Constable JOLLY – Coolgardie, Western Australia 1909 Nick-named ‘The Great Unwashed Preserver of the Peace’ Constable Jolly blamed the scarcity of water for his economical use of it which in turn, caused some dissatisfaction among his fellow police officers who finally planned to lure him to Silverthorne’s dam and push him in. This drastic step […]
The Mysterious Mr Bradley – a family story
31/08/2019 By 3 Comments
The comment ‘not another Lionel’ is a long-standing joke, between a good friend of mine and fellow historian, Graeme Sisson, who was the Archivist of the Police Historical Soc of WA at the time. It came to refer to any research inquiry that we were working on that was more than a little complicated and […]
The Black Tracker – a verse
15/06/2019 By 1 Comment
The Black Tracker Swart bloodhounds of the fenceless West, Black gallopers that lead the Law, To whom your victims stand confessed By every lightest line they draw; The hawks that high above you sail Have eyes less keen to pierce the blue, The dingo on his hunting trail Runs slacker in the chase than you! […]
The Picadilly Police Station
28/04/2018 By Leave a Comment
This photograph shows Constable Jeremiah John JONES and his wife Evelyn Mortimer nee HOLLOWAY and their infant daughter Eveleyn Margaret Jones, born 1903 in Kalgoorlie (their only child). Jeremiah was born in May 1873 at Wangaratta, Victoria to Owen Jones and Ann Kennedy. He died in Merredin WA in 1932 and is buried there with […]
Blake the Bold – a ripping yarn
29/09/2017 By 6 Comments
In the town of Mt Magnet, one of the local public figures, a police constable, became very unpopular due to his making a point of closing the Grand Hotel at night whilst allowing the Royal Mail Hotel to keep trading. This situation came to a head when he arrested a man for swearing in the […]
