playground were turning to thoughts of battle.
“If they want war, we’ll give them war,” one yelled.
So almost 100 students, predominantly Lebanese, Arab and Turkish, gathered and went to the woodwork department. Many took pieces of wood as weapons. In the heat of the moment, I put a piece of wood in my bag. It was the first time I had ever given in to peer pressure, because I was genuinely scared I could be attacked. Upon reflection, I had given in to the “herd mentality”.
At the end of the day, like an army mobilising numbers on a battlefield, groups of students patrolled various parts of Granville train station and its platforms. It was very tense. Any person who looked remotely “Aussie” (fair-skinned and in school uniform) received a barrage of questions from hot-headed students. No such group came. The students went home. As my brother and I walked home from Lidcombe train station, I stopped at a local park and buried the piece of wood under mulch.
When we got home, we had a long conversation with my parents. My parents called for calm and restraint. My mum was concerned about our welfare and told us to be careful in public. Weeks after the riots, we were only allowed to go to and from school.
Ten years on, the riots still have ramifications. I am 24 now, but as I grew up the riots affected my outlook, feelings and sense of belonging. It’s difficult enough to navigate your way through life as a teenager with all the standard teen woes and problems. Add the complexities of racism, politics, media coverage and figuring out my identity and it can be very overwhelming.
I found my way by being comfortable in my own skin and I’m grateful for that. The moment I found peace of mind was the moment I embraced my mixed identity: I’m Australian by nationality, Muslim by faith and Lebanese by cultural heritage. I’m richer for it. It was incredibly difficult to figure out whilst learning what it is to be a “man” and how to be a “man”.
UK Islamic scholar Aftab Malik from the UN Alliance of Civilisations describes young Arabs and Muslims in the West as the “post 9/11 generation”. For us in Australia, I would add to that the Cronulla riots. One of the ugliest episodes in recent Australian history didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was a culmination of a bubbling undercurrent of racial tensions and clashes between young Caucasian and Middle Eastern men.
[blockquote]Until recently I thought we’d improved race relations in Australia. The Adam Goodes saga tells us otherwise. If our elite athletes get racially abused, what hope does the average Khaled, Ahmed or Maryam have of a fair go in society?[/blockquote]
The then prime minister, John Howard, seemed averse to suggesting that racism was involved when he said: “I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country.”
Tell that to 14-year-old me who was petrified of going home. The lack of honesty and stench of hypocrisy suffocated me. It engulfed my lungs. I wanted our leaders to call out the terrible behaviour and criminality from BOTH sides. Then right-wing commentators and media personalities added fuel to the fire by shifting blame on the “Lebanese community”, labelling them “Middle Eastern grubs”. The divisive language and slogans from both camps created a dangerous mix of unrest, anger, hysteria, paranoia and anxiety.
Australia’s undercurrent of racism reared its ugly head that day. And despite it being 10 years ago, many are still affected today. The majority of my Year 12 cohort went on to attend university, college and TAFE. Some entered the workforce. Many went through an identity crisis. Some changed their name to make it more “Anglo-friendly” for work purposes. Some internalised racism. Others adopted a victim mentality and blamed the system for everything that went wrong in their life. While others developed an inferiority complex. Sadly, some still carry these demons with them today.
Until recently I thought we’d improved race relations in Australia. The Adam Goodes saga tells us otherwise. If our elite athletes get racially abused, what hope does the average Khaled, Ahmed or Maryam have of a fair go in society?
We need a shift in attitude from all parts of society. For starters, let’s be open and honest about our history as a nation. Those in positions of leadership need to be measured in times of crisis. We have a civic duty to proactively work towards holistic change and aspire to higher values of justice, equality and fairness.
When I walk past the park in Lidcombe, I sometimes think of the piece of wood. Like our demons, it is buried deep down inside and lies dormant. It serves as a reminder of what a 14-year-old Australian Muslim of Lebanese descent felt he had to resort to in this country at a time when our social fabric was at breaking point.
Mohamed Taha is a reporter and producer for ABC News, based in the western Sydney bureau in Parramatta. Follow him on Twitter @Mo_Taha1.
Hero cop Craig Campbell left behind by the Cronulla riots
Date
Craig Campbell, pictured with his baton, fends off violent youths during the Cronulla riots in 2005. Photo: Nick Moir
He was front and centre at the Cronulla riots, furiously swinging his police baton to stop a mob of youths from bashing a Middle Eastern couple to death on a train.
But Craig Campbell is now down and out, living in a caravan outside his parents’ home on the NSW South Coast after leaving the force due to a breakdown from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The 56-year-old is not left with much.
Ex-police officer Craig Campbell was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and left the force shortly after the 2005 Cronulla riots. Photo: Katherine Griffiths
He lives on $440-a-week workers’ compensation, his marriage disintegrated and he has been unable to hold down a job since.
Advertisement
Even the bravery award that he won for the train incident was later taken away when the police hierarchy deemed he used “excessive force”.
But, a few weeks ago, there was an unusual bout of good news.
Muslim community members Beylal Racheha (left) and Adam Bowden (right) tracked down Craig Campbell (centre) after hearing that he hadn’t been recognised for his bravery. Photo: Supplied
Two members of the Australian Muslim community had remembered seeing the burly sergeant on TV 10 years ago, instinctively protecting the men on the train regardless of their skin colour.
Adam Bowden and Beylal Racheha heard Campbell had not been recognised for his efforts after 10 years so they tracked him down and called on their community to pitch in.
They drove down to North Wollongong, took him out for a Lebanese lunch and gave him $1000 in new clothing and cash.
Two youths sit in the train after Sergeant Craig Campbell forced a mob of men back to the station. Photo: Brad Hunter
“We just wanted to say thank you to him for the work he’s done, it was sad no one had acknowledged it,” said Beylal Racheha, a car wash operator and charity organiser.
“When I watched it happen 10 years ago, I was proud of that policeman. It showed that the police weren’t racist. It made me feel like we weren’t being purposely targeted.”
Campbell, who is still locked in a bitter struggle for injury payments, said he was taken aback when he met the pair.
“I really teared up because, you know, I’ve helped so many people out in my personal life in and around here in Dapto and when I wanted a bit of a hand, trying to get my car on the road and things like that, no one could be seen for dust.”
“I just thought of these two blokes, out of the goodness of their heart doing this, it really got to me actually.”
Campbell said a video of him swinging his baton on the train and the platform at Cronulla has been used as a training video at the academy.
In the days after, people shook his hand in the street. One of the men being attacked on the train thanked him for saving his life. His boss, former commander Robert Redfern, gave him a letter from his two daughters who said they were proud their dad worked with such a hero.
“To say it was excessive force is just rubbish,” he said.
It is an incident he will never forget, forever bitter about the way it was derided and etched in his mind along with dozens of other horrific jobs that led to his eventual breakdown in 2007.
“These days I just potter around and grow veggies and that and try to stay calm,” he said. “I never thought about PTSD, I thought it was all rubbish. But I still see the faces when I close my eyes. You try to push it out of your head, but you can’t.”
Sergeant Campbell tries to clear youths from a train at Cronulla Railway Station in 2005.
SYDNEY’S Muslim community is rallying behind a former police officer who was the face of the Cronulla riots.
The Craig Campbell Cohesion Cup will be held next month in honour of former Sergeant Craig Campbell, who has fallen on hard times following the 2005 riots.
Event organiser Dr Jamal Rifi said 16 football teams would take part in the event, which also aims to promote peace and understanding between the Middle Eastern community and the rest of society.
Craig with Jamal and Lana Rifi who are helping organise the Craig Campbell Cohesion Cup. Picture: Simon Bullard
The teams will be captained by prominent Muslims including boxer Billy Dib, former NRL star Hazem El Masri and cleric Sheik Nabil Suckarie.
Teams of local high school students and media organisations will also take part.
“Craig Campbell is a hero who has saved lives, and this soccer tournament will help highlight his heroic actions during the riots,” Dr Rifi said. “This is also about connecting the Australia Muslim community and the mainstream media.”
Event patron, former premier Morris Iemma, said: “For a fellow who did really good work keeping the streets safe and the role he played in the Cronulla riots, a lot of people are quite sympathetic to his plight. A lot of people are quite upset that for a man who is seen as one of the good guys, that incident in Cronulla has cost him his family and career.”
All money raised will go towards helping the father of three get back on his feet, while a donation will also be made to the Luke Batty Foundation.
Mr Campbell, 56, said he was “humbled” by the fundraiser, and said he was simply doing his job on the day of the riots when he saved a young man being attacked by an angry mob on board a train.
“The best part for me was the fact that I managed to save two young blokes’ lives.”
under patronage of former NSW premier the Hon.Morris Iemma.
Date: Sunday 15/05/2016.
Time: from 9 AM to 4PM.
Venue: Australian National Sports Club. 571-577 Punchbowl Road. Lakemba, NSW.
Official Ceremony: Starting at 2:00pm.
Fields & Officials: Professional Referees will be supervising the tournament on two indoor Courts.
Participants: 16 teams will be participating.
Team: 6 players on the field including Goalie and two reserves optional (Interchange).
The proceeds from tournament and sponsorship will be donated to Craig Campbell himself and to Luke Batty Foundation
Confirmed Team so far:
1- Billy Dib
2-Hazem Elmagic
3- Sheikh Ahmad Abdo
4- Sheikh Nabil Suckarie
5- Muslim Women Association
6- iShare Media
7- Al Wasat Media
8- Sydney morning herald
9-the Guardian newspaper
10-ABC team
Angela Rose TAYLOR
| 03/05/2016
Angela Rose TAYLOR
Victoria Police Force
[blockquote]The FIRST female Police Officer, in Australia, to be killed ‘ On Duty ‘[/blockquote]
Regd. # 24274
Rank: Constable
Stations: ?, Melbourne City Watch-House
Service: From? to 20 April 1986
Awards: National Police Service medal – granted 2016 & handed to her parents on the 30th anniversary of the Event date ( 27 March 2016 )
Born: ? ? 1964
Died on: 20 April 1986
Cause: Car bomb explosion – Murdered
Event date: Thursday 27 March 1986
Event Location: Outside of 336 Russell Street, Police Station, Melbourne. Known as the
‘ Russell Street Bombing ‘
Age: 21
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: Springvale Botanical Cemetery
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial at: 1/ Royal Melbourne Hospital – Angie Rose Taylor Ward – dedicated to Angie
2/Angela Taylor Memorial Foundation – presented to the Dux of each Police Academy Squad
3/Angela Taylor Fun Run
ANGELAIS mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Front Inscription In memory of Constable Angela Rose Taylor 24274, aged 21 years, City Watch-house, who died on 20th April 1986, as a result of injuries received when a car bomb exploded outside the Russell Street Police Complex on the 27th March, 1986.
The 1986 Russell Street bombing which tragically killed Constable Angela Rose Taylor and seriously injured 21 others.
The explosion was caused by a car bomb hidden in a stolen 1979 Holden Commodore, parked deliberately on the busy city street.
Twenty-one-year-old Const Taylor was crossing the road on a staff lunch run and only a metre away from the car bomb when it exploded. She died in hospital a month later. Const Taylor was the first policewoman to die in the line of duty.
This was Victoria’s first encounter with terrorism. Three men were convicted and two sentenced to life imprisonment.
May you forever Rest In Peace.
On March 27 1986, shortly before midday, Constable Taylor left the Russell Street Police Complex to collect lunches for her colleagues. As she stepped on to Russell Street, she passed within 1 metre of a car packed with gelignite. At this time, the gelignite was detonated and the car exploded, showering the area with shrapnel. Angela suffered severe burns to 70% of her body and was hospitalised as a result. However, she died on 20 April 1986.
Stanley Taylor and Craig Minogue were convicted and imprisoned over the bombing which was motivated by an intense hatred of police.
Victoria Police Association Journal March 2006 p 10 & 11
It is 20 years since a car bomb exploded outside the Russell Street Police Complex – two decades since Constable Angela Taylor was mortally wounded as she crossed over Russell Street from the City Watchhouse. The Police Association Journal editor Shirley Hardy-Rix spoke to Angela’s parents, Marilyn and Arthur Taylor to mark the anniversary of Angela’s death.
Arthur & Marilyn Taylor
“It can seem like yesterday or it can seem like 20 years. But missing Angie is still as strong today as it was then; it’s just not accompanied with the pain.”
These are the words of a mother talking about a loved daughter 20 years after the criminal act that shocked the country and changed the Taylor family forever. Marilyn and Arthur Taylor admit that not a day goes by when they don’t think of their only daughter “not in a morbid way but in a joyful way”.
“We’ve made it a pleasant experience. Ange was always so full of joy and life it would be wrong of us to have a negative attitude. She has left us with so many lovely, lovely memories. It was so lovely to have had her for those 21 years – I’ve got to be glad about that,” says Marilyn.
“Something will trigger a memory and you think of some of the things that Angela did,” adds Arthur. “She fitted so much into those 21 years. She didn’t leave any gaping holes, she filled them all in.”
Sitting in their comfortable suburban home , Marilyn and Arthur remember their Ange, the protector of her brothers Michael and Byron. Arthur is usually a man of few words but when it comes to talking about his daughter the stories flow.
“From an early age she had a sense of what was right and what was wrong,” recalls Arthur. “When Mike was young he was knock-kneed and wore leg callipers. One day some of the boys pushed him over and started to laugh because he couldn’t get up. Angela was about four. She went inside and got the broom and chased them up the street, laying into them. When I asked her why she did that, Angie said what they did wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. From an early age she had a sense of fair play and right and wrong.”
Marilyn remembers the good student who was a keen participant in school plays, was on the school debating team and the school council. But Angela left school at the end of Year 10 which was a disappointment to her parents. Then when the family moved to Melbourne from Canberra in 1982 Angela decided she wanted to join the police force. She didn’t want to join in Canberra because she didn’t want to spend her life guarding parliament house.
Angela wanted to do police work. Her determination saw her finish years 11 and 12 in one year. Angela Taylor went on to be the dux of her squad at the Police Academy in November 1984.
“That made me very proud. Her graduation day was the part in my life when I was at the pinnacle, the top of the mountain. I’ve never been right up there since. I was so proud that she had helped others in her squad get through. She didn’t just do it for herself,” says Marilyn. She and Arthur were the proud parents on graduation day and happy participants in the celebrations that marked the beginning of what should have been a long and successful career.
In March 1986, Angela Taylor had just finished her probation and was working at the City Watchhouse. On March 27 – Easter Thursday – just on one o’clock, an explosion rocked Russell Street. A car bomb was detonated by a team of criminals. Angela was walking across Russell Street at that instant. Her injuries were horrendous and she would never recover. On April 20, after a long and courageous battle, Angela Taylor died.
“It is almost like we lost Angie twice. From the time of the bombing she never spoke to us again. Each of those dates is intermixed,” says Marilyn.
That day Marilyn Taylor was working at a small shop in South Melbourne. She heard on the radio that a bomb had exploded and a woman had been injured.
“I thought, ‘thank God it’s not my Ange’. I didn’t think of her as a woman, just as my Ange, my girl.”
When Marilyn Taylor walked down to the bank she saw a police car and just knew. It might have been a mother’s intuition. Marilyn wasn’t surprised to see the two police who came to tell her the news.
Arthur was also working that day and was later than usual getting home because he’d stopped to get some hot cross buns on the way. He was listening to the radio and heard the news that a policewoman was injured. He thought his daughter was safe because she was in the watchhouse.
“There was a car in the driveway and a couple of senior police. The penny dropped. I’m not a talkative person but I couldn’t shut up. I didn’t want to hear what they had to say so I just kept on talking. My worst fear was that she was dead – that’s what I didn’t want to hear.”
What followed was a rollercoaster. Marilyn and Arthur say they were carried on by events. They had no control. Their whole motivation was to be at the hospital. Each day they would get up and drive to the hospital. At the end of the day they would drive home and collapse into bed.
In 1986 Marilyn and Arthur weren’t offered any counselling to help cope with their grief. “I thought if I saw a counsellor they would make it better – make me better but that is not what it does.”
Since Angela’s death many of those who knew their daughter have drifted out of their lives. “It is such a painful thing for so many people. Even the ones who loved Angie sometimes find it difficult to talk to Arthur and me. And it is not that they don’t care about us, it is just too painful.”
The Police family haven’t forgotten Angela Taylor and this is a great comfort to her family. The Angela Taylor Memorial Foundation was established and the dux of every graduating squad receives the Angela Taylor Award.
These initiatives have all been part of the healing process.
Every year there is the Angela Taylor Fun Run. Marilyn and Arthur are always there to welcome the winners over the finish line and present trophies. It is an important day for them. Marilyn admits in the early years she only went along because she had to but now she wouldn’t miss it.
“At first I did it because I had to – now I do it because I want to and I don’t know when that page turned. Everyone who comes along – they are all special. It gives us a lot of pleasure.”
Marilyn and Arthur receive great comfort out of the services held on National Police Remembrance Day. It is a special day in their calendar. In recent years they have become close to the Senior Police Chaplain, Jim Pilmer.
“We love Jim. He’s a special man. He is one of God’s chosen. He is a genuine man who gives great comfort to those people in the greatest pain. I love his services and we love going along to the Remembrance Day evening service. I like to hear the list of names read out and pray with the families and then go to the little chapel for private prayer. It is a closure for the day.”
Today Marilyn and Arthur are doting grandparents and spend time with their five grand-daughters. Four of these girls bear Angela’s name – Brooke Angela, Laura Angela, Alyssa Rose and Alex Jasmine Rose.
“They give another dimension, but nothing fills the hole of Angie,” says Marilyn.
In their garden are three Angela Taylor roses. They would love to see the rose named in honour of their daughter at the Police Academy and in each police station garden across the state.
Marilyn & Arthur Taylor with the Angela Taylor Rose
The men responsible for the Russell Street Bombing were brought to justice. Marilyn and Arthur did attend the final day of the committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court across the road from the scene of the bombing.
Marilyn refused to look at the faces of the men who killed her daughter. Arthur attended the sentencing at the conclusion of the Supreme Court trial. Marilyn couldn’t face it.
“That’s how we keep a positive attitude. We don’t want these people to have any other part of my life. They’ve taken away more than is almost possible to cope with. They are not going to get in because I am not going to hate them because that would be soul destroying for me and those I love,” says Marilyn.
“We’ve avoided getting angry. Sometimes it is very hard to avoid getting angry and hating. It is such a negative emotion it would take over our lives and that wasn’t going to happen,” adds Arthur.
Marilyn and Arthur Taylor are wonderful people. They are filled with love when they could be torn apart by hate. They look at all that has been done in their daughter’s memory and are filled with pride.
“We are very proud and very humbled by the legacy of having the unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital dedicated to Angie and all the other memorials they have put up in her name. I know there are a lot of people who do a lot of work and put in a lot of time and effort into not letting Victorians forget these wonderful people who get up in the morning and put on the blue uniform because they love to do it.”
Just like its namesake, the Angela Taylor Rose is vibrant, feminine and distinctive.
Clusters of deep cream and pink buds unfurl slowly to reveal sweetly scented, creamy-white flowers with a distinctive pink edging and prominent golden-yellow stamens.
Named in honour of Constable Angela Rose Taylor, who died as a result of the 1986 Russell Street police complex bombing, this rose is available by special arrangement with rose breeder John Nieuwesteeg.
The distributor, Garden Express, donates $2 from each rose sold to the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation. The foundation perpetuates the memory of police killed in the line of duty through the support of community projects across the state.
Shortly after 1.00 pm Thursday, 27 March 1986, a massive explosion occurred near the southern entrance to the Russell Street Police Complex when a car bomb was detonated. As a result of this act three people were injured, damage was caused to the façade of the police building and the central business district was thrown into confusion for hours as emergency workers struggled to cope with the disaster. Later Forensic tests showed the bomb had consisted of 50 sticks of gelignite packed into a motor car and surrounded by small pieces of metal which were meant to act as “shrapnel”. The investigation into the setting of the bomb began at once and continued for months. During that time two of the injured – Magistrate Ian West and Constable Carl Donadio recovered from their wounds. However Constable Angela Taylor who had suffered extensive burns to her body died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital 20 April 1986.
The Russell Street Bombing refers to the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters complex in Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The explosion was caused by a car bomb hidden in a stolen 1979 Holden Commodore.
The blast seriously injured 21-year-old Constable Angela Taylor, who died on 20 April, becoming the first Australian policewoman to be killed in the line of duty. A further 22 people were injured. The explosion caused massive amounts of damage to the police HQ and surrounding buildings, estimated at more than A$1 million.
The Age newspaper reported that the blast had such an impact because of the open-floor design of the offices acted like a claymore mine, sending more shrapnel as the blast ripped through the floors, seemingly adding more pressure to the blast as it followed its path. The station has closed down and been converted into apartments.
In the course of the investigation, a group of people including Stan Taylor, Peter Reed, Craig Minogue and Rodney Minogue were apprehended. The motive for the bombing seems to have been revenge against the police, as the bombers had previously been arrested and still resented their jail terms. In court, Taylor, Reed and Craig Minogue were convicted; Rodney Minogue was eventually acquitted on appeal.
On 7 October 1985, gelignite and detonators were stolen from the Tryconnel Mine at Blackwood. On 25 March 1986, a Holden Commodore was stolen. Both crimes were later found to provide equipment needed for the construction of the bomb.
On 25 April 1986, ten Victoria Police officers raided the Kallista home of Peter Michael Reed at 5.45 am. It was alleged that upon attempting to enforce the arrest by forcing entry to the premises, Reed produced a .455 Smith and Wesson revolver and fired at police, seriously injuring Det Sgt Wylie. Reed was then fired upon by Det Sgt Quinsee and arrested. Reed was charged with attempted murder, recklessly causing serious injury, using a firearm to prevent apprehension and possessing explosives in suspicious circumstances in addition to charges related to the Russell Street bombing. Reed later stated at his trial in unsworn evidence that:
“the police started the shooting and I only used his firearm in self defence.”
On 30 May 1986, police arrested Stanley Brian Taylor during a 2 am raid on his Birchip home. Brothers Craig and Rodney Minogue were arrested in a Swan Hill motel at 5.15 am later that day.
The crown did not allege that any person played any particular role in the bombing, but that each of them were members of a team which planned the bombing and caused the bomb to explode. Evidence against the accused was as follows:
Gelignite and detonators used in the construction of the bomb were of the same type as those stolen from Tryconnel Mine.
Gelignite was found at Reed’s house wrapped in newspaper containing fingerprints belonging to Rodney Minogue.
Craig Minogue owned a pair of side cutters which produced cuts similar to those found on detonator wires.
A file with traces of brass deposits matched with brass deposits found at the bomb site.
a block of wood from which a wooden part of the bomb had been sawn was found at Craig Minogue’s premises.
tinned copper wire, similar to that used with detonators found at the bomb site, was found at Craig Minogue’s premises.
residue of gelignite matched residue found at a previous address of Craig Minogue in Lower Templestowe.
evidence from a witness that Craig Minogue called around Easter 1986, to ask about the use of detonators.
a witness testified that Craig Minogue was seen driving a 1979 Holden Commodore around the CBD prior to the explosion.
Published: 18:10 EST, 24 March 2016 | Updated: 19:26 EST, 24 March 2016
The young policewoman killed after a car bomb exploded in front of the force headquarters in Melbourne has been remembered 30 years after the tragedy – and awarded a service medal.
Constable Angela Rose Taylor, 21, died from her injuries 24 days after the bombing of Russell Street police headquarters on Easter Thursday, 27 March 1986.
She was the first policewoman to be murdered in the line of duty in Australia.
Her brother Michael Taylor paid tribute to the young officer at a memorial service on Thursday opposite the old Russell Street station, saying that she always had ‘a disdain for injustice’.
He recalled how as a three-year-old she fended off bullies by swinging a broom because they were teasing him over his leg calipers.
‘She had a strong belief we should all be treated equally,’ Mr Taylor said.
Constable Taylor was posthumously awarded the National Police Service Medal at the memorial which was attended by officers, family and friends wearing pink roses in her memory.
It was given to her parents Marilyn and Arthur by Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton on behalf of Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
Two men were convicted of the horrific crime which left Constable Taylor dead and 22 others injured.
One of the bombers, Craig Minogue, could soon apply for bail as his 28-year non-parole period comes to an end this year.
His co-accused, Stanley Brian Taylor, 59, was jailed for life with no minimum set.
An arrangement of pink roses was seen at the memorial service to honour the young policewoman
Constable Taylor was was posthumously awarded the National Police Service Medal and it was given to her parents Marilyn and Arthur by Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton
Former police member Carl Donadio ( centre )who was injured in the blast looks on during a memorial service to honour Constable Taylor
Mr Ashton said while any parole decision is up to the parole board, he hoped Minogue ‘stays behind bars’.
Minogue, who was almost illiterate at the time of his arrest has gone on to complete a bachelor of arts degree, and has also obtained his Masters and PHD behind bars.
He also runs a website, on which he apologises for his behaviour in 1986.
‘I understand the pain and suffering that I have caused. I am very sorry for the crimes of my past, and I regret those actions very much and wish that I had not done them,’ he wrote on the site.
‘Thirty years is a very long time in prison, I was 23 when I came in and I will be 53 when I am eligible for release.
‘I hope to be able to somehow pass on to others the value that I have found in education and learning during that time.
‘That contribution I can make depends to a large extent upon others, and whether or not I am going to be given a chance to make a positive contribution,’ he said.
Lawyer tearfully recalls Russell street bombing 30 years ago
Constable Taylor’s parents unveil a plaque in her honour in the RMIT Alumni Courtyard in Russell Street in Melbourne
A rose could be seen on a poster at the memorial service to honour Constable Angela Taylor
But Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin does not believe Minogue is reformed.
‘I am not convinced that he is the reformed Craig Minogue he is making himself out to be,’ he told 60 Minutes recently.
He went on to explain how Minogue murdered a man not long after being sent to prison for his part in the Russell Street bomb case.
‘Now if Craig Minogue is released tomorrow who’s to say it is not the old Craig Minogue who gets released.
‘What if you take his parking spot, you know, what if you bump into him in a bar?
‘He is trying to get parole and he is trying to demonstrate to a parole board he is no longer a risk,’ he said.
Mr Rankin held back tears when remembering the death of Ms Taylor three weeks after she was injured in the bomb blast.
He helped put out some of the fire on the 21-year-old officer’s clothes and hair.
‘She was thrown across street dreadfully burnt,’ he said.
‘She was a fine young woman that lost her life,’ he said choking back tears after remembering the day, April 20, he found out she had passed away in hospital.
The police officer remembers the bombers had ‘a strong desire to kill as many people and injure as many people as possible’ with their contraption.
In fact the blast could have been a lot worse, a police investigation at the time found not all of the explosives found set into the car went off as was planned because the detonator was used wrong.
At 15 seconds past one on Easter Thursday afternoon in 1986 Russell Street, Melbourne best resembled a warzone
One of the bombers, Craig Minogue (pictured both), could soon apply for bail as his 28-year non-parole period comes to an end this year
One of the bombers, Craig Minogue (pictured both), could soon apply for bail as his 28-year non-parole period comes to an end this year
‘He is trying to get parole and he is trying to demonstrate to a parole board he is no longer a risk,’ he said.
Mr Rankin held back tears when remembering the death of Ms Taylor three weeks after she was injured in the bomb blast.
He helped put out some of the fire on the 21-year-old officer’s clothes and hair.
‘She was thrown across street dreadfully burnt,’ he said.
‘She was a fine young woman that lost her life,’ he said choking back tears after remembering the day, April 20, he found out she had passed away in hospital.
The police officer remembers the bombers had ‘a strong desire to kill as many people and injure as many people as possible’ with their contraption.
In fact the blast could have been a lot worse, a police investigation at the time found not all of the explosives found set into the car went off as was planned because the detonator was used wrong.
Constable Taylor’s parents pose with an Infinity Rose which was presented to them by former police member Carl Donadio who was injured in the blast.
Man jailed thirty years ago for a Melbourne car bomb which killed a young policewoman is up for parole – but one officer who was there doesn’t think he’s reformed
Convicted killer Craig Minogue may be eligible for parole this year
Minogue was jailed for his part in the Russell Street bombing in 1986
A car bomb exploded near a police station killing a female officer
He also killed a fellow inmate once he was put behind bars
Published: 02:09 +11:00, 21 March 2016 | Updated: 07:43 +11:00, 21 March 2016
A killer who has served thirty years behind bars for his part in the detonation of a bomb outside a metro police station may soon be eligible for parole.
Two men were convicted of the crime, Stan Taylor was sentenced to life without parole, and Craig Minogue was given 28 years without parole, which has now been served.
At 15 seconds past one on Easter Thursday afternoon in 1986 Russell Street, Melbourne best resembled a warzone.
Convicted killer, Craig Minogue, pictured, may be eligible for parole this year after serving 30 years behind bars
Minogue was sentenced to 28 years without parole for his part in the notorious Russell Street car bombing on Easter Thursday in 1986 (wreckage from the explosion)
A car bomb parked strategically outside the police complex exploded killing 21-year-old police woman Angela Taylor and 22 officers and civilians.
Minogue, who was almost illiterate at the time of his arrest has gone on to complete a bachelor of arts degree, and has also obtained his Masters and PHD behind bars.
He also runs a website, on which he apologises for his behaviour in 1986.
‘I understand the pain and suffering that I have caused. I am very sorry for the crimes of my past, and I regret those actions very much and wish that I had not done them,’ he wrote on the site.
‘Thirty years is a very long time in prison, I was 23 when I came in and I will be 53 when I am eligible for release.
‘I hope to be able to somehow pass on to others the value that I have found in education and learning during that time.
‘That contribution I can make depends to a large extent upon others, and whether or not I am going to be given a chance to make a positive contribution,’ he said.
Detective Inspector Bernie Raking, pictured, was at the police station when the bomb went off. He does not believe Minogue is reformed
But Detective Inspector Bernie Rankin does not believe Minogue is reformed.
‘I am not convinced that he is the reformed Craig Minogue he is making himself out to be,’ he told 60 Minutes recently.
He went on to explain how Minogue murdered a man not long after being sent to prison for his part in the Russell Street bomb case.
‘Now if Craig Minogue is released tomorrow who’s to say it is not the old Craig Minogue who gets released.
‘What if you take his parking spot, you know, what if you bump into him in a bar?
‘He is trying to get parole and he is trying to demonstrate to a parole board he is no longer a risk,’ he said.
Minogue – pictured- only admitted to his part in the Russell Street bombing for the first time in 2012, Rankin believes that was a move to prove he had reformed
The car bomb did not explode as planned, and could have been a lot more devastating, police say
Mr Rankin held back tears when remembering the death of Ms Taylor three weeks after she was injured in the bomb blast.
He helped put out some of the fire on the 21-year-old officer’s clothes and hair.
‘She was thrown across street dreadfully burnt,’ he said.
‘She was a fine young woman that lost her life,’ he said choking back tears after remembering the day, April 20, he found out she had passed away in hospital.
The police officer remembers the bombers had ‘a strong desire to kill as many people and injure as many people as possible’ with their contraption.
In fact the blast could have been a lot worse, a police investigation at the time found not all of the explosives found set into the car went off as was planned because the detonator was used wrong.
Minogue killed fellow inmate and convicted killer Alex Tsakmakis shortly after going to prison but was not given any additional sentencing
In 1992 Prue Bird (pictured), the grandaughter of Paul and Julie (pictured) Hetzel known accomplices of Minogue went missing, child killer Leslie Camilleri came forward 17 years later
Paul Hetzel was a member of Taylor and Minogue’s gang, he helped police gain convictions, but in 1992 his partner’s granddaughter vanished.
Seventeen years later convicted child killer Leslie Camilleri came forward claiming to have killed Prue Bird of his own accord. Mr Hetzel believes she was taken from them in revenge.
‘I thought this is pay back just felt sick in the guts.’
Mr Hetzel said Minogue had threatened shortly after the explosion.
‘He was saying about that any bastard ever spoke about it and that, you know, they will be killed.
‘And that’s when he said wouldn’t it be a shame if anything happened to your little Prue.’
Mrs Hetzel (pictured left) and her husband Paul (pictured right) believe Prue was killed in an act of revenge as Mr Hetzel had given evidence against his fellow gang members in the bomb investigation
Minogue denies any involvement in the girl’s disappearance and murder. But police are not convinced.
‘There is no doubt in my mind Camilleri commit crime with others and that this crime is a payback for the Russell Street bombing,’ Detective Senior Sergeant Brent Fisher told 60 minutes.
Minogue has said he intends to repay the community for his crimes by accepting the sentence, admitting his guilt and apologising, by making an effort to rehabilitate himself and by not re-offending upon release.
Minogue was not handed down extra time for the murder of his fellow inmate Tsakmakis in prison.
He is currently being held in a medium-security prison in Victoria.
The deadly bomb blast shattered precinct windows and shook up the policing community sparking a wide search for those responsible
Russell Street bomber, Stanley Taylor, has died in custody aged 79.
He was sentenced to life in prison for the 1986 car bomb explosion that killed a female police officer and injured 21 others outside the Melbourne police office on Russell Street.
Corrections Victoria confirmed a prisoner of that age died of natural causes at St Vincents Hospital on Wednesday.
Taylor had been ill for at least a year, according to numerous media reports.
A career criminal, Taylor was known for having a hatred for authority.
Before the bombing, he had served 17 years in prison for numerous bank robberies.
Eight years after getting out, he would commit one of the most brutal acts of terror in Victoria.
The car bomb was set up to explode at 1pm, precisely the time most people would be heading out to get their lunch.
It was stuffed with almost 60 sticks of gelignite and timed for maximum destruction.
Constable Angela Taylor, 21, was on her way to pick up lunch for her office when she was in the direct firing line.
She died of her injuries 24 days after the bombing, becoming the first Australian police woman to die in the line of duty.
The explosion was so large that debris was found three blocks away.
Police were led to Taylor and his accomplices when they were able to rebuild the car used in the attack, and found it had been stolen.
Alongside Taylor in 1988, Craig Minogue received life with a minimum of 28 years and Rodney Minogue was jailed for eight years with a minimum of six in 1988.
Another man, Peter Reed, was found not guilty but was later jailed for 13 years, with a minimum of 11, of the attempted murder of police during the investigation of the bombing.
Craig Minogue will be up for parole by the end of this year.
As with all deaths in custody, Taylor’s death will be referred to the coroner.
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 2 July 1973
Constable 1st Class – appointed 2 August 1978
Senior Sergeant – death
Stations: ?, B.A.S. Operator – early 1980’s ( Breath Analysis Section, Sydney ),
Rockdale ( SenCon ),
Punchbowl ( 13 Division ) Sergeant,
Leeton ( 1990’s – 5 October 2002),
Service: From 21 May 1973to 5 October 2002 = 29+ years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 15 December 1989
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 24 March 2000
Born: 3 November 1948
Died on: Friday 4 March 2016 at St Vincents Hospital, Sydney
Cause: Herman had a triple heart bypass in 1996. In March 2015 he had another bout of heart issues which resulted in 7 – 8 heart attacks over 3 – 4 weeks ending with 15% heart function. He had a heart device fitted but wasn’t 100%. See further information below.
Dear Family and Friends of our Dad,
Herman Vandervegt. Sadly, our Dad passed away on Friday 4th March, 2016 at St Vincents Hospital, Sydney. We would like to invite you ALL to our Dads funeral service.
Friday 11th March, 2016
Leeton Lawn Cemetery
2pm
Following the service we would love to have everyone join us at Yanco Ex-Servicemans Club from 3:30-4pm. The club provides a courtesy bus until 11:30-12pm should people wish to have a drink or two too many.
We will be having a viewing on Thursday 10th March, 2016, 4pm at Les Watkins funeral home, Leeton should anyone wish to attend.
As I’m certain we do not have contact details for all Dads friends, far and wide, we would appreciate if you could pass on the above to any relevant people. Dee and I have posted the above on our Facebook pages and I have posted the information on Dads Facebook page also.
We have also organised an advertisement in the irrigator newspaper which comes out tomorrow, 8th March and there will also be a radio announcement on Thursday 10th March on radio station 2RG following the 8:30 news.
Don’t think we have forgotten anything and apologies if you receive this message more than once.
Love Kez and Dee
[divider_dotted]
VANDERVEGT, Herman:
Passed away at St Vincents Hospital Sydney, on Friday, 4 March 2016.
Late of 9 Coonong Ave, Yanco.
Loving father of Kerrie Cameron and Deanne Vandervegt. Cherished Grandfather of Jacob, Nicholas and Alex.
Aged 67 years.
“Resting peacefully in Gods care.”
The relatives and friends of the late Herman Vandervegt are respectfully informed that a graveside service will be held on Friday, 11 March, 2016 at the Leeton Lawn Cemetery, commencing at 2.00 pm.
In Lieu of flowers donations will be greatfully accepted at the service on behalf of St Vincent Heart Transplant Unit Sydney.
Email received, via AustralianPolice.com.au, from Deanne Vandervegt on Wednesday 9 March 2016:
Hi Cal
My name is Deanne Vandervegt. I am the daughter of Herman Vandervegt DOB: 03/11/1948. Dad retired as a Senior Sergeant, from Leeton Police Station in 2002. He was in the police force from 21/05/1973-04/10/2002.
Dad has had heart disease / cardiac issues since 1996 which was also the year he had a triple bypass. 23/03/2015 he had his next bout of cardiac issues which took him through 7-8 heart attacks in 3-4 weeks, multiple admissions to St Vincents Hospital, Leeton Hospital, Wagga Wagga Hospital and Griffith Hospital, eventually resulting in end stage heart failure with less than 15% heart function. As it was the end of the road, we (dad, sister and I) decided to accept surgery of a LVAD (left ventricular assist device) which is a pump inserted into the left heart ventricle that forces injection and contraction of the heart to maintain circulation of blood and oxygen. After coming close to death so many times following this surgery, he finally turned the corner and spent 3 months in rehab. The LVAD essentially gave him life again, nothing close to the life he knew, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered to him. He was then placed on the heart transplant list, awaiting a donor heart.
On the morning of 16/02/2106 we received the phone call we had been praying for… A donor heart was a match. It had only been 6 months following the LVAD surgery, but this chance may never have come around again and whilst too early for our liking, he made his way via the first flight out of Leeton.
Surgery took place at 12pm and finally was completed at 1:30am. Whilst the heart transplant went ok, there were major complications removing the LVAD and things sadly went down hill from there. Major abdomen bleeds, several clots in the aorta and following, a massive heart attack which again, put him back into end stage heart failure resulting in only 5% heart function. No human can sustain “life” with 5% heart function. We requested they just give him some more time and let his poor body heal. A couple of days later we were informed his heart was worsening and the heart “reserve” they were hoping for, was no longer. My sister and I were asked to remove all support. Over several days it was evident that dad just could not conquer this fight, he’d given it everything, his all, and we had to leave him with dignity. Regrettably after removing support dad passed quickly on 04/03/2016.
If there is any other information I can assist with, please contact me.
Regards
Deanne Vandervegt
On behalf of all us old and retired Police, may your father forever Rest In Peace.
Cal
[divider_dotted]
Email from Neville Briggs
Former Inspector, Singleton, NSW
I was saddened to see the announcement of the passing of Herman Vandervegt.
All that I could add to his history is that in the early eighties, Herman was one of the mobile Breath Analysis Operators ( The BAS operators in Sydney ) I met him in that role at the old no. 9 Division, Burwood.
Between 1986 and 1990, I was stationed at Punchbowl in Sydney and Herman was a shift Sergeant in those years at Punchbowl, 13 Division.
One amusing incident that I always remember is that one of the Punchbowl Constables came to me to complain that she couldn’t work with Herman on the night shift. The reason, I was told, was that in the car Herman played a radio station all night that only featured Country & Western music, and Herman knew all the songs and sang along with them all. The poor Constable was distraught. Lol.
Neville Briggs,
Former Inspector, Singleton NSW.
[divider_dotted]
Geoffrey Graham RICHARDSON
| 03/05/2016
Geoffrey Graham RICHARDSON
( late of Nelson Bay – formerly of Razorback )
aka Buddha & Richo & Jedi
Husband of SenCon Margaret King
Academy Class 272
New South Wales Police Force
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 32260[/alert_yellow]
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 15 May 1998
Constable – appointed 15 May 1999
Senior Constable –
Sergeant – appointed 26 December 2010
Stations: Campbelltown LAC – 35 Division – 15 May 1998 – 26 March 2005,
Cobar 27 March 2005 – April 2010,
Central Hunter LAC ( SenCon ) April 2010 – 26 December 2010,
Lake Macquarie LAC – ( Sgt ) 27 December 2010 – July 2015,
Port Stephens LAC – July 2015, – Death
Service: From? pre May 1998to5 March 2016 = 18 years Service
Awards: Regional Commander’s Commendation for Bravery re Off Duty arrest at Nelson Bay on 6 February 2012
Commander’s Commendation
NSW Police Medal
National Medal
National Police Service Medal – posthumously awarded on 14 March 2016
NSW Police Medal – 15 year Clasp – posthumously awarded on 14 March 2016
The Commissioner’s Commendation for Service – posthumously awarded on 14 March 2016
Born: 6 August 1972
Died on: Saturday 5 March 2016 about 11.50pm
Cause: Motor vehicle accident – driver
Event location: Lovedale Rd, Allandale, NSW
Age: 43
Funeral date: Monday 14 March 2016 @ 11.30am
Funeral location: Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Church Street, Newcastle, NSW
Buried at: ?TBA
Memorial at: PTS12 ( PorT Stephens 12 ) police vehicle is dedicated in May 2016 to Richo with personalised number plates RCH012
[alert_green]GEOFFREYIS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
As a sign of respect to our colleague lost overnight in a motor vehicle accident while providing assistance to others, Windsor Police Station is flying the State Flag at half mast. Our colleague leaves behind a wife who is a serving Senior Constable and two young boys aged seven and five months.
Funeral location: ?TBA
[divider_dotted]
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
RICHARDSON
Sergeant
Geoffrey Graham
Of Nelson Bay
Formerly of Razorback
Dearly loved husband of Margaret. Much loved father of Patrick and Aiden. Loved son of Lofty Richardson and Jeanette Richardson. Loved son-in-law of John (dec) and Heather King. Loving brother of Warwick, Grant, Andrew, and Adrian. Loving brother-in-law of Denise, Eric, Raymond, Gordon, Annette, Robert, and John and uncle to their families. Valued member of the NSW Police Force Family.
Family, Friends and Colleagues are invited to attend a Funeral Service to be held in Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Church Street, Newcastle on MONDAY (March 14, 2016) commencing at 11:30 am.
No flowers by request, donations in lieu may be made to NSW Police Legacy –
geoffreyrichardson. gofundraise.com.au
France Family Funerals
Nelson Bay 4981 4488
Monday, 14 March 2016
To the Richardson Family,
Our deepest Condolences you are all.
You all are in our Prayers.
R.I.P Geoffrey
From The Entire Skaines Family
~
Lynda ( Skaines) McGuire,
Guildford, New South Wales
Monday, 14 March 2016
Wish we had been able to get to know you better. RIP.
~
Kristie and Rohan Harrison,
Charlestown, New South Wales
Monday, 14 March 2016
My heart is breaking for The Richardson family at this sad time, My thoughts and prayers are with you all, especially Margaret, Patrick Aiden and Geoff’s colleagues, as a member of the public who didn’t have the privilege of knowing Sgt Richardson, I thank him for his Service. God bless you all, You can be forever Proud of this man taken far too soon.
My husband will be playing in the Police Band today as Sgt Richardson is farewelled.
May He rest in peace.
~
Roslyn Day-Anderson,
Seven Hills nsw
Monday, 14 March 2016
Geoff it was a pleasure to work with you, your enthusiasm for our job is an inspiration. You will be sadly missed as a colleague and a friend. Love to your family and friends.
~
Nadia Theiss,
Cardiff, New South Wales
Sunday, 13 March 2016
Your name will be echoed for ever, through the corridors of Campbelltown Police Station. For your mate ship, tenacity and leadership, we thank you Richo!
~
Conchita Ray,
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Sunday, 13 March 2016
To the Richardson family we extend our deepest sympathy in your time of loss and sorrow.
Kindest thoughts.
Jim & Carole Whitfield.
Tahmoor NSW
~
Jim & Carole Whitfield,
TAHMOOR, New South Wales
Published in The Sydney Morning Herald on Mar. 11, 2016
RIP Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson thank you for your service, thoughts & prayers go out to your wife Senior Constable Margaret King, & your two young sons.
The NSW Police Force lost a highly respected and much-loved member of its family last night.
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson from the Port Stephens LAC – NSW Police Force was killed when the police car he was driving crashed into a tree on Lovedale Road, Allandale, around 11.50pm yesterday (Saturday 5 March 2016).
At the time, Sergeant Richardson had been driving to assist colleagues who were engaged in a pursuit. He was the only person in the car at the time of the crash.
Further police and Ambulance Paramedics were called to the scene, and got there a short time later, however Sergeant Richardson had passed away before their arrival. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The matter is now the subject of a Critical Incident Investigation, which will be supported by the Newcastle Crash Investigation Unit and overseen by the Professional Standards Command.
Sergeant Richardson graduated from the NSW Police Academy in 1998. He served the Campbelltown LAC – NSW Police Force as a Constable until 2005, when he was transferred to Cobar and promoted to the rank of Senior Constable.
In April 2010, he was transferred to Central Hunter Local Area Command, before moving to Lake Macquarie Local Area Command upon his promotion to the rank of Sergeant in December 2010.
He served Lake Macquarie LAC – NSW Police Force until July of 2015, at which time he transferred to Port Stephens Local Area Command.
Sergeant Richardson provided 18 years of dedicated and distinguished service to the people of NSW. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including a Regional Commander’s Commendation for Bravery after he arrested a number of offenders while off-duty at Nelson Bay in 2012.
In every sense, he was a hard-working, highly regarded, popular and committed police officer, who will be sorely missed by the organisation he so ably represented and the communities he diligently served.
Above all else, he was a loving and much-loved husband and father. His wife, Senior Constable Margaret King, and his two young sons, are naturally devastated, and we ask that their privacy be respected during this extremely difficult time.
As the men and women of this organisation always do in times of tragedy, we will band together and support Sergeant Richardson’s family , his friends, and each other, through this extremely difficult situation.
[divider_dotted]
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson killed on way to emergency in Hunter Valley
Date
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has paid tribute to a police officer killed in a crash in the Hunter Valley on the way to an emergency on Saturday night.
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, 43, from Port Stephens Local Area Command died when his vehicle hit a tree at Allandale at about 11.50pm.
Standing outside of Nelson Bay police station on Sunday morning Commissioner Scipione said Sergeant Richardson provided 18 years of dedicated and distinguished service to the people of NSW.
“It’s a very sad day for the NSW Police Force today.”
“We have farewelled one of our officers.
“43-year-old Geoffrey Richardson from the Port Stephens Local Area Command was tragically lost to us, killed in a motor vehicle accident just before midnight last night”.
Commissioner Scipione met with Sergeant Richardson’s wife, Senior Constable Margaret King, and two children on Sunday morning to offer his condolences.
He said police had been at the family home since last night and would remain there to offer their support.
Sergeant Richardson graduated from the NSW Police Academy in 1998. He served the Campbelltown Local Area Command as a Constable until 2005, when he was transferred to Cobar and promoted to the rank of Senior Constable.
In April 2010, he was transferred to Central Hunter Local Area Command, before moving to Lake Macquarie Local Area Command upon his promotion to the rank of Sergeant in December 2010.
He served Lake Macquarie until July of 2015, at which time he transferred to Port Stephens Local Area Command.
He was the recipient of numerous awards, including a Regional Commander’s Commendation for Bravery after he arrested a number of offenders while off-duty at Nelson Bay in 2012.
In a statement, NSW Police said: “In every sense, he was a hard-working, highly regarded, popular and committed police officer, who will be sorely missed by the organisation he so ably represented and the communities he diligently served.”
“Above all else, he was a loving and much-loved husband and father. His wife, Senior Constable Margaret King, and his two young sons, are naturally devastated, and we ask that their privacy be respected during this extremely difficult time.
As the men and women of this organisation always do in times of tragedy, we will band together and support Sergeant Richardson’s family , his friends, and each other, through this extremely difficult situation,” the statement said.
Sergeant Richardson had responded to calls for help in a police pursuit through the Hunter when the crash occurred on Lovedale Road about 11.50pm.
Paramedics attended but the officer, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, died at the scene.
Details of the police pursuit through the Hunter have not yet come to light.
Newcastle Crash Investigation Unit will assist a critical incident team to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
That investigation will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command.
“All information will be provided to the coroner who will determine the cause of death and make any findings about the events leading to the officer’s death,” a police statement said.
Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Anyone who can assist police should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police investigating death of father-of-two sergeant in NSW Hunter Valley crash
A police sergeant who died after his squad car crashed into a tree in the NSW Hunter Valley last night has been remembered as a highly respected officer and a loving father to two young sons.
Port Stephen area Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, 43, was driving through Allandale on his way to help other officers in a pursuit when his car ran off the road and crashed into a tree about midnight.
He was the sole occupant of the patrol car and died at the scene.
Sgt Richardson is survived by his wife, a serving member of NSW Police, and two sons.
Police say Sgt Richardson put his life on the line countless times in order to protect others, and had won bravery awards for his tireless work.
A critical incident investigation is now underway to establish how and why the experienced police officer lost control of his car rounding a bend during a routine callout.
“At the moment we don’t have too many details. It’s all subject to investigation, obviously,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Geoff McKechnie said.
“The investigation will take some time, obviously, and we may have some further information we can provide at a later time.
Act. Dep. Comm. McKechnie said his thoughts were with Sgt Richardson’s friends and family.
“He is a father of two young children, and his wife and family are currently being supported by extended family and colleagues of the officer,” he said.
“NSW Police Force will ensure that all available welfare, support and assistance is provided to his family and his colleagues as we work through this tough period ahead.”
Sgt Richardson was remembered as a dedicated police officer who provided 18 years of service, in a tribute statement released by the NSW Police Force.
“In every sense, he was a hard-working, highly regarded, popular and committed police officer, who will be sorely missed by the organisation he so ably represented and the communities he diligently served,” the statement read.
“Above all else, he was a loving and much-loved husband and father.
“His wife, Senior Constable Margaret King, and his two young sons, are naturally devastated, and we ask that their privacy be respected during this extremely difficult time.”
“As the men and women of this organisation always do in times of tragedy, we will band together and support Sergeant Richardson’s family, his friends, and each other, through this extremely difficult situation.”
The full NSW Police Force statement is below:
The NSW Police Force lost a highly respected and much-loved member of its family last night.
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson from the Port Stephens Local Area Command was killed when the police car he was driving crashed into a tree on Lovedale Road, Allandale, around 11.50pm yesterday (Saturday 6 March 2016).
At the time, Sergeant Richardson had been driving to assist colleagues who were engaged in a pursuit. He was the only person in the car at the time of the crash.
Further police and Ambulance Paramedics were called to the scene, and got there a short time later, however Sergeant Richardson had passed away before their arrival. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The matter is now the subject of a Critical Incident Investigation, which will be supported by the Newcastle Crash Investigation Unit and overseen by the Professional Standards Command.
Sergeant Richardson graduated from the NSW Police Academy in 1998. He served the Campbelltown Local Area Command as a Constable until 2005, when he was transferred to Cobar and promoted to the rank of Senior Constable.
In April 2010, he was transferred to Central Hunter Local Area Command, before moving to Lake Macquarie Local Area Command upon his promotion to the rank of Sergeant in December 2010.
He served Lake Macquarie until July of 2015, at which time he transferred to Port Stephens Local Area Command.
Sergeant Richardson provided 18 years of dedicated and distinguished service to the people of NSW. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including a Regional Commander’s Commendation for Bravery after he arrested a number of offenders while off-duty at Nelson Bay in 2012.
In every sense, he was a hard-working, highly regarded, popular and committed police officer, who will be sorely missed by the organisation he so ably represented and the communities he diligently served.
Above all else, he was a loving and much-loved husband and father. His wife, Senior Constable Margaret King, and his two young sons, are naturally devastated, and we ask that their privacy be respected during this extremely difficult time.
As the men and women of this organisation always do in times of tragedy, we will band together and support Sergeant Richardson’s family, his friends, and each other, through this extremely difficult situation.
Hunter Valley sergeant dies in crash on way to help colleagues involved in police chase
Updated
A police sergeant on his way to help colleagues involved in a car chase has been killed in a crash in New South Wales Hunter Valley.
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, 43, was driving his patrol car when it veered off Lovedale Street at Allandale and hit a tree late on Saturday night.
He was on his way to help colleagues involved in a car chase when the accident happened.
Paramedics were called but Sergeant Richardson, who worked at the Port Stephens Local Area Command, died at the scene.
He was the only person in the vehicle.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, who has travelled to the region, said the force had lost a “very good man” in the tragedy.
“I have had a chance to meet with his family and certainly paid my condolences to his wife Margaret and his children,” Commissioner Scipione said.
“It is a terribly sad event, we’ve lost a very good man.
“He was respected, he was loved, and certainly he was one of our finest, and NSW is a much poorer state as a result.”
The accident is now the subject of a critical incident investigation to be conducted by Newcastle Local Command, Commissioner Scipione said.
“The officer was not involved in a pursuit, he was on his way to assist others that were involved in a pursuit,” he said.
Commissioner Scipione said support would be provided to Sergeant Richardson’s family, including his wife who was also a senior constable in the police force.
“My heart goes out to his family, we’ll do all we need to to make sure that they’re looked after, because they’re a really important part of our [policing] family,” he said.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
In a tribute released to media, police said Sergeant Richardson provided “18 years of dedicated and distinguished service to the people of NSW”.
“He was the recipient of numerous awards, including a Regional Commander’s Commendation for Bravery after he arrested a number of offenders while off-duty at Nelson Bay in 2012,” the statement reads.
He was a loving and loved husband and father, the statement reads, who leaves behind a “devastated” family.
In support of the Police Family your Association with NSW Police Legacy has set up a fund for the family of Sgt Geoffrey Richardson killed in a motor vehicle accident on the weekend.
The details are:
NSW Police Legacy Appeal BSB: 815 000 A/C: 282951S1 omit S1 if not transferring from a Police Bank account
(The S1 is only used for Police Bank to Police Bank transfers.)
Links to the fundraising site have also been added to the PANSW website homepage.
The 43-year-old Sergeant (Class 272 – 18 Years Service), who’s wife is Senior Constable Margaret Richardson (Nee King), was a much-loved husband and father with two young sons Patrick aged seven and Aiden five months of age.
As many members would be aware, Sgt Richardson was killed on his way to help colleagues engaged in a pursuit in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
It’s at these times the strength of the police family is fortified as we rally together to support the family and loved ones impacted by this tragic loss.
Like any member of the emergency services would know – it takes a great deal of courage to leave your own family behind to protect those you have never met on a daily basis.
It takes a particular type of person to step forward, often into harm’s way, and commit himself or herself to such a job, and to give up peace of mind to preserve it for others.
Our thoughts are with our fallen colleague, his family and friends and fellow officers at Port Stephens Local Area Command during this difficult time.
[divider_dotted]
NSW Police Force FB page: Tuesday 8 March 2016
A man has been charged with a number of pursuit-related offences after a police officer died in a motor vehicle crash in the Hunter Valley at the weekend.
About 11pm on Saturday (5 March 2016), police became involved in a pursuit with a white Ford Falcon sedan on Ken Tubman Drive Maitland, after it allegedly failed to stop.
The pursuit continued for approximately 30 minutes before police lost sight of the vehicle.
About 11.40pm, the vehicle was seen on Wine Country Drive, Lovedale, and a second pursuit began.
During the pursuit, Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, who was making his way to assist other officers, died after his vehicle left the road and struck a tree on Lovedale Road, Allandale.
Sergeant Richardson, aged 43, was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The second pursuit ended and the Ford was last seen on Elderslie Road, Greta.
Following investigations, about 1pm yesterday (Monday 7 March 2016), a 34-year-old man was arrested at Maitland. ( Paul JOHNSON )
Checks of the man’s licence status revealed he had been disqualified from driving for life in 2000.
He was subsequently charged with two counts police pursuit – not stop – drive recklessly (Skye’s Law), driving in a manner dangerous, exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h, driving whilst disqualified, using an unregistered/uninsured vehicle, using unauthorised plates, having custody of a knife in a public place, and resisting arrest.
The Greta man has been refused bail to appear before Maitland Local Court today (Tuesday 8 March 2016).
[divider_dotted]
VALEDICTORY – Sergeant Geoffrey Graham Richardson???
As delivered by NSW Police Force Commissioner Andrew Scipione APM:
At about 11.50pm on Saturday the 5th of March 2016, Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, from the Port Stephens Local Area Command, was driving to assist colleagues who were engaged in a pursuit.
The police car he was driving crashed into a tree on Lovedale Road, Allandale. He was the only person in the car at the time of the crash.
Ambulance paramedics were called to the scene by nearby residents, and they arrived a short time later. Sadly, Sergeant Richardson had passed away before they arrived.
Sergeant Geoffrey Graham Richardson attested as a Probationary Constable on the 15th of May 1998.
He commenced general duties at Campbelltown before being confirmed at the rank of Constable on the 15th of May 1999.
He remained at Campbelltown until the 26th of March 2005 when he transferred to Cobar in far western New South Wales. While at Cobar he was promoted to the rank of Senior Constable.
After just over five years at Cobar, Sergeant Richardson moved to the Central Hunter Local Area Command.
Shortly thereafter, on the 26th of December 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and commenced duties at the Lake Macquarie Local Area Command.
Sergeant Richardson transferred from Lake Macquarie to Port Stephens Local Area Command – his final posting – in July 2015.
He was awarded the NSW Police Medal and the National Medal. He also received a Commander’s Commendation, a Region Commander’s Unit Citation, and many accolades from people in the community who had written in appreciation of his compassion and professionalism.
The day before Geoff’s passing, I travelled to Dungog to honour the memory of Sergeant 1st Class William Bowen, who passed away 100 years ago as the result of injuries he received while on duty.
The occasion was a commemoration; a centenary; almost a celebration of his memory. Time had eased the rawness of the tragedy of his passing.
But it brings to mind a sobering message that danger has always been a police officer’s enduring companion. It’s there both on and off duty, at the back of mind or at front, possibly in individuals or groups, in buildings, on pavements, around corners and on roads.
Police officers place themselves in harm’s way to reduce violence, crime, and the fear of crime. Sometimes their oath to protect and serve, their determination to do the best by their community, has a tragic outcome.
The price is a terrible one, but one that police officers are prepared to pay because they believe that the values we hold – and the freedom we enjoy – are worth the sacrifice.
We all pay the toll but we do not pay in equal measure; the burden falls heaviest on the families of officers who fall in the line of duty. No one feels more keenly the death of a police officer than their loved ones.
And on this occasion the loss is even more keenly felt because Geoff’s wife, Margaret, is also a police officer. Not only sharing the bond of family, but also sharing the ideals of protecting people and having to face hardship, conflict, and potential danger together.
Margaret, Patrick and baby Aiden have lost an adored husband and father. His father Graham – better known as Lofty – and mother Jeanette have lost a dearly-loved son; Warwick, Grant, Andrew and Adrian their friend, companion and brother.
However much we would like things to be different, nothing we do or say can change what has happened. All we can do is honour Geoff’s memory and hold his family in the warm embrace of the Police family.
Geoff was a much-loved and respected police officer. He was known as Geoff or “Richo”. To his close mates he was “Buddha”.
In the words of one colleague, he was a “policeman’s policeman”… committed to his job, committed to his mates, and committed to the community he served, and of which he was a part.
He was the exemplar of a family man. With his son Patrick, Geoff was involved in local junior Rugby and he was also deeply committed to his local Anglican Church – another bond that he shared with Margaret.
He took great pride in his uniform. He was always immaculately turned out and wanted other police to share that same pride. He was a protocol officer and serious about it. He understood that the way police present themselves matters; that authority brings with it a responsibility and that the symbols of office are important.
He wasn’t overbearing or a stickler. He led by example and other officers followed. He did not order or command or even badger. He didn’t need to.
And, by unanimous verdict, Geoff was not just a first-class police officer but a gregarious good bloke. A man popular with fellow officers and good with those he encountered in the course of work – he was firm with offenders but he would also empathise with victims.
One of his colleagues said of Geoff that his imposing stature and copybook attire never seemed to be a barrier to how victims responded to him. With Geoff they felt a genuine and comforting empathy in their time of need.
Geoff’s rapport with victims was part of a larger picture of a man who cared for those around him; especially his fellow officers. Geoff and Margaret were often in the vanguard of fundraising activities for colleagues in need.
Geoff himself was a peer support officer, an officer who volunteers to help colleagues in times of need. He would often reach out to colleagues he could see were in need of some support.
But it would be misleading to characterise Geoff as just a big-hearted Good Samaritan. As I said, he was equally at home handling a violent offender as he was with supporting the victim of an assault.
In fact, given the occasion, both husband and wife presented a formidable law enforcement presence.
The Region Commander’s Unit Citation he received was in recognition of bravery and commitment to duty when arresting offenders while off-duty in Nelson Bay on the 6th of February 2012.
What is remarkable about this incident is that the other recipient of that unit citation was his wife, Margaret. Together, while off-duty, they attended the scene of a collision to render assistance, but were confronted by a crowd of 10 to 15 hostile people.
Their citation read in part, “The officers responded to a motor vehicle collision to ensure the welfare of the occupants. Instead they faced a volatile and dangerous crowd who were actively protecting an offender and hindering police response.”
Despite both being assaulted, they managed to detain the driver and several other offenders, who were charged with various offences including High Range PCA, resisting arrest, hindering police, affray and malicious damage.
A key principle that underpins our Police Force is the notion that Police are the community, and the community are the Police. The reputation and success of the NSW Police Force therefore depends on the trust the community places in each and every police officer.
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson epitomised all of the qualities needed to gain – and to maintain – that trust.
It is inevitable and appropriate that we grieve and feel his loss. To my mind, it is just as appropriate that we do his career and life proper justice; that we honour his memory by following his example.
We, all of us, can do well to look out more for others, at work and outside of work. To lead through our actions. To live our ideals.
Through his family, Geoff’s memory also lives on. And through his wife Margaret, his commitment to service will also live on.
It is my honour today, to posthumously confer three awards on Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson.
The National Police Service Medal: recognising his ethical and diligent service in protecting the community.
The establishment of the National Police Service Medal was signed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II in November of 2010, and the Governor General awards the Medal on the recommendation of the responsible Commissioner of Police.
The 15 year clasp to the NSW Police Medal: recognising his ethical and diligent service.
After being approved by the Minister for Police and the Commissioner of Police, the medal was instituted on the 5th of February 2002. The medal is NOT awarded automatically for length of service. It is only awarded after a detailed review of the nominee’s service history to ensure the service was ethical and diligent. The clasp to the medal denotes the length of ethical and diligent service.
And:
The Commissioner’s Commendation for Service.
In part the citation reads:
…. for outstanding and meritorious performance of duty as a member of the New South Wales Police Force, from 1998 to 2016 ….
Sergeant Richardson has displayed integrity, loyalty, commitment, professionalism and devotion to duty as a member of the New South Wales Police Force and is highly commended for his service.
Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson gave his life in the very way he had lived it; in the service of others.
His loss, tragic for his family and many friends, is profound for each and every one of us. No words are quite adequate to express or diminish that loss.
His passing reminds us that preserving our values and our freedom can exact a heavy toll. A toll that is not shared equally in our community.
We farewell Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson but he will not be forgotten. As is right and proper, his name will be etched into the granite of the Police Wall of Remembrance in Sydney as a permanent reminder that he laid down his life for the people of New South Wales.
I am humbled and deeply honoured to represent every member of the NSW Police Force here today to farewell a highly-regarded police officer who served his community with courage, honour and distinction.
A husband and father.
A son and brother.
A friend and colleague.
A police officer.
Vale Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson.
Our prayers go with you … may you rest in peace.
[divider_dotted]
Boy’s poem for policeman killed in accident
By TIM CONNELL
TOM Finlay, 13, wrote a poem after he saw the funeral procession for Port Stephens police sergeant Geoffrey Richardson.
His teacher at Newcastle Grammar School had suggested poetry as a way for students to process the funeral taking place across the road at Christ Church Cathedral.
Tom’s poem is reproduced below.
The Great Knights of Port Stephens, by Tom Finlay.
Port Stephens, Port Stephens/Your knights are brave and bold
From the newest of the new, to the oldest of the old.
When criminal cometh to/Town, you mustn’t worry/For when knights hear thy/Criminals they come in quite a/Hurry.
But sometimes things don’t end/Like they do in the story,
Because some knights will end up/In heaven with all their glory.
But if your knight goes to heaven/You mustn’t feel a sting,
Because the great Richardson will/Give them their wings.
TOUCHED: Port Stephens Superintendent Chris Craner thanks Tom Finlay for his poem about police killed in the line of duty. Picture: Jonathan Carroll.
“HAVE you ever thought about it – would you ever see the police cry?”
The question at Newcastle Grammar School on Tuesday came from the Port Stephens police commander, Superintendent Chris Craner.
It was something Tom Finlay, a boy in year seven with autism, had asked himself.
Earlier this month Tom, 13, had watched from his school’s playground as the funeral procession for Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, who had died in a crash on his way to an emergency, wound its way into Christ Church Cathedral.
“I’d just been thinking how people go to work every day, and how not everyone comes home,” he said.
“So I just wrote it.”
THANKS: Port Stephens police officers at Newcastle Grammar School thank students for their poems dedicated to their late colleague, Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson.
When Tom’s mother Michelle posted his The Great Knights of Port Stephens on social media, it got back to the police mourning one of their own.
In the superintendent’s words, “there were tears in the station”.
Some of the officers who read Tom’s poem – and the poems penned by his classmates, at the suggestion of their teacher Jordan Grant – attended Tuesday’s school assembly to express their thanks.
Outside, Senior Constable David Wynne from the dog squad introduced students to an as-yet unnamed pup being trained as a police dog, and the bravery award-winning German shepherd Ulrich demonstrated how to follow a scent.
Supt Craner said “carloads of cops” had wanted to visit the school, and he thanked Tom personally.
Shane Finlay said he was “amazed at how far” his son had come in his studies and social interactions with the help of his teachers at Newcastle Grammar and his previous teachers at the Aspect Hunter School for students with autism.
“The [autism] spectrum is wide, and in the last four years he’s really come on,” Mr Finlay said.
“I mean, he wrote that poem in 20 minutes.”
His mother Michelle Finlay added, “everything he does blows us away”.
About 1000 mourners, including NSW Governor David Hurley and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, attended the funeral earlier this month of Sergeant Richardson, who died aged 43.
Sgt Richardson is survived by his police officer wife Senior Constable Margaret King and their two young sons Patrick and Aiden.
New Port Stephens police car a fitting tribute for fallen brother in blue, Geoffrey Richardson
TRIBUTE: Superintendent Chris Craner and Sergeant Martine Morley with the new Port Stephens police car, which is dedicated to Geoffrey Richardson who died in the line of duty in March. Picture: Simone De Peak
THE newest addition to the Port Stephens police command’s fleet is not just any other car; it is a fitting tribute to fallen brother in blue Geoffrey Richardson.
Light blue in colour and bearing number plates that read RCH, the distinctive police car will serve as a visual memory for officers and members of the community that have been affected by Sergeant Richardson’s death.
Port Stephens Sergeant Martine Morley said it was an “honour and a privilege” to be amongst the officers who will drive the car, which arrived on Wednesday.
“It is a wonderful tribute to a fantastic officer and work colleague,” an emotional Sergeant Morley said.
“It’s really quite a special thing; a really special tribute.
“Geoff is part of Port Stephens, he always will be.
“This just reminds us of that.”
Superintendent Chris Craner said the tribute to Sergeant Richardson, who died in the line of duty on March 5, came from Port Stephens officers who wanted to do something a little different.
“We had a couple of different ideas from different staff,” he said. “We wanted to do something a little bit different.
NEVER FORGOTTEN: The newest addition to the Port Stephens police command’s fleet is a car dedicated to Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson. Picture: Simone De Peak
“It’s a change of colour, it’s a blue colour which represents a sergeant and it’s got personalised number plates that represent Sergeant Richardson.
“It’s just a nice way for the cops to look at the car and think about Geoff. And it’s a nice way for the community when you’re driving down the street to go ‘why is that a blue car?’ and find out why.
“The car tells a story and the story is Geoff. Geoff died on duty and his memory won’t be forgotten.
“You can walk out the front of the police station, have a look at this car, stop a minute, have a think about Geoff, jump in and take off.”
The car is a standard Toyota Camry. It will be driven by Port Stephens police Sergeants and used for patrols.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, 3 March 1976, about 4.50pm, when Sen Const Laube was performing a motorcycle patrol north along Coolart Road, Somerville, and collided with a car which had pulled out into his path from Eramosa Road.
Sadly, he received fatal injuries and died at the accident scene. He was 31.
Sen Const Laube joined Victoria Police on 21 February, 1964 and worked at various police stations during his career including Bourke Street West, St Kilda and Mentone before transferring to the Mobile Traffic Section in 1972.
He was survived by his wife Eve and son Steven.
[divider_dotted]
[divider_dotted]
Class 157
| 03/05/2016
Class 157
New South Wales Police Force
Redfern Police Academy
Regd. # 17765 – 17831
Join Date: Monday 26 September 1977
Attestation Date: Monday 5 December 1977
Class 157 at Redfern Police Academy.
( L-R)
4th ( BACK ) ROW
1. BOB SULLIVAN # 17777
2. WARREN JOHN TAYLOR # 17794 ( R.I.P. )
3. BRENDAN RUTTER # 17813
4. MALCOLM PRIOR # 17812
5. MAX McKINNON # 17772( Resigned early – Appears in 1987 but not 1988 Stud Book )
6. COLIN TRITTON #17778
7. STEVE ROBINSON # 17771 ( Worked at Fingerprints for some years )
8. KEN McKAY # 17787
9. GRAEME O’DONNELL # 17798
10. STEVE MOORES # 17826
11. E.Z. RADZIETA # 17816
3rd ROW
1. DUNCAN McNAB # 17769
2. BRENDAN McNAMARA # 17795
3. JOHN PIENING # 17811
4. KEN McSHANE # 17821
5. JOHN ENRIGHT # 17807
6. GRAHAM KING # 17768
7. ASHLEY COOPER # 17803
8. LESLEY GREEN # 17823
9. RICHARD ARMANSKI # 17827
10. GRAHAM AMERY # 17814
11. DAVID LAIDLAW # 17809
12. BRUCE COFFEE # 17806
13. TREVOR KIMBER # 17775
14. ROSS CLOTHIER # 17820
15. BOB DEPEAU # 17789
16. ROBERT MITCHELL # 17831
17. TIM APPS # 17830
18. MICHAEL O’DONNELL # 17767
2nd ROW
1. GEOFF SHEPHERD # 17783
2. PETER MAXWELL ( P.F.) # 17793
3. PETER MACZI # 17828
4. MAURICE RIVET # 17810
5. DEAN MAGUIRE # 17802
6. JOHN OUTZEN ( I.J.) # 17797
7. DEREK IRVING # 17819
8. GEORGE ELAKIS # 17785
9. STEVEN JOHNSTONE # 17780
10. RICHARD DUMSA # 17818
11. DAVID BROWN # 17781
12. GEOFF AITCHINSON # 17796
13. PHILIP GASPERT # 17804
14. ROBERT CHECKLEY # 17801
15. HARRY BOTTRELL # 17822
16. STEPHEN RUSSELL # 17815 ( R.I.P. )
17. PHILLIP McCLOSKEY # 17808 18. PETER DOVERN# 17766( appears in the 1987 ‘ Stud Book ‘ ) – Rejoinee but resigned again early in 2nd term.
19. DENNIS RYAN # 17782
Front row
1. GLENN PHILLIPS ( GJS ) # 17786
2. STEVEN YORK # 17800
3. TONY STACKHOUSE # 17790
4. GARY CLARKE # 17779
5. BRAD COX # 17784
6. GRAEME HOPE # 17824 7. LARRY HINDS# 17799 ( Does Appear in the 1988 ‘ Stud Book ‘ but not the 1989 issue)
8. KAYE WHITTY # 17773
9. PAULINE BELLEMORE # 17788
10. SANDRA CUNDY # 17774
11. LEANDA PAGE # 17805
12. TERRY CAVANAGH # 17776
13. RON DAWSON # 17792
14. PETER HARRIS # 17829 15. GLENN BOURKE # 17817 ( Does NOT appear in the 1979 ‘ Stud Book ‘ ) ( His father was also in ‘ the job ‘ )
16. KEVIN LEWIS # 17825
17. ED O’MALLEY # 17770
NOTmentioned in the photo is:
Wayne Raymond GEORGE # 17765 ( R.I.P. ) This person did Attest on the same date as the rest of Class 157 ( 5 December 1977 ) but was Confirmed as a Constable the day BEFORE the rest of the Class. He was Confirmed on 4 December 1978 ( his birthday ) whereas the rest of the Class were Confirmed on 5 December 1978. Started as a NSW Police Cadet but died as a SenSgt on 8 June 1995.
NOT mentioned in the photo is:
Henry F. JOHNSON # 17791 This person did Attest & was confirmed as a Constable. He later Resigned.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
AN old and well known member of the Goulburn police force, named George Wyatt, died in the hospital on Sunday last. In the early days of settlement in this district he was coachman to Mr. J. R. Styles of Reevesdale, near Bungonia, and afterwards he was gith Mr. J. S. Futter of Lumley. Subsequently he was twenty years in the Goulburn police, and for some time was lockup-keeper at Wingello. He always bore a good character.
About seven years ago he was superannuated on a pension of 4s 4d per day, and for a long time past he has resided near the hospital.
Old age seemed to have been creeping on him for a long time, and being seventy two years there was no wonder. He was taken to the hospital on Saturday last and immediately attended by Dr. Morton ; but he was then rapidly sinking, and died next day. Deceased was an Englishman and a member of the English church. He leaves a widow but no family. He was buried yesterday afternoon in the Church of England cemetery, his remains were followed to the grave by all the police not immediately on duty, as a mark of respect to an old comrade; and thus has passed away another of the early residents of Goulburn.
