Sergeant 2nd Class Adam Boland SCHELL

Father to John SCHELL & Roy SHELL – NSWPF members

Regd. # 4367

Aged:  52

Shot

Bobbin Head

8 October, 1968

In the early hours of 8 October, 1968 Sergeant Schell and Probationary Constable Dick Letchford attended Halvorsens Boats, Bobbin Head following a report of a break and enter in progress. On their arrival the police were met by the caretaker Mr Frederick Marshall and the sergeant accompanied him to check inside the premises, leaving the probationer outside. A short time later Constable Letchford apprehended two offenders whom he had seen running from the direction Sergeant Schell and Mr Marshall had taken. When police reinforcements arrived a few minutes later they were informed that Sergeant Schell and Mr Marshall had been found critically wounded in a storeroom. Mr Marshall had been shot in the head and Sergeant Schell had been shot five times in the head and body. Despite being rushed to Hornsby Hospital Sergeant Schell died a short time later. The offenders were later sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sergeant Schell was born in 1916 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 3 July, 1939.

Cyril Elgar HOWE   QPM

Late of ?

This Murder led to NSW Police later being issued with Smith & Wesson .38 revolvers

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #   8663

Redfern Police Academy Class # 068

Rank:  Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 4 February 1957

Probationary Constable – appointed  1 April 1957

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Posthumously promoted from Cst 1/c to Sergeant 3rd Class

Stations: ?, Oaklands – Death

Service: From ? ? pre April 1957  to 20 December 1963 = 6+ years Service 

Awards:  Queen’s Police Medal ( QPM ) for Gallantry ( Imperial ) – granted 24 March 1964

the Peter Mitchell Award.

Born: ? ? 1932

Died on:  Friday  20 December 1963 @ 10.45pm at Wagga Base Hospital, NSW

Age: 31

Cause:  Shot – Murdered – Shotgun

Event location:  Oaklands – Jerilderie road, Urana, NSW

Event date:  Thursday  19 December 1963

Funeral date: ? ? ?

Funeral location: ?

Funeral Parlour: ?

Buried at: Woronora Cemetery, 121 Linden St, Sutherland, NSW

Grave location:  Anglican Monumental. Sect Aj – 0126

Memorial located at:

2/ Memorial located at Oaklands Police Station, NSW – Dedicated on 19 December 2014

CYRIL IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

Funeral location: TBA

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

On the evening of 19 December, 1963 Constable Howe detained an offender named Little near Oaklands and spoke to him regarding a stolen cheque book. He then directed the offender to drive his vehicle to the local police station while he followed in the police vehicle.

En route the offender sped away, and was pursued by Constable Howe for several kilometres. When the offender eventually stopped, the constable approached his vehicle. The offender, who had taken cover behind his vehicle door (the doors opened backwards from hinged centre pillars), then produced a shotgun and shot Constable Howe.

The constable crawled back to the police vehicle where he took cover, and although seriously wounded, returned fire until his automatic pistol jammed. He then sought further cover by crawling underneath the police vehicle, where he cleared his pistol and fired another shot before it again jammed. The offender then fired at the police vehicle, shooting out the headlights, steering, and the police sign from the top, before escaping.

Constable Howe then wrote “LITTLE SHOT ME” in the back of his police notebook ( in ink, and not blood, as sometimes stated ) before dragging himself into the police vehicle.

Constable Howe then wrote the offender’s name several times in his police notebook before dragging himself into the police vehicle.

He was only able to drive it a few metres before it ran into a roadside ditch.

After being found, the constable was able to detail the events leading to the shooting.

He was taken to the Wagga Base Hospital, however despite a five-hour operation he died at 10.45pm on 20 December, 1963.

Constable 1st Class Howe was posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class and awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry ( QPM ), and the Peter Mitchell Award.

The offender later committed suicide.

The circumstances surrounding Sergeant Howe’s death ( pistol repeatedly jamming ) led to the introduction of Smith & Wesson .38 calibre 6 shot revolvers as general service issue to New South Wales Police. These, in turn were replaced by Glock semi-automatic pistols in the late 1990s.

The sergeant was born in 1932 in Arncliffe, NSW, and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 1 April, 1957. At the time of his death he was stationed at Oaklands.

20 December 2023

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=763621499143605&set=pcb.763621672476921

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Friday 5 June 1964, page 6

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105764683

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Wednesday 25 March 1964, page 8

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104276025

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Monday 6 January 1964, page 3

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131738282

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Saturday 28 December 1963, page 6

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Friday 27 December 1963, page 1

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104283487

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Monday 23 December 1963, page 3

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104283124

Hi

I have some information prior to Cyril joining the police force.

Cyril was engaged to my mother. It would have been late 1950’s I guess.

Cyril worked as a volunteer ambulance officer around the Rockdale area I believe.

The engagement was broken off because my grandfather had spent 12 months in Glen Innes prison for stealing some years earlier and that would have impacted Cyrils’ chances of getting into the force.

I do have another photo somewhere, would need to hunt it down.

Cheers

Paul

NSW Policing History Forum

Clarence Roy PIRIE

AKA CLARRIE

Late of Capertee, NSW

Husband to widow Frances Josephine PIRIE who died 12 October 2019 ( see below ) 58 yrs 11 mths 29 days after Clarrie

NSW Penrith Police College Class # “possibly” 005

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  5824

Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 15 September 1947

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank = Senior Constable

Stations: Parramatta ( 18 Division 1947 – ? ), Young – Lock-Up-Keeper ( ? – 1958 ), Capertee ( 1958 – 1960 ) – Death

Service: From ? pre September 1947 ? to 13 October 1960 = 13+ years Service

C.M.F.                                1 October 1941 – 28 April 1943

A.I.F.                                  29 April 1943 – 6 August 1946

World War II                    Australian Imperial Force

Regiment:                         2 Aust. Ord. Port Detachments

Enlisted:                            28 June 1943

Service #                           NX171227  ( N210415 )

Rank:                                 Private

Embarkation:                   Duntroon for Pt. Moresby 12 July 1943

Next of kin:                       Mrs Henrietta PIRIE, 50 Meehan St, Granville – Mother

Religion:                            C of E

Single / Married:              Single

Returned to Australia:    ?

Date of Discharge:           6 August 1946

Posting at Discharge:       HQ 6 A B S A

WWII Honours & Gallantry:  None for display

POW:                                  No

Occupation upon joining:     Mill Hand – Process Operator

War Service In Au:           195 days

Active Service outside Au: 553 days

Active Service in Au:        1017 days

Police Awards: No find on Australian Honours

Born: Sunday  22 August 1920 at Paddington, NSW

Died on: Thursday  13 October 1960

Age: 40 yrs  1 mth  21 days

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location: Jews Creek, Capertee, NSW

Event date: Thursday  13 October 1960

Funeral date: Monday  17 October 1960

Funeral location: ?

Wake location: ?

Funeral Parlour: ?

Buried at: Rookwood Cemetery, NSW

Grave Location:  Zone E, Section 19, Grave 3661

Memorial located at: 1/  Glen Davis Rd, Capertee – the Clarence Pirie Memorial Park

Lat: -33.143736
Long: 149.983791

2/ a Wall Plaque at Chifley L.A.C.

CLARENCE IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

Grave location:  Rookwood Cemetery, NSW

Zone E, Section 19, Grave 3661

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

Senior Constable Clarrie Pirie was the Officer-in-Charge of the Capertee Police Station from 1958 until his death on 13 October, 1960. On that day he was informed by Lithgow Police that two male offenders had abandoned a stolen car at Cudgigong, north of Capertee.

While patrolling the area Senior Constable Pirie found two fourteen year-olds with a vehicle at a roadside camping area at Jews Creek, ten miles south of Capertee. These however were not the two offenders the police were searching for and as such Constable Pirie did not know that on the previous day the pair had escaped from the Yasmar children’s detention centre ( Lidcombe ) and had broken into a dwelling where they stole several items of property and the vehicle before driving to the Jews Creek area.

As the constable was talking to the young offenders one of them suddenly produced a .22 rifle and shot Constable Pirie. He died a short time later. Both youths were captured the following day.

The senior constable was born in 1920 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 15 September, 1947.

At the time of his death he was stationed at Capertee.

Source:  Beyond Courage

As an aside – Clarence PIRIE was the cousin of Victor AHEARN who was also shot and murdered in 1946 aged 40.

( Eli HANSON, NSWPF # 2207, Retired in 1962 and died in January 1973 ( aged 71 years, 0 months, 2 days ) )

Police Remembrance Day – 29 September 2022

A message received from one of the daughters of Roy & Frances PIRIE on 21 September 2022:

Dear Greg, Not sure if you are the right person to find out some info on Police Memorial Day Services in the Young area.

I live near Young & would really like to be able to pay my respect to my Dad who was killed on duty in 1960. It’s my only way to keep my memory going & now my Mum has passed, I’m feeling the sadness even more.

My Dad was Constable Clarence Roy Pirie who was shot & killed at Capertee.

I usually find out after the event that there had been a service around Young so what I’m hoping is that someone could let me know beforehand so I could attend.

Sorry to trouble you but just reaching out.

Yours respectfully,

Francine Pirie.

/////////////////////

Hello Francine.

Good choice picking me. lol.

I have tried to phone Young ( without success ) but I have just spoken with the District Commander, Supt. Paul Condon, and he confirms that there WILL be a Service in Young.

He is now on the phone to obtain the ‘where and when’ for us.

/////////////////////

omg, bless you & thank you x

I am on NSW Fallen Police ( FB Group ) so that’s how I got you so; thanks again.

////////////////////

There is a Service at Young Police Station ( only a small Service though ) at 11am on Thursday 29 September. The troops there will be expecting you.

////////////////////

Greg thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I’ll be there

x

////////////////////

You are very welcome Francine.

xoxox

Cal

///////////////////

Dear Greg,

Thank you so much for organising my attendance yesterday.

The staff at Young Police Station were amazing. The young Police Officers were so interested in my family’s story.

Thank you for the link as I read through the article I read things I didn’t know about. Many tears have been cried but I still believe it’s been a healing time for me even though it’s been 62 years.

Sometimes you need a reason & yesterday was a good reason to grieve, not only for my Dad but for all the other families who have lost their loved one.

Again Greg, thank you from my heart as this would not have happened if you hadn’t gone to the trouble to organise this for me.

God bless you

Francine Pirie

xx

The Result

Great effort from Young Police and Supt. Paul Condon, Goulburn

Mrs Frances Josephine PIRIE sadly passed away last night ( Friday 12 October 2019 ) aged 94 years – 5 days shy of her 95th birthday.

Wife of Senior Constable Clarence Roy PIRIE of the Capertee Police.

Almost 59 years to the day, Frances and Clarey are together again.

May they both, forever, Rest In Peace.

Capertee HERITAGE

http://caperteeheritage.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-tragic-death-of-clarie-pirie.html

Friday, 20 September 2013

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/about_us/national_police_remembrance_day

---

Clarence Pirie Memorial Park Rest Area

The Canberra Times  Friday

14 October 1960  page 1 of 28

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/136940872

Constable Shot Dead In Chase

SYDNEY, Thursday: – Police were to-night conducting one of the largest manhunts ever in the Central Western district for two youths who are alleged to have shot dead Senior Constable Clarence Roy Pirie, 40, of Cullen Bullen.

The constable was chasing two youths on the Capertee Cullen Bullen Road early to- night.

Pirie, a father of four, was believed to have been killed with a .22 rifle.

Police from Lithgow, Bathurst, Mount Victoria, Kandos, Rylstone, Katoomba, Oberon, Orange and other centres are searching dense bush near Jews Creek.

Police from other Central Western stations and from Sydney will join the searchers to-morrow.

The searchers are heavily armed with rifles and riot guns.

Other specialised weapons will arrive from Sydney to-morrow.

At 9 a.m. to-day a stolen car was found abandoned at Cudgegong.

Two youths were seen to leave the car and police in the area were alerted.

Constable Pirie sighted two youths in a second stolen car on the Lithgow-Mudgee Road near Jew’s Creek.

Overturned

The stolen car overturned at high speed about a half mile farther on.

Two youths scrambled from the wreck and fled into the bush.

Constable Pirie followed them.

Police believe that the elder youth, realising that Pirie was following them, turned and fired the shot which fatally wounded the policeman.

---

 

The Canberra Times  Wednesday

19 October 1960  page 29 of 33

Murder Charge Remand For Boy

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/103107227

LITHGOW, Tuesday:- A 14-year-old Sydney boy was remanded in Lithgow Children’s Court to-day on a charge of murdering a policeman.

He was remanded till November 1 without bail and will be detained in custody until that date.

The boy was charged with having murdered Constable Clarence Roy Pirie at Jews Creek camping reserve on October 13.

Police prosecutor Sergeant J. S. Smith said the youth charged with murder had   escaped from a Sydney boys’ home on October 12 and together with another boy had stolen a car.

The car was allegedly parked at Jews Creek’ Camping reserve the next day.

When Const. Pirie approached the vehicle he was allegedly shot dead.

---

 

The Canberra Times  Tuesday  7 March 1961  page 3 of 20

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/103115285

Boy, 15, Goes To Gaol For 15 Years

SYDNEY, Monday: — Christopher Lindsay, 15, went to gaol to-day for 15 years for killing a policeman last year.

Mr. Justice Else Mitchell described the fair-haired, well-dressed boy as a “young gangster.”

Lindsay, of Alice Street, Newtown, did not appear to be emotionally upset at the sentence.

He turned to court officials who led him from the dock to the cells below.

The sight of the boy being led away brought an outburst of sobbing from the public gallery.

Lindsay last week had pleaded not guilty to having murdered Constable Clarence Roy Pirie, 39, at Jews Creek Camping Reserve off the Mudgee Road near Cullen Bullen on October 13 last.

The Crown accepted Lindsay’s plea of guilty of man slaughter.

Lindsay – standing in the dock of Central Criminal Court with hands clasped in front of him – heard Mr. Justice Else Mitchell say that the deposition and Lindsay’s own signed statement left slender ground for the lesser offence.

“Before committing this crime, you had shown a refusal both in England and in this country to conform with the laws which are made for the good of society.

“From the record, it is clear that the processes of the habitation and reform which are provided by the country here have made no impact on your attitude or conduct.

“In pursuit of this anti-social conduct you twice escaped from Yasma shelter, where you were being detained awaiting trial for various charges, and on the second occasion in company with a confederate, younger than yourself, stole a rifle, food, other goods and then a motor car in which you travelled to the scene of the crime.

“When you were in fear of apprehension by a constable of the police for the theft of the car you did not hesitate to shoot him because as you said ‘You did not want him to catch you with the car.’

“Your subsequent conduct and your attempt to evade capture though perhaps natural do not appear to have been accompanied by any manifestation of c0ntrition or remorse, a fact which seems to me all the more serious in view of Dr. McGeorge’s conclusion that you are not suffering from any mental or psychiatric disorders.

“A substantial sentence appears to be necessary not only for the reasons I mentioned but as the only possible way in which you may begin to understand your obligations to society.”

 

---

The Canberra Times  Saturday

12 August 1961  page 23 of 28

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/103083643

Boy Killer’s Appeal Fails

SYDNEY, Friday:— The Full Supreme Court to-day dismissed a school boy’s appeal against a 15-year sentence for the manslaughter of a policeman.

The boy, Christopher Lindsay, 15, appealed against the severity of the sentence.

Mr. Justice Else-Mitchell, in Central Criminal Court, had sentenced Lindsay to 15 years gaol for the manslaughter of Constable

Clarence Roy Pirie, at Jew’s Creek, last October.

Pirie was questioning Lindsay on a car theft at the time.

Lindsay to-day conducted his own case before the Full Bench — comprising the Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Evatt, Mr. justice Herron and Mr. Justice Hardie.

He handed the bench a written statement, headed —’ “No Discourtesy.”

The statement read: “I respectfully submit that His Honour, at the time of imposing the severe sentence for manslaughter, regarded the offence as tantamount to murder.

“I further most respectfully submit the crime was not premeditated.

“The whole tragedy took place in a matter of seconds.

“At no time did I intend this man’s death.

“I respectfully submit that a 14-year-old youth to be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for a crime he did not intend, is too severe.”

Mr. Justice Else-Mitchell, reported to the Full Court, that Lindsay’s offence was hardly distinguishable from murder.

However, he had felt that he was bound by the Crown’s acceptance of the manslaughter plea.

Lindsay originally had been charged with murder.

Mr. Justice Else-Mitchell said it had been submitted he should not impose a crushing sentence.

He also was mindful of the danger with a youthful offender — that the imposition of a heavy gaol sentence often could produce more harm than good.

The Full Court ruled unanimously against Lindsay’s appeal.

It added that Lindsay’s crime called for the greatest condemnation.

---

Police remember fallen

By JANICE HARRIS

Sept. 28, 2006, 8:28 a.m.

http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/767925/police-remember-fallen/

 

REPRESENTATIVES from Orange Police Station will today attend a national memorial in Canberra for Police Remembrance Day.

For Inspector Greg Pringle and Canobolas Local Area administration manager John Pirie, the day bears a special significance.

John Pirie was just coming up to his fifth birthday when his 40-year-old father Senior Constable Clarence Roy Pirie was shot at point-blank range and killed near Capertee.

It was on October 13, 1960, that Mr Pirie’s father was patrolling when he came across a stolen vehicle. He stopped the vehicle and spoke to two youths inside, but one of them pulled a gun on Snr Const Pirie and shot him.

Inspector Pringle’s experience is in contrast, but he agrees the grief that comes with losing a colleague on the job remains for many years.

“I was with highway patrol working out of Cootamundra in 1988. I had a cup of tea with a fellow officer Constable Kurt Schetor before we headed off to patrol in separate directions,” Insp Pringle said.

Ten minutes later the then Constable Pringle received a call to respond to a crash and he arrived to find his friend and colleague was in involved in a head-on crash with a truck.

“I did my best but I couldn’t revive him,” he said.

Insp Pringle said many police officers carried a burden of grief with them for colleagues who died on the job.

“In many ways it is harder to deal with your own grief,” he said.

“When you are a police officer your ‘tank’ is full of other people’s grief because that’s part of the job. But it doesn’t leave much left.”

Officers from Canobolas Local Area Command will not be marking Police Remembrance Day in Orange this year.

Instead, this year’s service will be held at Cowra which is part of the Canobolas Local Area Command.

---

Family honours a dad’s sacrifice

By LOUISE EDDY

Sept. 29, 2010, 8:23 a.m

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/912010/family-honours-a-dads-sacrifice/

A brother and sister came to yesterday’s National Police Remembrance Day ceremony to remember their dad who was killed in the line of duty 50 years ago.

Three generations of Clarence Roy Pirie’s family came together in All Saints’ Cathedral to honour the police officer who was shot and killed by two escapees at Capertee on October 13, 1960.

At the time her father was killed MaryAnne Ford was just three years old – her brother Ron Pirie was seven. There were two more siblings Francine who was not yet two and John who was five. After the police officer’s death, their mum was left to raise the young family alone. Although MaryAnne remembers little of her dad she still treasures the plastic ‘policeman plod’ doll that he gave her before he died. It is something concrete to remember him by.

“The day I got married I left my bouquet on his grave,” she said.

Ron said although he has blocked out a lot of his memories of that sad time there are things that he does remember – like being put in the wooden slab lock up when he was naughty.

Although yesterday’s national remembrance day was to remember all police who lost their lives, for Clarence Pirie’s family it was very personal.

Apart from MaryAnne and Ron, Clarence’s granddaughters Ruth Ford and Kellyanne Howarth were at the special ceremony along with his three-month-old great grandson Jaydon.

They said the ceremony was both moving and beautiful.

“It was hard, but it was good,” Ron said with tears in his eyes.

He paused then and shook his head. “You know it never goes away.”

---

 

Glen Davis Rd, Capertee, NSW

Lat:  -33.143736  Long:  149.983791

 

December 2010

Police News

by Det. Supt. ( Retired ) Jim FOSTER ( R.I.P. 9 July 2019 )

 

---

 

( 2014 )  The offender, Christopher Lindsay ( assuming he served the full 15 years, would have been 30 years of age when released from gaol in 1975.  Assuming he is still alive today, he would now be around 69 years old.

I did a cursory search for him, via Google, but it is a common name and pursued it no further.

Cal

---

[blockquote]Stopped at my Dad’s park and had a cuppa a few days ago, often wonder how different our lives would have been if he hadn’t been killed. I will, in my elderly mother’s honor, ride the Wall to Wall ( of Remembrance ) this September.[/blockquote]

---

Kenneth Desmond COUSSENS

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ????

Rank:  Constable 1st Class

Stations:  ‘Safety Bureau’, Sydney, Kogarah, Cooma, Bega

Service:   From 18 October 1948  to  29 July 1957 = 11 years Service

[blockquote]

World War II

Australian Imperial Force

Regiment:                                  Royal Australian Navy

Enlisted:                                     30 June 1944 at Rockdale, NSW

Service #                                     32875

Rank:                                           Able Seaman

Embarkation:  ?

Next of kin:                                Edith COUSSENS

Religion:  ?

Single / Married:  ?

Returned to Australia:  ?

Date of Discharge:                   12 October 1948

Posting at Discharge:             HMAS Penguin

[/blockquote]

Awards:  Nil

Born:  2 July 1926 – Hastings, England

Died on:   29 July 1957

Cause:  Murder – Bomb Attack

Event location:  Bega

Age:  31

Elizabeth COUSSENS nee McCampbell nee Gowing
34 old

Bruce James COUSSENS
7 months old

Funeral date:  31 July 1957

Funeral location: 

Buried at:  Bega Cemetery

Anglican, Section 7, Row A, Grave 3

[alert_green] KENNETH IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]

The constable, his wife Elizabeth and baby son Bruce were murdered by the offender Kelly who had placed a bomb on the front verandah of the constable’s home at Bega. The offender had become incensed at being spoken to by the constable regarding traffic offences and on 29 July, 1957 he placed a metal dairy container packed with over 200 sticks of stolen gelignite at the constable’s home. About 2am the offender lit the fuse to the bomb and the dwelling was almost obliterated in the resultant explosion.

Constable Coussens‘ stepson, eight year-old Roger McCampbell, was the sole family survivor of the explosion. The offender Kelly was arrested after a major police investigation and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.

The constable was born in 1926 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 18 October, 1948. At the time of his death he was stationed at Bega.

OBITUARY

Senior Constable Kenneth Coussens; wife – Elizabeth Coussens; infant – Bruce Coussens 7 months old.

Killed by a bomb blast on July 29, 1957.

Senior Constable Ken Coussens moved to Bega in 1954 where the officer took up motor cycle traffic duties for the Public Safety Bureau (now known as the Highway Patrol).

He married a local girl Elizabeth who came from a well known local family and they had two children, Roger nine (from Elizabeth’s first marriage) and an infant son Bruce, seven months old.

Constable Coussens performed his police duties in a conscientious and professional manner in the Bega area attending to traffic duties, attending the scene of motor vehicle accidents and performing other police and community duties as required of a country police officer.

About 1956, in the course of his traffic duties Constable Coussens came into contact with a local man named Myron Bertram Kelly, 32.

The officer had cause to speak to Kelly regarding traffic offences and issued traffic fines to the man on a number of occasions.

Kelly appears to have become enraged when Constable Coussens issued fines and defect notices to Kelly’s tractor and rotary hoe.

As a result Kelly formed a grudge against Constable Coussens.

After this event Kelly went to a silica mine at Rock Flat between Nimmitabel and Cooma in his truck and removed five cases of gelignite and took it to Nethercote where he buried it.

He then stole a six gallon cream can from Curtis Brothers Creamery and took that to Nethercote.

He later built a home made bomb by placing 240 sticks of gelignite and a fuse into the cream can.

In the late hours of July 28, 1957 Kelly sneaked to the officers home while he was asleep in the house with his wife and young family.

He set the bomb at the front of the fibro and iron home situated in Girraween Crescent, Bega and ignited the fuse a few hours later.

Kelly left the scene and went home and at about 2am the bomb detonated causing a huge explosion which completely demolished the house.

The bomb also caused extensive damage to other homes and windows in the vicinity, up to a mile away.

More than 100 windows at Bega Hospital were shattered by the blast.

Constable Coussens and his wife and young baby were killed instantly.

The 9-year-old son Roger survived the blast as he was sleeping at the rear of the house.

Shocked neighbours saw him emerge from the wreckage dazed and confused.

Local residents did not know what had happened and due to the enormity of the blast rumours quickly spread that the gas works had exploded or a Navy plane from HMAS Albatross Nowra had accidentally bombed the town.

However, when it was learned a police officer had been killed by a bomb, police quickly recognised it had all the hallmarks of an assassination.

A criminal investigation swung quickly into action with detectives from Sydney travelled to Bega.

Forensic evidence from the crime scene indicated the explosion was caused by a home made bomb and fragments of a dairy can were located at the scene.

An intense investigation followed, lead by crack homicide squad detectives. Subsequently Kelly was identified as the prime suspect when his hatred of Constable Coussens became known as a motive.

Investigators later searched Kelly’s home and found explosives, fuses and gelignite and a demolition hand book.

Kelly was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of Constable Coussens and his wife and baby.

He was also charged with the theft of six cases of gelignite, 800 detonators, 1000 feet of fuse, an army .303 rifle, 50 rounds of ammunition and possessing an unlicensed pistol.

The trial was conducted in Central Criminal Court and Kelly was convicted by a jury on the murder charges.

On December 6, 1957 he was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice McClemens who said at the time: “One could only hope for the sake of common human nature that a crime as terrible and devilish as the Bega bombing on July 29 sprang from some deep seated mental derangement. It is not a case where in the interest of the community one could recommend or hold out any hope for mercy”.

Constable Coussens was also a returned serviceman having served in the Royal Australian Navy.

(Research courtesy of David Gardner Australian Police Journal March 2005.Vol 59 No 1.)

State: NSW
Area: AUS

Please Note: GPS Co-ordinates are approximate.

View Google Map

Monument Type: Plaque

Theme: People

Sub-Theme: Crime

Description:

Plaque commemorates a local policeman and his family who were murdered in 1957.

Senior Constable Ken Coussens, his wife and seven-month-old son were blown up by 240 sticks of gelignite. It was discovered that local man Myron Kelly had held a well-known grudge against the constable and in the absence of other leads this seemed worth following up. The offender had become incensed at being spoken to by the Constable regarding traffic offences and placed a metal dairy container loaded with the stolen gelignite outside the front door of the Constable’s home.

When Kelly’s house was searched, four and half sticks of gelignite, 20 feet of safety fuse and 58 detonators were discovered. The offender was arrested after a major Police investigation and later sentenced to life imprisonment. Myron Kelly was released from jail in 1980 and returned to the district. He died in Cooma in July 2007 aged 83.

Actual Monument Dedication Date: 29 July 2007

http://monumentaustralia.org.au/australian_monument/display/20280

 NSW Births, Deaths, Marriages:

 Kenneth Desmond COUSSENS, born to Albert James & Edith Mabel COUSSENS.

NSW Deaths Registration number 34296/1957

National Archives of Australia:

 Merchant Navy & Royal Australian Navy

Service # 32875

Born:  Hastings, England     Trade:  Ex Apprentice Fitter & Turner

He reported for Duty on the 30 June 1944 as a ‘Ordinary Seaman II’ and Served upon the H.M.A.S. Cerberus as of the 3 July 1944.

He was described as being 5′ 10 1/2″, with brown hair and brown eyes with a scar on his right thigh.

It appears as though he was still ‘Serving’ with the R.A.N. on 12 June 1947.

He was ‘Rated’ as a ‘Ordinary Seaman’ on 2 July 1944

‘Rated’ ‘Able Seaman’ on 1 June 1945

Was transferred to Royal Australian Navy for 2 years from 4 October 1946.

On his ‘Blue card’ of the R.A.N. it appears, in the Medals, Clasps, etc. section, that the date of May 1958 appears with Const. Police Station Bega NSW.

In the area of the ‘Blue Card’ of the R.A.N. it appears, in the Good Conduct Badges, he was ‘Granted’ a ‘Penguin’ in July 1947.

Other data, written in pen and pencil, on his R.A.N. Service cards is hard to decipher.

http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4411454&isAv=N

 

 CONSTABLE AND FAMILY KILLED

FATAL BLAST AT BEGA STILL PUZZLE

The Canberra Times  Tuesday  30 July 1957  page 1 of 12

SYDNEY, Monday. – Mystery still obscures the cause of the explosion which killed a police constable, his wife and their six-month-old son when it shattered their Bega home early to-day.

Police said to-night it would be several days before they could sift and examine the wreckage to determine the cause of the explosion, but they have found fragments of metal which appear to be from the casing of a high explosive shell.

Victims of the tragedy   were: Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife Elizabeth, 34, and their son, Graham.

Their bodies were hurled from their beds and thrown 50 yds. into a neighbour’s garden. The sole survivor of the tragedy was Roger, 9, a son of Mrs. Coussens by a former marriage.

Detectives of Sydney Arson Squad were to-night uncertain of the cause of the explosion.

Fragments of metal which may be from the casing of a high explosive shell, will be examined by an R.A.N. explosive expert called in from Nowra Fleet Air Arm Base.

The explosion, shortly after 3 am. rocked Bega, damaging other houses and breaking 100 windows in Bega Hospital, almost half a mile away.

Awakened by the explosion, terrified neighbours rushed into the   streets, which were   blanketed by heavy fog.

Thick smoke hung over the Coussen’s house, which was shattered.

As horrified neighbours watched, young Roger Coussens staggered from the ruins, screaming, and slowly walked past torn down electricity and telephone wires which crackled and sparked.

He collapsed into the arms of a neighbour, dazed but uninjured.

The bodies of Constable Coussens and his wife were found near each other in a neighbour’s garden, 50 yards away.

It was almost five hours before the shattered body of the baby boy was found, behind a tree in the backyard.

Panic

As the explosion shattered windows of the four storey Bega Hospital, panic broke out among patients.

Men and women screamed and jumped from their beds as nurses ran through the wards, soothing patients.

Ambulanceman Keith Beresford said the house was like a scene in war time.

“Dense fog and hovering smoke hung over the wrecked building with sparkling electric wires on the ground,” he said.

At dawn, hundreds of people had gathered and Superintendent Mijch, officer in charge of the   South Coast District Police to cordon off the area.

Pieces of furniture and personal possessions of the Coussens family were strewn over hundreds of yards.

The mattress from the bed on which the couple were sleeping together with bloodstained children’s clothing, were hurled many yards.

Supt. Mijch ordered that nothing be touched until Sydney. C.I.B. detectives, Sergeants Behrens and Bateman, and Det. Bradbury of the Arson Squad   arrived.

Explosives expert, J. Parsons of the N.S.W. Mines Department and Det. Sgt. Ray Kelly of the C.I.B. Homicide Squad, were also rushed from   Sydney.

Detectives are working on theories that the Coussens were the victims of a bomb plot perpetrated by a madman with a grudge, or that the explosions may have been caused by a war souvenir collected by Constable Coussens, who had served in the R.A.N, for a short time.

Bomb Theory

The theory of the bomb plot was strengthened this afternoon when police   found a tunnel had been dug under the Coussens’ bedroom.

Police say the explosive could have been placed in the tunnel.

They have ruled out the possibility of a gas explosion.

Police are mystified at the escape of Roger Coussens.

Dazed and terrified, the boy said the only thing he remembered was a large piece of timber falling across his bed.

It was the boy’s second escape. His father, an American businessman, was killed in a car crash in the United States when Roger was still a baby.

Roger and his mother, then Mr. McCampbell, who were in his car, escaped unhurt.

Police said the only thing that saved Roger to-day was the fact that he was sleeping in a separate bedroom.

Under Room

The explosion apparently occurred in or beneath the bedroom where his mother, step-father and step-brother lay sleeping.

Residents told police that after the first tremendous explosion, shock waves spread across the district.

Mr. Kevin Barham, a neighbour, said he rushed into the street and heard screaming.

“I saw Roger staggering towards me, dressed only in his pyjama top.

“He was bare footed and crying and had dirt in his hair.

“He kept screaming ‘The house is ruined – the house is ruined.’

“When Roger walked towards me, he was stepping through live wires brought down by the explosion,” Mr. Barham said.

Barham said there was a strange smell about the Coussens’ home after the explosion, but he could not identify it.

Constable Coussens had been attached to Bega for about three years.

He had been a member of the police force for 11 years and was attached to the Safety Bureau in Sydney before being sent to Bega.

He had been stationed at Kogarah and also Cooma.

Police to-night placed a guard over the wreck of the home.

They said it would “be several days before they could sift and examine the debris to determine the cause of the explosion.

Earlier to-day a giant mobile crane was used to lift huge blocks of reinforced concrete which had been scattered over a wide area.

Police to-night appealed to residents to examine their gardens for any strange fragments of metal which may have come from the seat of the explosion.

They said even the smallest fragment could play an important part in solving the mystery.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91594680?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7146877

 

 

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Grudge Theory On Cause Of Bega Explosion

The Canberra Times  Wednesday  31 July 1957  page 1 of 12

SYDNEY, Tuesday. – Detectives are carefully investigating the background of a constable, who with his wife and seven-months-old son, was killed in a bomb explosion at Bega yesterday.

Detectives will also inquire into his activities and arrests since he joined the police force, about 10 years ago.

Those killed were Const. First class Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and their son, Graham.

The trio were killed when a mysterious explosion wrecked their home at Bega and smashed windows throughout the town, a half mile away. Coussens step-son, Roger, escaped unharmed.

Detectives to-day discovered metal casings, which strengthens a theory that a maniac with a grudge against the constable, placed a bomb under the house.

They are also interviewing the hoodlum element in the town, for the constable, despite his unblemished police record, was described as a “hard man” by certain sections of the public.

His application to duty had earned him a number of “threats.”

With this in mind, a team of detectives headed by Detective Superintendent Norman Mitch, are investigating his local arrests.

The State Police explosives expert, Mr. S. W. Parsons, has established that the blast was not caused by gelignite.

No traces of a detonator been found.

A theory, described as “doubtful,” is that Coussens became involved in the fishing war on the South Coast.

Detectives have established that Coussens had purchased a £1,500 fishing launch 12 months ago and had engaged a crew of three to fish commercially.

The launch, registered in his wife’s name, was sold two weeks ago.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91594774?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7146889

  

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Metal May Give Clue To Cause Of Tragedy

The Canberra Times  Thursday  1 August 1957  page 4 of 16

BEGA, Wednesday. – Fragments of metal found at the site of the fatal explosion which killed a police constable, his wife and his young son on Monday, were sent to the C.I.B. to-day.

The fragments will be examined by the Scientific Bureau and metallurgists in the hope of identifying them.

Police are now certain that the explosion occurred from a container which was under the front verandah of the house. However,  it is not yet known if it was a war souvenir or a home-made bomb planted by a maniac.

Victims of the blast were Constable Kenneth Coussens, 32, his wife, Elizabeth, 32, and his son, Graham Bruce, 7 months.

They were buried at Bega to-day. More than 1,500 people attended the funeral service and many wept at the cortege passed through the crowded main street. Shops and businesses were closed as a mark   of respect.

Fifty police from all parts of the South Coast formed a guard of honour and police who had worked with Constable Coussens acted as pall-bearers.

The couple and their child were buried in a family grave two miles out of Bega.

Sole survivor of the explosion was Mrs. Coussens’ son by a former marriage nine-year-old Roger.

Roger’s father, a U.S., businessman, was killed in a car crash when Roger was a baby.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91594888?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195

 

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Arrest In Bega Murder Case

The Canberra Times   Friday  9 August 1957  page 1 of 20

SYDNEY, Friday.- Late last night, C.I.B. detectives arrested a man for the murder of a Bega policeman, his wife and son.

They died when their home was blasted to pieces in the early hours of Monday July 29.

The victims, were Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife Elizabeth, 33, and infant son Graham.

The man will appear at Bega Court to-day.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91595509?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147013

 

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PROSECUTION CLAIMS

Hatred Motive To Bega Explosion

The Canberra Times   Saturday  10 August 1957  page 1 of 16

BEGA, Friday. – Hatred had led a man to make a milk can bomb which exploded killing a police constable, his wife and baby son, police alleged in Bega Court to-day.

Before the court was Myron Bertram Kelly, 32, agricultural contractor, of Gipp Street, Bega.

Kelly has been charged with the murder of Const. Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth Coussens, 34, and their son, Bruce Coussens (7 months), of Girrawheen Crescent, Bega, on July 29.

Police Prosecutor Det. Sgt. J. Behrens told Mr. W. Cobcroft, J.P., that Coussens, his wife and son were killed after a violent explosion near the front door of their home.

Sgt. Behrens said police alleged Kelly made a bomb by stacking stolen gelignite into two milk cans and detonating them with a home-made time fuse.

Inquiries, he added, had shown that the milk cans had been stolen from Bega and the explosives from Nimmitabel.

“The explosion was sufficiently violent to catapault their bodies out of the house on to the adjacent vacant allotment,” Sgt. Behrens said.

Metal Found

“A scientific examination was made and a large number of pieces of metal were recovered embedded in woodwork and in the ruins of the house.

“Pieces were collected in various positions in the vicinity, approximately 400 yards away.”

Sgt. Behrens said Kelly was a native of Nimmitabel

and had an intimate knowledge of the places from where the explosives were stolen.

Kelly had been questioned by police about his knowledge of explosives, Sgt. Behrens said.

“He has had experience of explosives and when questioned he denied that he had any explosives in his possession.

In Bedroom

“This was found to be false, as a search of his home revealed a quantity of gelignite and detonators stored in his bedroom.

“During the search, identical nameplates from the missing milk cans referred to were found at his home.

“He has not offered any explanation of their presence there,” Sgt. Behrens said.

The prosecutor said Kelly had put forward an alibi for his movements on the night before and the morning of the explosion, but this alibi would be disproved.

He said, “We contend that the defendant had the strongest motive, which is hatred.”

”Differences”

“Evidence will be given,” Det. Sgt. Behrens said “that the defendant had had differences with the late Constable Coussens in connection with traffic matters over a lengthy period.”

Mr. Cobcroft remanded Kelly to Bega Court on September 4. He refused bail.

Immediately after Kelly had been remanded, Mr. Cobcroft opened the Coroner’s Court inquest into the death of Coussens, his wife and son.

On a request from Sgt. Behrens, he adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91595595?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147035

 

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Inquest On Bega Home Blast

Victims Opens

The Canberra Times   Tuesday  15 October 1957  page 1 of 12

BEGA, Monday: A 9 year-old boy told the Bega coroner’s Court to-day that a blast which killed his mother, stepfather and baby stepbrother, had caused his house “to come down on top of him.”

The boy, Roger Clinton McCampbell, said he thought he was dreaming and called out to his mother, but she did not come to him.

The District Coroner, Mr. W. Cobcroft, opened the inquiry into the deaths of Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and his 7-months-old son Bruce.

All three died in an explosion which wrecked Constable Coussen’s home in Girrawheen Crescent, Bega, on July 29.

Before the court, charged on three counts of murder, was Myron Bertram Kelly, 34, agricultural contractor, of Gipps Street, Bega.

He was also charged with stealing six cases of gelignite, 800 detonators and 1,000ft of fuse.

The hearing was adjourned till to-morrow.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91239997?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147920

 

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Bega Coroner Told Of Alleged Confession

The Canberra Times   Wednesday  16 October 1957  page 3 of 12

BEGA, Tuesday.—A man allegedly told police he planned and lit a home-made bomb which later exploded, killing a police constable, his wife and baby son, Bega Coroner’s Court was told to-day.

In a statement allegedly made by Myron Bertram Kelly, 32, of Gipps Street, Bega, Kelly said he and the policeman were “bitter enemies”.

Kelly has been charged with the murder of Constable Desmond Kenneth Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth Coussens, 34 and their eight-months-old son, Bruce James Coussens.

The three died when an explosion rocked, their home in Girawheen Crescent, Bega, on July 20.

The statement alleged to have been made by Kelly was handed to the Coroner, Mr. Cobcroft, S.M., by Detective Sergeant C. Behrers.

Not Particular

It read “The first trouble I had with Constable Coussens was about three years ago. That was a series of defect notices about a Howard tractor and rotary hoe.

“Coussens was not very particular what he did.

“The first real trouble was two years ago when he overtook a taxi I was travelling in and arrested me for riding an unregistered motor cycle and then  carried out a search of my premises, where I am now living.  “I was fined £5 for that offence.

“The next incident was a collision in front of the Bega Police Station on April 13, 1956.

Collision

“I had been working on the river bank below the town. On my way home I saw him on the corner of Auckland and Bega Streets. I was driving a rotary hoe.

“He then followed me a fair way behind along Bega Street and up Gipps Street.

Opposite the police station, he closed in and collided with the tractor.

“He then charged me with everything, he could think of, although the accident was of his own neglect.

“I appeared before the Bega Court and I was fined a total of about £40.”

The statement also alleged several other traffic incidents between Coussens and Kelly, but no charges were laid.

“From these incidents, we were bitter enemies,” the statement said.

It continued: “About the middle of June this year, I went in my truck to Rock Flat and I took five cases of gelignite from there.

Stole Can

“A week before the tragedy when Constable Coussens was killed, I stole a six-gallon milk can from the platform at the Bega butter factory. It had ‘Curtis Bros.’ on the can.

“I took the labels off the can, dug up the gelignite and made a bomb out of the milk can and brought it back in my car to my home in Bega.

“That week I fitted it up with about 20ft. of fuse and a detonator and sealed it up with mud.

“About midnight that night, I put the bomb in the back of my car and drove into Auckland Street.

“I took it out of the car and put it on the verandah of Constable Coussens’ house, near the front door.

“At about 2 o’clock in the morning, I walked up to Constable Coussens’ house and lit the fuse on the bomb.

“After that I went back to bed. Not being a strong container, I expected very little damage to be done and a lot of noise.

“I thought it would go no further than to break some fibro off the walls and give the constable a bad fright, causing the Police Department to move him.

“I did not think that it would kill him, his wife and his child.

“It was the last thing in the world that I wanted to happen.

“I have all the regrets in the world.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91240059?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147934

 

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BEGA INQUEST ADJOURNED

The Canberra Times   Thursday  17 October 1957  page 5 of 20

BEGA, Wednesday: The inquiry into the deaths of Constable Desmond Coussens, his wife and baby son in an explosion which wrecked their home, was adjourned to-day till tomorrow.’

The hearing was adjourned because some witnesses could not attend.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91240173?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147948

 

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Saw Milk Can Bomb, Farmer Tells Coroner

The Canberra Times   Friday  18 October 1957  page 18 of 20

BEGA, Thursday: A farmer told the Coroner’s Court to-day that he had believed a milk can filled with explosives was to be placed on a police constable’s verandah as a practical joke.

The farmer, Edward Morris Williams, said he had been a close friend of Bartram Myron Kelly, 32, contractor, of Bega, who has been charged with murder.

The inquiry is being held into the deaths of Constable Kenneth Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and his son, Bruce, 8 months, at Bega on July 29.

The three died when a bomb wrecked the house.

Williams said Kelly had shown him a milk can containing gelignite, at the back of Kelly’s home, and said he was going to put a burnt-out fuse in it and leave it on the patio to frighten Coussens.

Williams said he had not reported the matter to the police because he had understood it was a practical joke by Kelly.

The hearing was adjourned until to-morrow.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91240238?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147981

 

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Contractor For Trial For Family’s Death

The Canberra Times   Saturday  19 October 1957  page 6 of 16

BEGA, Friday,— An agricultural contractor was committed for trial to-day by the Bega District Coroner on a charge of having murdered a police constable, his wife and baby son.

The coroner, Mr. W. Cobcroft, found Constable Kenneth Coussens, 31, his wife, Elizabeth, 34, and son Bruce James, 8 months, died from injuries received on July 29 in an explosion, in their home in Girrawheen Street, Bega.

The explosion had been feloniously and maliciously brought about by Myron Kelly, he said.

He committed Kelly for trial at Central Criminal Court.

Mr. Cobcroft said a bomb had been placed on the patio of the constable’s home near his bedroom and detonated. The bomb had been housed in a cream can. It has been established that the cream can was stolen from the Bega Butter Factory shortly before the explosion and that the can was in the possession of Kelly.

Kelly was also found to be in possession of a quantity of gelignite, detonators and a fuse.

Mr. Cobcroft said he was not satisfied with the evidence of one of the 40 witnesses who appeared at the inquest, Edward Morris Williams, farmer, of Pambula, who said that he had seen and handled the bomb made by Kelly.

One would have expected that in these circumstances Williams would have gone to the police and volunteered information which probably would have led to the “frustration of Kelly’s intention,” said Mr. Cobcroft.

“I don’t believe Williams’ evidence where he stated he thought the whole affair was to be nothing more than a practical Joke,” he added.

Had Williams acted as a prudent man, the tragedy might have been averted.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91240386?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7147989

 

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Contractor Sentenced To Gaol For Life

The Canberra Times   Saturday  7 December 1957  page 1 of 16

SYDNEY, Friday: An agricultural contractor found guilty of setting off a bomb which killed a police constable, his wife and child, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr. Justice McClemens in the Central Criminal Court to-day.

The contractor is Myron Bertrand Kelly, 32, of Gipps Street, Bega.

Kelly pleaded not guilty to the murder of Constable Kenneth Desmond Coussens, 31, of Girraween Crescent, Bega.

Coussens, his wife Elizabeth, 34, and their baby son, Bruce, 9 months, were killed when an explosion wrecked their home on July 29.

The Crown alleged that Kelly confessed to placing a home-made bomb under the patio of Coussens’ home and lighting the fuse.

The bomb was a milk can filled with gelignite.

In a statement from the dock yesterday Kelly said he had no intention of harming the Coussens’ family.

“I have thought the matter over day and night and still cannot believe that the explosive I had did that damage and killed three people,” he said.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91252148?searchTerm=coussens&searchLimits=sortby=dateAsc|||l-decade=195#pstart7148682

 

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Bega District News

Bega bombing – 50 years on

By JUSTIN WELSFORD

July 23, 2007, 11:38 p.m.

TRAGIC incidents litter the Bega Valley’s long and proud history – fire, homicides and accidents cutting lives far too short.

However, very few incidents stir emotions, ignite debate and were more widely reported than a bombing that claimed the lives of a local police constable, his wife and infant son.

This coming Sunday (July 29) marks the 50th anniversary of this tumultuous event in 1957 when the town was rocked by the monumental explosion about 2.10am on that fateful day.

The cold air of the winter’s night was pierced by the noise of the explosion that woke everyone in town and many in the surrounding farming districts.

Hundreds of windows were smashed by the concussion, more than 100 in the hospital alone, and some up to a mile away from the explosion site.

Residents initially were confused as what exactly had blown up.

The obvious culprit, the gasworks, was still standing as were Slater’s fuel depot and the various service stations.

As emergency service personnel fumbled for their boots and warm clothing the initial cacophony was replaced by an eerie, yawning silence.

It took several minutes of fruitless searching before the source of the blast was identified.

It was the two-year-old home of Constable Kenneth Coussens and his family on the northern side of Girraween Crescent that had borne the brunt of the explosion.

The entire front of the house had been blown away, with the remainder barely standing.

Vast sections of the roof were missing and supporting wooden tresses had fallen into the void.

Such was the force of the blast, that Constable Coussens, his wife Elizabeth (nee Gowing) and infant son Bruce, who had all been sleeping in the front bedroom at the time, were flung large distances through the air.

All three sustained devastating injuries and were killed instantly.

Horrified and instantly sickened by the war-like scene they found when arriving at the house, those who converged were stunned when, incredibly, Mrs Coussens’ elder son Roger (9) crawled physically unscathed from the hotchpotch of metal and wood that only minutes earlier had been his family’s home.

While the cloak of night may have hampered emergency workers in their efforts, it enabled neighbours to shield the boy from the horrors that lay only metres away.

As daylight greeted investigators, reminders of the horror of the incident continued to emerge, with soiled children’s books and bloodstained booties among the items that littered the lawn and street.

The investigation

Superintendent Mitjch of Wollongong, along with detectives Bevan, Bateman, Clark and Davenport, arrived in Bega shortly before noon on the day of the blast to commence investigations.

The chief explosive expert of the Department of Labour and Industry, Mr Parsons, followed shortly after.

Accident or murder?

The house had been destroyed and apart from a vast hole and the devastation there were precious few leads.

With inquiries leading nowhere, speculation an innuendo continued to mount throughout the community.

One popular story (which was quickly disproved) was that planes from the Nowra naval base had mistakenly dropped a bomb during a flyover.

The subject of gossip also turned to Constable Coussens who had served in the Navy during World War II prior to joining the force.

The story went that he was a souvenir hunter and had stored a mortar bomb on the landing – this theory was also kyboshed.

It wasn’t until detective Bob Bradbury suggested: “I wonder if those bits of metal could have come from a cream can which might have been used as bomb” that things started to fall into place for the investigative team.

A number of checks were made and the investigators scored a hit: the Bega Creamery Society confirmed that a six-gallon cream can had been stolen from the factory recently.

The owner of the can, the Curtis family, was contacted and it was ascertained that the stolen item was one of two bought years previously.

The second can was subsequently examined and the metal was found to be identical to that located at the explosion site.

Further investigation revealed that a substantial quantity of gelignite had been stolen from a mine at Rock Flay (between Nimmitabel and Cooma).

The detectives continued to pore over Constable Coussens’ life in an attempt to discover a reason for such a malicious act and it was quickly discovered that local man Myron Bertrand Kelly, 32, had held a well-known grudge against the constable.

In the absence of other leads it seemed worth following up.

So on August 7 a search was made of Kelly’s house and a safety fuse and an unexploded detonator in a tobacco tin were found in a tool shed on the property.

Also located was an empty landmine, and brass nameplates bearing the name ‘Curtis Bros, Brogo’ – the plates from a dairy cream can.

In a cabinet in the main bedroom four and half sticks of gelignite, 20 feet of safety fuse and 58 detonators were discovered.

There was also an empty hand grenade, powder tins and equipment for loading rifle and gun cartridges, together with a demolition handbook.

A search of Kelly’s Dodge vehicle revealed a circular marking on the floor mat in the back that matched up perfectly with the identical cream can the police had procured from the dairy.

Two weeks later, upon receipt of further information, five cases of gelignite were located under a rock on a property at Nethercote frequented by Kelly.

The grudge

Constable Coussens had been stationed at Bega since 1954 on motorcycle traffic duties for the Public Safety Bureau (now known as the Highway Patrol).

He was praised by his fellow officers and a large proportion of the local community for his vigilance in dealing with hoodlums and ‘hoons’, but it was his zeal that had him offside with some – including Myron Kelly.

Kelly had been booked of a number of occasions by the constable and harboured palpable ill-will towards him.

In an interview at Bega Police Station on August 14, Kelly outlined his dealings with Constable Coussens.

He said he had received a number of defect notices on his tractor and rotary hoe and had been stopped frequently for licence checks by the officer.

He also made the accusation that Constable Coussens had instigated a collision between the pair in order charge him with a number of offences.

“It was April 13, 1956… I saw him on the corner… I was driving the rotary hoe. He followed me and opposite the police station he closed in to collide with the tractor. He then charged me with everything he could think of, although the accident was mainly of his own neglect. I appeared before the Bega Court and was fined a total of 40 pounds,” Mr Kelly said.

Minor incidents also had occurred in May and July 1957 (just before the bombing), no breaches were issued but there were words between the pair.

There remain some people in the community who are sympathetic to Kelly and who speak of the constable “having it in for him”.

The bomb

In the same interview with police, on August 14, Kelly also outlined how he made the bomb.

On Sunday, June 16 he had gone to Rock Flat in his truck, entered a silica mine and removed five cases of gelignite. He then returned to a property at Nethercote and buried it.

Then about a week before the bombing he stole the six-gallon cream can and also took that to Nethercote.

Kelly told investigators, “A few days after, instead of going to work, I removed the labels from the can and dug up the gelignite. I packed 240 sticks into the can like cigarettes and made a bomb. I took in my car home and put it in my shed. Later, I fitted it with about 20 feet of fuse and a detonator and sealed it with mud.”

Then, just before midnight on July 28, he sneaked over to the Coussens residence and set the can down on the front landing, then hurried home to bed.

Two hours later he returned, lit the fuse and walked away – he was at his home again by the time the blast shook Bega.

Court proceedings

After being charged with the murders of Constable Coussens, Elizabeth and Bruce on August 9, Kelly appeared in the Bega Local Court of Petty Sessions before being remanded to reappear at a later date.

The coroner’s inquiry into the three deaths began on October 14 before William Cobcroft, JP.

During the lengthy inquiry, Mr Cobcroft heard evidence from a large number of witnesses, including the detectives involved in the case, family members of the deceased, and Kelly, among others.

During his time in the stand, Kelly reiterated his accusations that the constable had unfairly targeted him and that his intention had been simply to frighten the officer after his requests to councillors and high ranking police for Constable Coussens to be transferred fell on deaf ears.

“I have all the regrets in the world for what happened,” Kelly said.

The following is an extract of Mr Cobcroft’s findings, handed down on October 15:

“Kenneth Desmond Coussens, Elizabeth Mary Hamilton Coussens and Bruce James John Coussens died from injuries received on July 29, 1957, in an explosion felonously and maliciously brought about on that date by Myron Bertrand Kelly, and I further find in the manner aforesaid that the said Myron Bertrand Kelly did felonously and maliciously murder them.”

Mr Cobcroft committed Kelly to the Central Criminal Court, Sydney.

After five days of evidence the jury retired and after just one hour they returned with a guilty verdict.

Justice McClemens asked Kelly if he had anything to say. Kelly shook his head and said loudly, “No!”

In sentencing the then 32-year-old farming contractor to life imprisonment on December 6, 1957, Justice McClemens said: “One could only hope for the sake of common human nature that a crime as terrible and devilish as the Bega bombing on July 29, sprang from some deep-seated mental derangement.

“It is not a case where in the interest of the community one could recommend or hold out hope for mercy.”

When being led away Kelly turned to his elderly father, waved his hand and simply said in a loud voice: “Goodbye!”

The miracle boy

Amazingly, this hideous event was not the first time that nine-year-old Roger’s (the sole survivor) life had been touched by tragedy.

Eight years earlier his American father (Elizabeth’s first husband) was killed in car accident in the United States.

The youngster had been in his mother’s arms in the car at the time and somehow, miraculously, both had survived.

Upon returning to Australia and the Bega Valley, Elizabeth met, fell in love with, and married Constable Coussens.

Roger, who now lives in Sydney, has a family of his own and is returning to Bega this weekend for the memorial service.

Myron Bertrand Kelly

After being sentenced to life imprisonment on December 6, 1957, Kelly was released in 1980 and returned to the district.

In the ensuing years he lived a quiet life at Austral Farm, Nimmitabel, before moving to the Sir William Hudson Memorial Centre in Cooma where he died, aged 83, on July 4 this year. He never re-offended.

Kelly was married to Viola and the father of two sons – David (dec) and John – and a daughter, Jeanette.

There are still some in the community who believe Kelly was provoked and others who believe his version of events that he didn’t intend to physically harm Constable Coussens or his family.

Senior Sergeant, Garry Nowlan, of Bega Police disputes this.

“It is easy to see from the evidence the man had a fixation with explosives,” Mr Nowlan said.

“He knew what they could do. You don’t use 240 sticks of gelignite to scare somebody. You don’t murder a family because you got a few traffic tickets.

“Kelly was judged by a jury of his peers and they got it right. He was a cold, reckless killer.”

Whatever the truth is, there is no doubt Myron Bertrand Kelly will always hold an infamous place in the history of Bega.

http://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/1070073/bega-bombing-50-years-on/

 

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Grave site:  Anglican, Section 7, Row A, Grave 3

[codepeople-post-map]

 

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30 July, 2007 4:00PM AEDT

Bega bombing 50 years on

Around 150 people gathered alongside police officers in Bega to remember the tragedy that claimed the lives of Constable Kenneth Coussens, his wife Elizabeth and baby son Bruce, who were murdered by Myron Kelly, who had placed a bomb outside the Constable’s home in Bega.

Fifty years ago a policeman, his wife and baby were murdered in Bega in south-east New South Wales.

Around 150 people gathered alongside police officers to remember the bombing tragedy that claimed the lives of Constable Kenneth Coussens, his wife Elizabeth and baby son Bruce, who were murdered by Myron Kelly, who had placed a bomb outside the Constable’s home in Bega.

NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney stated, “This was a very important occasion, not only for the Coussens family who had gathered from as far as Adelaide and Sydney. It was important for people in the Bega Valley to come together, with members of the NSW Police Force to acknowledge the 50th Anniversary of when Senior Constable Ken Coussens his wife Elizabeth and their seven month old son Bruce were murdered in Bega.”

“It’s was an occasion to reflect, to remember but also acknowledge that which is good about this community. These are always occasions for sadness and reflection but they also give you optimism for the future, said Commissioner Moroney.”

He continued, “Mr Coussens is one of 280 officers in NSW who have lost their lives in the execution of their duties. It’s a reflection on the legacy that people like Ken Coussens leave us and on the proud history and traditions of the NSW Police.

Locals recall the enormous explosion at about 2am as hundreds of windows were smashed close to the Constable’s home and some up to a mile away from the explosion site.

The home was almost obliterated by the explosion with the entire front of the house being blown away and the remainder barely standing. Much of the roof was missing and Constable Coussens, his wife Elizabeth and infant son Bruce, who had all been sleeping in the front bedroom at the time, were flung through the air and killed instantly.

I can think of no greater breach of civil liberty than the taking of another life 

In search of a suspect, detectives intimately examined Constable Coussens’ life in an attempt to discover why such a violent act had occurred in the usually quiet town.

It was discovered that local man Myron Kelly had held a well-known grudge against the constable and in the absence of other leads this seemed worth following up.

The offender had become incensed at being spoken to by the Constable regarding traffic offences and placed a metal dairy container loaded with over 200 sticks of stolen gelignite outside the front door of the Constable’s home.

When Kelly’s house was searched, four and half sticks of gelignite, 20 feet of safety fuse and 58 detonators were discovered. The offender was arrested after a major Police investigation and later sentenced to life imprisonment.

Myron Kelly was released from jail in 1980 and returned to the district. He died in Cooma in July 2007 aged 83.

Commissioner Moroney said, “This was a terrible act of evil…from my reading of the historical documents, Mr Kelly stated he only ever intended to frighten the constable. However, I can think of no greater breach of civil liberty than the taking of another life.”

Incredibly, Mrs Coussens’ elder son Roger who was 9 years old at the time was physically unharmed by the attack.

For the Commissioner, being able to meet Roger who was the sole survivor from that day was very inspiring.

Commissioner Moroney said of Roger, “He had a bit of a tear in the eye as he reflected on his mother, brother and step-father. I think it was also an opportunity for him to catch up with family and to reflect what I believe was the honour that his step-father holds in terms of service Kenneth Coussens gave to the NSW Police Force and the community.”

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/07/30/1992004.htm

 

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Allen William NASH QPM

26/10/2012

Allen William NASH  QPM    

New South Wales Police Force   

Regd. #  ????   

 

Rank:  Senior Constable – posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class   

  

   Service:  From 3 July 1939 to 22 August 1956 = 17+ years Service

 

Stations:  ?, Pt Kembla – Death

 

Awards:  Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry – granted 28 December 1956

Peter Mitchell Trophy and the George Lewis Trophy

 

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  Primbee, NSW

 

Born:  ? ? 1916

Age:  40

 

Date of Event: Thursday  16 August 1956

Date of Death: Wednesday 22 August, 1956 at 5.25pm in Wollongong Hospital, NSW

 

Funeral date:  Saturday  25 August 1956 – Wagga Wagga

Allen is buried in the Wagga Wagga Cemetery, Kooringal Rd, Kooringal, NSW.

His grave is located in the Anglican Section  K – 5-0077

 

 Allen IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

 

 

On 16 August, 1956 Senior Constable Nash was on duty at the Port Kembla Police Station. Following the receipt of a message of shots fired at a Primbee dwelling occupied by a woman and two children, Senior Constable Nash left to attend to the complaint.

On arrival he found the offender Russin near the back verandah of the house and spoke to him. Russin, however simply raised the rifle he was carrying and shot the constable. The bullet unfortunately passed through Nash’s abdomen, damaging his spine and causing him to drop his pistol. With his right arm paralysed, Nash picked up the pistol with his left hand and, although in great pain, managed to fire two shots. One shot hit the offender in the hands, and the other penetrated the heart, killing him.

Senior Constable Nash was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry, the Peter Mitchell Trophy, and the George Lewis Trophy.

Commissioner Delaney also promoted him sergeant 3^rd class on the day before he died from his wounds.

 

The sergeant was born in 1916 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 3 July, 1939.  At the time of his death he was stationed at Port Kembla.

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Police Remembrance Day: Lake Illawarra sergeant Allen William Nash honoured

JOSHUA BUTLER
29 Sep 2014, 3 p.m.

Almost 60 years on, Kenneth Nash still misses his uncle Allen.

Sergeant Allen William Nash, aged 40, was killed in the line of duty by a gun-wielding offender at Primbee in 1956.

Sgt Nash was one of eight officers stationed in the Lake Illawarra local area command who were recognised with memorial plaques on a wall of honour outside Lake Illawarra police station on Monday, as part of Police Remembrance Day commemorations.

Dozens of current and retired officers, families, friends, politicians, councillors and members of the public gathered at Oak Flats for a ceremony to unveil the memorial wall, and honour past and present officers.

Kenneth Nash travelled from Brisbane for the ceremony, laying a wreath below his uncle’s name.

‘‘We came to Port Kembla some time ago to see where he was, and they had a plaque on the wall at the station,’’ Mr Nash said.

‘‘They called us and asked if we could come for the ceremony.’’

On August 16, 1956, Sgt Nash, stationed at Port Kembla, responded to shots fired at a Primbee house.

Finding a man on the verandah, Sgt Nash attempted to speak to the man but was shot through the abdomen, the bullet piercing his spine and paralysing his right arm.

Sgt Nash then shot the offender with his left hand. He died not long after.

Sgt Nash was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry, the Peter Mitchell Trophy, and the George Lewis Trophy.

‘‘He wasn’t even supposed to be on duty that day, he was covering for someone else,’’ Mr Nash said.

‘‘Having a recognition like this, it’s everything for us. He had a lot of siblings but only one or two are left. This plaque means people won’t forget about him.’’

Mr Nash carries with him a cigarette case Sgt Nash had in his jacket on the day he died, and counts a cutlery set sent to his uncle by Queen Elizabeth herself as a prized family heirloom.

Since 1862, more than 250 NSW Police officers have died in the line of duty.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2591540/lake-illawarra-officers-honoured-on-police-remembrance-day-photos/

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The Canberra Times

Friday  17 August 1956

page 1 of 16

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91220605

Badly Wounded Constable Kills Gunman In Duel

WOLLONGONG, Thursday. — A critically wounded police constable shot dead his beserk attacker in a gun duel at Wollongong early to-day.

Doctors at Wollongong Hospital are fighting to save the life of the policeman, Allen Nash, 40, of Wentworth Street, Port Kembla, who was shot through the groin by a .22 bullet.

The bullet pierced his liver and lodged near his spine.

Doctors said to-night they had performed an emergency operation on Constable Nash, but his condition was still critical.  The dead man is Czech migrant, Nokolaj Russin, steelworker, of Shellharbour Rd, Primbee.

As Constable Nash lay wounded he shot Russin through the heart.

Police described Russin as a woman-basher.

Before Constable Nash fought the duel with him, Russin had terrorised a housewife and her family for an hour.

The woman is Mrs. Mildred Pearce, who lives with her husband and two children aged three and six in Allowra Crescent, Primbee.

She said that shortly before midnight Russin forced attentions on her.

When she refused him admission to the house he went berserk and fired a fusillade of shots, which shattered a window of her bedroom.

Residents said to-day they knew Russin as a gun happy lover who had approached many women in the Primbee area, but had been rejected.

Police said he was estranged from his wife, who lives in Trundle with her 10 year old son.

They believe Russin watched the Pearce home until Mr. Pearce went to work.  When Mrs. Pearce was alone, he went to the rear of the house and tried to enter.

Just after midnight Mrs.  Pearce was awakened by rifle shots and heard Russin‘s voice as he called out. As she went to open the back door, a bullet whizzed past her head. She went back to the bedroom and locked her children in the bathroom.

“I shouted to neighbours, but they didn’t hear me and when I heard a couple more shots I ran out of the front door to Mr. Stanton‘s shop opposite,” she said.

Mr. B. Stanton rang Port Kembla police and when Constable Nash arrived in a police truck, Mrs. Pearce said she went back into the house.

She heard more shots and Constable Nash called out “Mrs. Pearce, get me help. He’s shot me“.

Then Nash said “I’ve got him“.

A few minutes later Detective Sergeant Davenport and Detectives Marrott, Knott and Morgan, of Wollongong, arrived.

They found Russin dead. He was still clutching a .22 repeating rifle, on the small back verandah below the bullet-perforated back door.

Russin had been shot through the heart by one bullet from Nash‘s service pistol and a second shot had passed through both of his hands.

Nash told police that as he walked to the back verandah he saw Russin firing shots into the back door.

Russin turned and at a range of only a few feet, shot him in the stomach. Nash fired two shots and then his pistol jammed.

An examination of the house showed ten shots had been fired into the back door and bullets were buried into the wall inches from where Mrs. Pearce had been standing.

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The Canberra Times

Monday  20 August 1956

page 1 of 12

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91220815

Rise For Constable Nash

WOLLONGONG, Sunday,— The Police Commissioner, Mr. C. J. Delaney, to-day visited wounded police hero, Allan Nash, and promoted him from the rank of senior constable to third-class sergeant.

Sergeant Nash, 40, was promoted for bravery and devotion to duty.

He was wounded before he shot dead a beserk Czech migrant at Primbee last Thursday.

The migrant, Nokolaj Russin, had fired shots at a woman and her children and had terrorised them, for an hour before Nash tackled him.

Doctors at Wollongong Hospital said to-night that although Nash was still in a critical condition he had a fighting chance.

Mr. Delaney and several high police officers visited sergeant Nash to-day.

About 16 friends and relatives of Sergeant Nash including his parents, who came from Wagga waited outside the hospital but were not allowed to see him.

Mr. Delaney read a letter to Nash telling him of his promotion.

Part of the letter read: “Your conduct has been hailed by colleagues and the public alike as a magnificent effort.

“We of the police force are proud of you.”

Sergeant, Nash thanked Mr. Delaney for the tributes.

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The Argus ( Melbourne )

Tuesday  21 August 1956

page 7 of 18

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/71653081

Police hero still critical

SYDNEY, Monday: Police sergeant A. Nash was still critically ill in Wollongong Hospital today.

He was shot in a gun duel with migrant Nikolaj Russin last Thursday.

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The Canberra Times

Thursday  23 August 1956

page 3 of 16

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91221095

Policeman Hero Dies From Migrant’s Bullet

WOLLONGONG. Wednesday. — Sergeant Allan Nash, 40, of Port Kembla, died in Wollongong Hospital this afternoon, a week  after a beserk Czech migrant critically wounded him with a .22 rifle.

Sergeant Nash had a relapse at 3 pm. and died at 5.25 pm.

When he was admitted to hospital, he was suffering from a bullet wound in his liver.

He rallied soon after admittance and doctors yesterday said his condition, although still critical, was improved.

The Police Commissioner, Mr. Delaney, visited Sergeant Nash on Sunday and promoted him from a Senior Constable to Sergeant Third Class.

Mr Delaney told Nash the Police Force and the public regarded him as a hero after shooting dead the man who shot him.

The man, Nojolsi Russin, 40, of Port Kembla, had terrorised a woman and her family at Primbee with a .22 rifle before Sergeant Nash challenged him.

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The Central Queensland Herald ( Rockhampton )

Thursday  23 August 1956

page 4 of 32

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/79267740

Death Of Police Hero

SYDNEY. August 22. – Sergeant Allen Nash, 40, police hero in a gun duel with a crazed Czech gunman near Port Kembla last week, died this afternoon in the Wollongong Hospital, after nearly a week fighting for his life.

He was critically wounded by the gunman before he shot him dead.

The gun duel was mentioned in the Wollongong Court to-day, when a 33-year-old man was freed of a charge of occasioning bodily harm.

Ladeus Skora, labourer, of Primbee, near Port Kembla, was charged with occasioning actual bodily harm to Nikolaj Russin, the gunman whom Nash shot dead.

It was alleged that during an argument at a Port Kembla hotel, on July 23, Skora had jabbed Russin in the face and neck with a broken beer glass.

Detective J. Gudgeon told the court he knew Russin as a violent man before Nash had shot him.

GEORGE MEDAL?

The Police Commissioner ( Mr. C. J. Delaney ), said tonight the late Sgt Nash would probably be recommended for the George Medal – the highest civilian award for gallantry.

A doctor at the Wollongong Hospital said tonight that Sgt Nash had displayed ” magnificent courage ” in his fight for life.

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The Central Queensland Herald ( Rockhampton )

Thursday  23 August 1956

page 11 of 32

 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/79267850

GEORGE MEDAL AWARD FOR POLICE HERO?

SYDNEY, August 16. -Port Kembla police hero, Constable Allen Nash, would almost certainly be recommend for the George Medal, a senior police official said to-day.

Nash is in hospital critically wounded after shooting dead crazed Czech gunman. Nikolaj Russin, in gun duel on Thursday.

The police official said the Police Department was waiting until Constable Nash was off the danger list before interviewing him about the shooting.

Until Constable Nash gave a report on the shooting, the question of an award could not be considered.

Doctors at Wollongong Hospital said today Nash had rallied slightly during the night, but it would be several days before they could know if he would survive.

PROMOTED

Nash was yesterday promoted from senior-constable to sergeant, 3rd class.

The Police Commissioner (Mr Delaney) told him of his promotion when he visited his bedside today.

Mr Delaney told him that the promotion was in recognition of his courage and devotion to duty.

Nash smiled at the news and said weakly: “Thank you, sir!” He was very weak and could not say anything more.

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The Argus ( Melbourne )

Thursday  23 August 1956

page 1 of 22

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/71653431

Police hero   dies

SYDNEY, Wednesday: Police hero Sergeant Alan Nash died in Wollongong Hospital at 5.30 p.m. to-day.

Sergeant Nash was critically wounded last Thursday in a gun battle at Primbee with crazed Czech migrant Nicholaj Russin, whom he shot dead. Mr. Delaney, Police Commissioner,

promoted him from senior constable last Saturday in recognition of his bravery.

Mr. Delaney said to night: “It was with profound regret that I learned of the death of Sergeant Nash.  “He gave his life in the service of the community, and was a classic example of a courageous police officer.”

Curtain falls in gun duel drama – P. 5

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page 5

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/71653505

CURTAIN FALLS IN GUN DUEL DRAMA SYDNEY, Wednesday:

A migrant was discharged in Wollongong Court today on a charge of assaulting Nicholaj Russin, who was shot dead last week in a gun duel with Sergeant Nash, who died today.

He was Ladeus Skora, 35, laborer.

Police said he jabbed a broken beer glass in Russin’s face in a Port Kembla hotel on July 23.

‘Beer glass’

Constable J. M. Gudgeon said Skora told him: “I lent Russin £30, but when I asked him for the money: he said, ‘You will not get a penny,’ and abused me.”

Skora denied he had broken a glass and jabbed Russin with it. He said he hit Russin with a full glass of beer.

Gudgeon said Russin had been known to him as a man given to violence.

Commenting, “No jury on earth would convict on the evidence,” Mr. Lake, S.M., discharged Skora.

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The Canberra Times

Friday  24 August 1956

page 1 of 16

 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91221244

Police Hero To Be Buried At Home Town

WOLLONGONG, Thursday. —Police Sergeant Allen Nash, 40, who died in Wollongong Hospital yesterday, will be buried at Wagga on Saturday.

A service will be held at Wollongong to-morrow and the body then taken by train to Wagga, where   Sergeant Nash’s parents live.

Sergeant Nash shot dead a Czech migrant in a gun dual last Thursday at Primbee.

Before Sergeant Nash shot the man, Nikolaj Russin, the Czech wounded him in the stomach.

Russin had terrorised a woman and her children with a .22 rifle.

The woman, Mrs. Mildred Mary Pearce, 24, said to-day she would attend the funeral at Wagga.

“If he had not fired at this maniac, I am sure my children and myself would not be alive to-day.”

The Police Commissioner, Mr. Delaney, said he had made an urgent recommendation that Sergeant Nash be decorated for his bravery.

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The Canberra Times

Saturday  25 August 1956

page 1 of 16

 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91221352

Police Honour Dead Hero

WOLLONGONG, Friday; -More than 130 police to-day escorted a coffin bearing the body of police hero; Sergeant Allen Nash, 40, to Wollongong Railway station to-day.

Sergeant Nash’s body will be taken to Wagga and buried there with full police honours to-morrow.

Sergeant Nash was wounded in a gun duel with Czech migrant Nikolai Russin near Port Kembla last week and died in Wollongong Hospital two days ago.

Although critically wounded Nash shot Russin dead.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. George Smith, represented the Commissioner, Mr. Delaney, at the funeral, service to-day.

The Minister without portfolio, Mr. Gollan, represented the Premier, Mr, Cahill.

Sergeant Nash’s father,   Mr. Albert Nash, of Wagga and other relatives also attended the service.

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The Argus ( Melbourne )

Saturday  25 August 1956

page 3 of 38

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/71653974

15,000 AT POLICE HERO’S FUNERAL

SYDNEY, Friday: More than 15,000 people attended the funeral at Wollongong today of police hero, Sergeant Alan Nash.

Members of Parliament marched in the funeral procession, which was given full police honors. [ Sergeant Nash was shot last week in a gun battle with a crazed man, whom he shot dead. ]

His body was taken today to Wollongong railway station.

He will be interred at Wagga tomorrow.

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The Central Queensland Herald ( Rockhampton )

Thursday  30 August 1956

page 16 of 32

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/79267937

10,000 At Police Hero’s Funeral

SYDNEY, August 24.-Ten thousand people today saw the funeral procession for the police hero, Sgt. Alan Nash.

Crowds lined the streets of  Wollongong after the funeral service.

A police band, a motor cycle escort and 100 uniformed policemen led the process on to the Wollongong railway station after the service.

Another service will be held tomorrow at Wagga, Southern New South Wales, before Sgt Nash’s body is buried there.

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The Argus ( Melbourne )

Saturday  22 December 1956

page 6 of 30

 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/71772885

POLICE HERO DIED WHEN GUN JAMMED

SYDNEY, Friday: Police sergeant Nash’s pistol jammed during a duel with a Ukrainian migrant, Wollongong coroner was told today.

Mr. W. Musgrave, Coroner, was conducting an inquest on Sergeant Allan William Nash, 39, of Port Kembla, and Nikolaj Russin, 34, of Primbee.

Both were fatally shot in a gun duel at Wollongong on August 15.

Detective-constable W. Ross, C.I.B, ballistics expert, told the coroner that 50% of N.S.W. police used the same type of pistol Nash used, which was obsolete.

He said Nash’s pistol had failed to fire four times in a test when 50 shots were fired.

Mr. Musgrave said this type of pistol should be re placed.

He said most Australians respected the police force, who rarely had to draw their batons or pistols.

“A few quiet words is all that is necessary at most times,” he said.

“Some recent arrivals in Australia, unfortunately, carry life cheaply, and although they are in the minority, it is a matter members of the force should keep in mind.”

Mr. Musgrave found Sgt. Nash died as the result of complications following gun shot wounds inflicted by Russin.

He said Sgt. Nash had “upheld the valor and tradition of the N.S.W. police force.”

He found Russin died when justifiably shot by Sgt. Nash in self-defence.

Det.-sgt. J. Davenport said when, with Det. V. Marrott, he interviewed Nash in hospital soon after the shooting Nash told him he had been called to the home of Mrs. Mildred Pearce, at Primbee, where Russin was firing shots at the back door.

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The Canberra Times

Friday  28 August 1956

page 1 of 8

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/91230726

Queen’s Medal Awarded To Sgt. Nash

SYDNEY, Thursday.

Sergeant Allan Nash, formerly of Wagga, has been posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for gallantry.

Sgt. Nash, 40, who was stationed at Port Kembla, was fatally wounded in a gun battle with a beserk Czech, Nokolaj Russin, at Primbee, near Port Kembla, early on August 16, after the man had terrorised a married women and her family with a rifle.

Sgt. Nash, although shot in the stomach, shot the .22 rifle from Russin’s hand and then shot him through the heart.

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Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Saturday 28 December 1963, page 6

 

Police Seek New Pistol

SYDNEY, Friday. -The Police Association of N.S.W. will press the Police Department to replace all Webley and Scott issue automatic pistols following the death last week of Constable Cyril Howe at Oaklands.

The secretary of the association, Mr. F. C. Laut, said today his organisation had been pressing for a replacement of this type of pistol “for many years”.

Two police officers had lost their lives in recent years when using these pistols, he said.

Both had fired their pistols twice and the mechanisms had jammed at the third shot. They were Constable Howe and Sergeant Nash, who lost his life several years ago at Wollongong.

Mr. Laut emphasised that the failure of the pistols could not necessarily be claimed to have been the cause of the officer’s deaths.

The department, however, apparently admitted a flaw in the issue type of pistol when it permitted officers to arrange for “personal replacements” of weapons.

Mr. Laut said the association had “pinned its hopes” on an Italian made .38 calibre automatic pistol.

Officers had to carry pistols when on duty and could be called to use them at any time.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104283713

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First published 12 September 2014.

Updated 10 September 2025 with new hyperlink to NPM website and fresh news article together with Memorial plaques outside of Oak Flats Police Stn.

 

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Victor Donald AHEARN

26/10/2012

 Victor Donald AHEARN

( late of Lavender St [ cnr of Walker St ], North Sydney )

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ?

Rank:  Detective Constable 1st Class

Stations:  ?, Clarence Street Station, North Sydney Station – Death

Service:  From  8 January 1930  to  11 August 1946 = 16+ years Service ( 10 years as Detective )

Awards:  No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  ? ? 1906 at Penrith, NSW

Died on:  Sunday  11 August 1946

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  Anzac Pde, Matraville

Age:  40

Funeral date:  Tuesday  13 August 1946

Funeral location:  Christ Church, Lavender Bay

Buried at:  Rookwood Cemetery

Zone C, Anglican Section 8, Row 19, Grave 2214, 2215

Headstone inscription:  In loving memory of my Dear Husband & my dear father. Erected by the N.S.W. Government
in memory of Detective Constable 1st Class. Shot in the execution of his
duty at Sydney. ( Victors father is also buried with him.  His father, Maxwell Victor Ahearn, died 4 August 2007 aged 72 )

 

 

VICTOR IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

 

On 11 August, 1946 Detective Constable Ahearn and Detective Constable Bowie waited at Long Bay Gaol to arrest two suspects ( Sydney Grant and Keith George Hope ) who were wanted for break and enter and motor vehicle theft offences. When the two men arrived to visit two female prisoners at the gaol, as expected, the detectives arrested them. They then set out to convey the prisoners to Daceyville Police Station, with Constable Bowie driving and Constable Ahearn seated in the rear of the vehicle between the prisoners. Shortly after leaving the gaol Grant produced a firearm and shot Constable Ahearn twice in the side. Constable Bowie quickly stopped the vehicle, and when trying to assist his colleague now struggling with the offenders, he was also attacked. The offenders then made good their escape. Unfortunately Detective Constable Ahearn died of his wounds before medical assistance arrived at the scene. Both offenders were later arrested.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald of 14 August, 1946 reported on the detective’s funeral.

 

LARGE NUMBER AT FUNERAL OF DETECTIVE.

The funeral yesterday of Detective V. D. Ahearn, who was shot by a gunman on Sunday, was one of the largest seen in North Sydney. Christ Church, Lavender Bay, was crowded for a memorial service. About 300 members of the police force remained in the street, and many other sympathisers were unable to get into the church. Detective Constable Alexander Bowie, who was injured in the police car in which Detective Ahearn was shot, was among the mourners. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Frank Cash. Archbishop Mowll, who gave the address at the service, said he hoped it would be some comfort to Mrs. Ahearn that so large and representative a gathering had come together to do honour to her husband, who in the course of his duty had suddenly been killed.

 

The Advocate newspaper of 12 December, 1946 announced the result of the trial of the two offenders.

 

GRANT SENTENCED TO DEATH: UNUSUAL SCENES.

SYDNEY, Wednesday – Extraordinary scenes were witnessed at the conclusion of the murder trial in the Central Criminal Court to-day of Sydney Grant (23), labourer, and Keith George Hope (23), farm laborer, for the murder of Detective Constable Victor Donald Ahearn on August 11 at Matraville. The jury found Grant guilty and Hope not guilty. Grant was sentenced to death. Mr. Justice Herron agreed that the jury’s verdict was inevitable.

The constable was born in 1906 [ and was the son of Percy Augustis Ahearn & Elizabeth Anne Pirie ] and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 8 January, 1930. At the time of his death he was stationed at North Sydney.

 

As an aside – Victor AHEARN was the cousin of Clarence PIRIE who was also shot and murdered in 1960 aged 40.

 

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NSW BDM’s
Birth
17164/1906 AHEARN, VICTOR D : PERCY, ELIZABETH A   @ PENRITH

Marriage
14450/1934 AHEARN, VICTOR D,  MALLARD IRENE  on 15 September 1934 in St Johns Church, PARRAMATTA, NSW

Death
25813/1946 AHEARN, VICTOR DONALD : Parents: PERCY AUGUSTUS & ELIZABETH ANNE  @ KINGSFORD

 

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Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950), Wednesday 14 August 1946, page 4

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MANHUNT ENDS

Shooting of Detective BECKETT GIVES HIMSELF UP.

Sydney, Aug. 13. — The intensive search for Keith Beckett, alias Hope, whom the police allege was with Charles Grant (28), when detective Victor Donald Ahearn was shot dead in a police car on Sunday, ended dramatically when Beckett gave himself up to the police at Scone to-night. He said he had been working on a farm in the district. It was disclosed to-day that three bullets had been fired into Detective Ahearn‘s body as he sat between the two men in the police car during the drive from Long Bay Gaol. The police believed that two of the shots were fired as Ahearn attempted to grab the gun after one of the men in the car had pulled it from his pocket. The funeral to-day of Detective Ahearn was one of the largest seen in North Sydney. So large was the crowd at the church service that many hundreds were unable to get into the church and the streets through which the cortege proceeded to the Rookwood Cemetery were lined with citizens desiring to pay their last tribute to the late detective.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/rendition/nla.news-article95543797.txt

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CALLOUS MURDER OF SYDNEY DETECTIVE Shot By Two Men While Being Escorted To Police Station
SYDNEY, Sunday.
Detective-Constable Vincent Donald Ahearn, 40, was murdered this afternoon in a police car in Anzac Parade, while two men were being taken to North Sydney police station for questioning in connection with car thefts. It was one of the most cold-blooded and callous crimes committed in Australia. The men had been detained after visiting two female prisoners at Long Bay Gaol, Joyce Read and Edna Grant. An attempt was made to shoot Detective-Constable Bowie, 27, who was seated in the police car, but the pistol jammed. The two men then bashed Bowie about the head and jumped from the car, escaping into the bush near the Bunnerong power house.The shooting took place within a few miles of the Long Bay Gaol. As the police car approached the old speedway at Maroubra one of the men pulled a revolver that had been concealed among his clothing, and shot Ahearn twice through the chest, one bullet puncturing his heart. Detective Bowie was seated in the front seat of the car while Detective Ahearn was in the back seat between the two men. On hearing the shots Detective Bowie turned round and saw his colleague in a slumped position on the edge of the seat.For the first time the new police plane was used in a search for the two escapees over the area of the crime. More than 400 police, assisted by police dogs and with soldiers armed with tommy-guns in support, are scouring dense scrub between Bunnerong Road and La Perouse Road. At the North Sydney Court last Tuesday, two attractive girls, Joyce Read, 19, and Edna Grant, 20, were committed for trial on three charges of illegally using motor cars, and one of breaking, entering and stealing from a Lindfield garage. Bail was fixed at £200 for Grant and £100 for Read, but they did not find the surety. During the hearing, in a statement allegedly made by Read, she told how she and Grant were arrested in a stolen car at Northbridge in the early hours on July 29, when they had been left by two men. Caught in the headlights of an oncoming car one of the men called, “It’s the ‘coppers’ go through.” The men then disappeared into the bushes. The alleged statement added that Read had been lured into crime by a man and his associates whom she had met one night at the California, a cafe in Darlinghurst Road, King’s Cross.Detective-Constable Bowie applied the brakes at the same time as he was grappling with the two men, one of whom hit him about the head and face with the butt of a revolver. Bowie continued to fight back and shortly afterwards collapsed into unconsciousness. The two men were seen to leap from the car and run in opposite directions. When the police arrived, Bowie was still clutching his half-drawn revolver and the body of Ahearn was found crouched on the back seat. Darkness set in soon after the search of the Bunnerong scrub land had started, and military searchlights were used to assist. The police warned residents in the Malabar district, who owned cars, to be on the watch as the wanted men were experienced drivers.The police are anxious to interview a man, known as Keith, who was in company with the two men this morning. Late to-night the police stated they were anxious to interview Sidney Greenep, alias Grant and also alias McMahon.
— The Canberra Times 12 August 1946

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The Sydney Morning Herald                    Monday  12 August 1946               page 1 of 14

DETECTIVE SHOT IN POLICE CAR

Troops And Plane Join In Sydney Manhunt

One detective was shot dead and another brutally attacked at Matraville yesterday afternoon while they were escorting two men they had arrested at the gate of Long Bay Gaol.

Four hundred armed police, soldiers ( some carrying machine-guns ), the police aeroplane, and police dogs later took part in one of the most intensive manhunts ever organised by the New South Wales police.

The two men, who had been visiting two girl prisoners in the gaol, were not located at an early hour to-day.

 

DRAMATIC DRIVE FROM GAOL

The detectives were attacked as the men were being driven away in a police car. After a fierce struggle in the car the men made off across sand dunes and scrub covered hills.

Detective First-class Constable Victor Donald Ahearn, 40, married, with one child, who was stationed at North Sydney, was shot dead. Two bullets entered his body, one passing through his heart. Ahearn joined the police force 16½ years ago, and lived at Lavender Bay.

Detective Constable Alexander Bowie, 27, stationed at Mosman, was kicked about the head and body, and suffered severe abrasions and shock. He is the son of Superintendent L. Bowie, who was recently in charge of the Tamworth police district.

The two detectives had driven in a police car to Long Bay in the morning, believing that two men for whom they had been searching in connection with charges of car stealing and breaking and entering garages might visit two girls, aged 19 and 20.

The girls recently had pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally using motor cars and breaking into a Lindfield garage. According to the police, two men had   been seen with the girls on the night of one alleged crime, but escaped.

The detectives yesterday parked their police car near the outer gates of the gaol. Soon afterwards the big gates opened and two men came out.

Ahearn and Bowie immediately intercepted them, and after a short conversation, ordered them to get into the car.

Bowie sat at the wheel and Ahearn sat between the two men in the back seat. The men, though sullen and disinclined to talk, gave no indication that they intended resisting arrest until the car had travelled about two miles along Anzac Parade.

About 300 yards from where the main road crosses the tram line near Pozieres Avenue, Matraville, and where dunes and tea-tree skirt the road, one of the prisoners is alleged to have pulled a .32 revolver from his pocket.

Bowie did not know it until he was attracted by a sudden scuffle from the back seat of the car. In less than two seconds there were two shots, and as Bowie turned round Ahearn muttered, “They’ve got me.”

Two bullets had plunged into the side of his body, piercing the heart and other vital organs.

 

LONG STRUGGLE IN MOTOR CAR

As Ahearn slumped dying on the floor of the car with portion of his clothes singed with the flame from the shots, Bowie swerved the car on to the grass track off the macadam road.

He pulled on the brake and after throwing the engine into neutral, he leaned over the seat to seize the two men.

The tracks of the car showed that during the subsequent struggle, the car travelled several yards before stopping.

As Bowie attempted to hurl himself on to the men, the one with the revolver pointed the gun at his head with the muzzle only a few inches from Bowie’s temple, the man said. “Get back or you’ll get it, too!”

Bowie saw the man pull the trigger and he heard a click. The revolver had jammed. The man holding the gun then crashed the butt of the revolver on to Bowie’s head, causing a deep cut.

 

Still Fought On

As Bowie was attempting to lever himself over the back of the front seat, the two men leaned back and raising both their feet, kicked him viciously about the face and head.

Each kick brought a new trickle of blood down Bowie’s face, but he continued to struggle with the men, and eventually wrested the gun from them.

Evidently, fearing that Bowie would continue the fight and get the better of them, the men threw open the doors on either side of the car and leapt to the road.

One ran through a wire fence up the sandhill towards Yarra Bay and was soon lost in the thick scrub.

The police last night issued these pictures of two men they are seeking in connection with the shooting of a detective at Matraville yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOP: Sidney Greenep, alias Grant, alias McMahon.

LOWER: Keith Beckett (or Hope).

The other bolted in the opposite direction and was last seen making across the tramline over the sand

dunes.

Bowie, who by this time was on the point of collapse, tried to lift Ahearn from the door of the car.

But Ahearn was dead. Powder marks   and blood on his clothing showed where the bullets had entered his body.

Glen Rich, a young man living in Page Street, Botany, who was passing on his bicycle, saw Bowie leave the   car and stagger towards the road. He helped to lift Ahearn from the car to the grass on the side of the road, and then went to look for a telephone to summon the police.

Many Cars Passed

Police believe that many cars passed after the shooting, but it was not until 15 minutes later that a man and a woman who had driven along Anzac Parade to Maroubra, accosted Sergeant Ryan and Constable Watts on   the beach.

The man said, “We think there’s been a bit of shooting along the road. You had better go along and see what’s happened.”

Ryan, and Watts raced back along Anzac Parade until they came upon the police car still parked on the side   of the road. Bowie was sitting, still dazed and bleeding profusely, on the grass alongside the body of Ahearn, holding the revolver which he had taken from one of the men.

Two empty cartridge shells from which Ahearn had been shot were in the car. One cartridge bore a faint hammer imprint, but had jammed. There were other live cartridges in the revolver.

 

SPECTACULAR HUNT DEVELOPS

With at least 20 minutes start the men had probably travelled a long distance before the police search for them was begun, but within a short time Superintendent F. Matthews had organised   one of the biggest manhunts ever known in Sydney.

The police plane was called out for the first lime to assist in the search. Police dogs were rushed to the car in which the shooting had occurred

and then they were let loose in the direction taken when the men ran away. And 400 armed police were rushed from the city and all suburbs to form a cordon around the district.   Army personnel some armed with sub-machine guns, were rushed in military wagons to join in the hunt and within an hour an area extending from Malabar, Botany Bay, Yarra Bay and Kingsford was being systematically combed.

Every car returning from the seaside of the district was stopped and searched. The contents of several utility vans being removed to ascertain if anyone was hiding there.

 

Plane Uses Radio

The police plane swept low in circles over the sandhills, the observer using powerful glasses to scan the thick scrub as he kept in touch by radio with the police cars racing backwards and forwards throughout the district.

One message radioed from the plane and picked up by the police cars near the scene of the shooting was that a man was seen making his way over the sand dunes towards Yarra Bay.

Superintendent Matthews revealed late last night that a taxi-driver had picked up a man walking along Bunnerong Road near the Matraville Hotel about 3.30 p.m.

The man asked him to take him to East Sydney.

The description of the man tallies with that of one of the escapees. There were bloodstains visible on his neck and clothing.

Police found a cream Hillman car with a Victorian registration plate, near Long Bay Gaol. It was later learned that the car had been stolen in Melbourne on Friday.

The police state that the two men had used the car to drive up to the gaol and brazenly left it near the gate while they visited the two girl inmates.

Police said last night that one of the men sought is known to them as Sidney Greenep, alias Grant, alias McMahon.

 

Suspects Described

The police issued the following description of him:

“Twenty-six years old, 5ft 7in, dark hair and complexion, freckled face, brown eyes, scar over right eye, appears to be new scar on forehead, and two old scars on forehead as well. Lobe of left ear is peculiar shape. Dressed in black and white or dark brown and white very small check pattern sports coat. Badge in lapel appeared to be returned soldier’s badge. Man wearing light blue or bluish-green sports trousers. Green silk open-neck sports shirt, no hat. Very tidy appearance.”

A second suspect, the police say is known as Keith Beckett (or Hope). He is 22 to 25 years old, 5ft 9in or 10in. fair complexion, medium brown-coloured straight ball hooked nose, rather large and red; wearing a light blue American type of coat of woollen material, large lapels, and dark blue piping on pockets and lapels blue shirt with collar to match, a tie and fairly new grey felt pork-pie-shaped hat.

 

North Sydney Report

On latest reports, it was believed both hunted men had reached and possibly passed through the city.

Becket was said to have been seen in North Sydney at 3.30 p.m., after the shooting. He was wearing a white open-neck shirt, light coloured sports suit, light grey felt hat.

The search early this morning was covering a great part of the metropolitan area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17982254#pstart995837

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The Sydney Morning Herald                    Monday  12 August 1946               page 1 of 14

SURPRISE AT GAOL VISIT

The fact that a visitor with a loaded revolver could be admitted to Long Bay Gaol to “interview prisoners on remand caused comment in police circles after the   shooting.

Remand prisoners are allowed greater liberty than sentenced prisoners, but police say it is at the least disquieting that visitors are not searched for firearms even it they are visiting only women in the remand section.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17982253#pstart995837

 

 

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MAN ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF SYDNEY DETECTIVE Intense Search for Accomplice SYDNEY, Monday.
Early this morning Sidney Grant, 28, was arrested at gunpoint in a guest house at North Sydney, and charged with the murder on Sunday afternoon of Detective-Constable Victor Donald Ahearn. A police cordon had been thrown around Sydney to apprehend Keith George Hope, 23, alias Beckett, and all trains, planes and ships are being closely watched while the cooperation of the Victorian police has been sought in case Hope should break through the cordon in an at tempt to return to Victoria. The search for Hope is also being intensified in the Newcastle district. Grant was arrested by armed police while he was breakfasting at a guest house. He offered no resistance. A large squad of police was rushed to the guest house and, while all exits were guarded. Detective H. Hughes and Sergt. R. K. Knight, with revolvers drawn, rushed inside. They threw open the door of a room and found Grant having breakfast.Later, Grant appeared before the North Sydney Court with his head bandaged and was charged with the murder of Detective Ahearn on which charge he was remanded to the Central Court on August 20, bail being refused. Grant appeared in court handcuffed to a detective-sergeant and was later removed under a heavy escort.Sergeant M. Whelan, who conducted the prosecution, told the court that Grant and another man had been arrested at the entrance to the women’s reformatory at Long Bay Gaol. The two men were placed in a police car, which was driven by Detective-Constable Bowie, while Ahearn sat between the men. After the police car had proceeded about a mile and a half from the reformatory, Grant drew a revolver and twice shot Ahearn, who died in a few minutes, Bowie, stopped the car and struggled with Grant, who was disarmed, but Bowie was assaulted about the face. Grant and the other man then disappeared.Shortly before 3.30 p.m. Grant was again before the North Sydney Court and was remanded until August 20, on nine charges of breaking, entering and stealing, including the theft of four sub-machine guns, two revolver chambers, and a quantity of ammunition, to the value £50, from Rushcutters Bay naval depot, on July 30.Four counts dealt with alleged thefts of wireless Sets. He was also charged with stealing clothing, valued at £200, from a shop at Crow’s Nest on July 31, with breaking into a shop at King’s Cross Road on July 5 and stealing women’s clothing, worth £100, and with breaking into a garage at Killara on July 28, and stealing tyres and money to the value of £30. Grant was also remanded on two charges of having been in possession of firearms.The police produced four Thomson sub-machine guns and two ammunition cases which were found among some bush at Roseville. The Victorian police advised that ballistic tests proved that the revolver which bad been used in the murder, had been stolen from a resident of Hawthorn in 1942. It is believed that Grant left a considerable sum of money in Melbourne. His arrest followed probably the greatest man-hunt ever staged in this State. Almost 500 police and soldiers were engaged. Grant told the police that he arrived by car from Melbourne on Saturday and, with a companion, booked in at the guest house early on Sunday morning.
NO POWER TO SEARCH GAOL VISITORS
There was no power to search any person whether visiting a gaol, a police court or any other establishment unless such a person was first arrested and charged, said the Minister of Justice (Mr. Downing) who added that such searching would be an offence.The Minister explained there was no restriction about the number of visits by friends to gaol prisoners who were also permitted to receive foodstuffs, but there was no physical contact between such prisoners and visitors because of a heavy wire gauze separating them. A Sydney detective stated that when a policeman visited the gaol he was required to hand over his revolver and he could not understand why the same regulation did not apply to civilians. A late Melbourne message stated that two men had been detained at the C.I.B. office for questioning in connection with the murder.
— The Canberra Times 13 August 1946

 

Victor Donald Ahearn
AHEARN. — August 11, 1946, Victor Donald. Dearly beloved husband of Irene Ahearn, and loving father of Max, aged 40 years.
— Sydney Morning Herald 13 August 1946

 

Large Number At Funeral Of Detective
The funeral yesterday of Detective V. D. Ahearn, who was shot by a gunman on Sunday, was one of the largest seen in North Sydney. Christ Church, Lavender Bay, was crowded for a memorial service. About 300 members of the police force remained in the street, and many other sympathisers were unable to get into the church. Detective-Constable Alexander Bowie, who was injured in the police car in which Detective Ahearn was shot, was among the mourners. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Frank Cash. Archbishop Mowll, who gave the address at the service, said he hoped it would be some comfort to Mrs. Ahearn that so large and representative a gathering had come together to do honour to her husband, who in the course of his duty had suddenly been killed.
INCREASING DEBT
“Others are here,” said Archbishop Mowll, “to show regard for the police force, to whom the community owes an increasing debt of gratitude. “The episode of last Sunday afternoon brings home to everyone the risk continually being run by members of the force. We are grateful to them for what they are doing to protect us.” Boy Scouts of the 1st Lavender Bay Troop, of which Max Ahearn, son of the detective, is a member, occupied the choir seats at the service. The coffin was carried from the church after the service by Detectives Whiteman, Fagan, Griffin, Kelly, and Tupper, who had worked with Detective Ahearn. A detachment of about 300 uniformed and plainclothes men preceded the hearse. These were followed by a company of’ military police in the charge of Captain Wiseman, and by members of the New South Wales Fire Brigade under Inspector J. Neville, who also represented the Chief Officer and the Board of Fire Commissioners.
CITIZENS LINE ROUTE
The funeral proceeded through the city to Rookwood Cemetery. The cortege as it left the church was preceded by motor cyclists, a detachment of mounted police, and the police band. Along Lavender Street, Blues Point Road, and Blue Street to Bradfield Highway the route was lined by hundreds of spectators. Ordinary traffic along the route to the Bridge was held up for about half an hour. There were about 100 motor cars following the hearse. The chief mourners were Mrs. Ahearn, widow, Max Ahearn, son; Mr. P. Ahearn, father; Mrs. R. Moon, and Mrs. A. Clarke, sisters, Messrs. Moon and Clarke, brothers-in-law; and Mr. and Mrs. H. Mallard, father-in-law and mother-in-law. Officers and members of Masonic Lodge Tuscan also attended. Superintendent J. F. Scott represented the Chief Commissioner, Mr. Mackay. Other police officers present included Superintendent B. E. Sadler, who was in charge of the police arrangements; Superintendents F. Matthews, T. Wickham, and N. D. James, of the C.I.B.; Superintendent W. E. Sherringham, Inspectors M. Cahill, W. L. Alford, C. Kennedy, and J. Nealon; ex-Superintendent W. Sherringham and a number of retired officers and men.
— Sydney Morning Herald 14 August 1946

 

WANTED MAN SURRENDERS TO SCONE POLICE NEWCASTLE, Tuesday.
Keith George Hope, who was wanted by the police for questioning in connection with the shooting of Detective Ahearn on Sunday, walked into the Scone police station at 11.45 p.m. and gave himself up. He told the police that he arrived at 3 a.m. on Monday and, after staying at the Royal Hotel, obtained work on a farm. The police were advised that a man answering to his description, had booked in at the hotel. Hope when he entered the police station, said, “I understand that you were making inquiries about me, so I thought I had better give myself up.” He added that the farmer, by whom, he had been employed, had driven him to the police station.Two detectives will leave Sydney to-morrow to take Hope back to Sydney. They have been instructed to take no chances with him. Police in Sydney to-night hinted that intensified co-operation between forces in other States, following the murder of Ahearn on Sunday, may lead to a clean-up of certain inter-state crimes. A senior officer of the C.I.B. said that detectives in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane had been working to break up certain interstate criminal activities.Large crowds gathered to-day to pay their last respects to Detective Constable Ahearn, when the funeral was held. Mounted police were in attendance with detachments of police, military provosts and motor cyclists. The funeral of Detective Ahearn was conducted to-day. A service was held at Christ Church where Archbishop Mowll paid a moving tribute to the service rendered to the community as a whole by the police force.
— The Canberra Times 14 August 1946

 

Hope Charged With Murder
Keith George Hope, also known as Keith Beckett, 23, labourer, was charged at Central Police Court yesterday with having on August 11 murdered Detective Victor Donald Ahearn. Hope was also charged with having had in his possession a car stolen in Victoria, knowing it to have been stolen. The police prosecutor, Sergeant Whelan, said that last Sunday afternoon, Detectives Ahearn and Bowie were escorting in a car Hope and a man named Grant from the women’s reformatory at Long Bay gaol. Some distance from Long Bay gaol Ahearn had been shot three times and had died almost immediately. Sergeant Whelan asked for a remand until August 20. Grant had been remanded to that date, he added. Mr. Beavers, S.M., granted the remand and refused bail. Hope was escorted into the court by the two detectives who had brought him back from Scone yesterday morning. He was neatly dressed in a brown suit, blue shirt, and red tie.
— The Sydney Morning Herald 16 August 1946

 

HOPE REMANDED ON MURDER CHARGE
SYDNEY, Thursday.
Keith George Hope, 23, was charged at the Central Court to-day with the murder of Detective-Constable Ahearn on Sunday last and was remanded until August 20. He was also charged with being in possession of a stolen motor car. Hope was escorted into court by Detectives Hargreaves and Strachan, who had brought him from Scone where he had given himself up. During the brief court proceedings Hope did not speak.
— The Canberra Times 16 August 1946

 

KITCHEN IS STILL UNPAINTED Det. Ahearn’s Death
SYDNEY, August 16.—The big, dark-haired policeman kissed his wife [Irene] before sitting down to breakfast in his cheerful flat at Lavender Street, North Sydney. He had been up late the night before, but that had not affected his good-humour. Nothing, his wife reflected, ever seemed to affect that. He ate his cornflakes and chops, drank his cup of strong coffee. Then, with his 11-year-old son to help, he started to paint the kitchen woodwork. He had promised his wife to do it, and, once he had promised — even little things — she could always count on him to do them. It was Saturday. He stuck at the painting until he had to go on duty.Sunday, he was on duty again. As he went out this time, whistling softly, his wife saw him turn, heard him call back cheerily: “I’ll finish off the paint when I get home.” But this week, the woodwork was still waiting to be finished. Early on the Sunday afternoon policeman Victor Ahearn was shot twice through the heart while doing duty as an escort. Said his widow, pretty, sad-eyed Rene Ahearn, this week: “Vic. was a big, strong chap; but he never thought it sissy to help me in the flat. He was always doing something for me. “I get sciatica. When I was sick he used to do all the shopping for me. Sometimes he’d get so many vegetables we wouldn’t know what to do with them. “He used to cook for our son Max and me when I was ill. He was a good cook, too. “When you met him once you knew him. He never changed. I met him when I was 16 and he was 28. He lived in a boarding house next door. We married four years later. That was nearly 13 years ago. “He was in the Police Force sixteen and a half years. The last 10 he’d been a detective. “That meant broken shifts, working until the job was done, coming home at odd hours. But he was always so dependable, so jolly. I didn’t mind the anxiety, the strain of being a policeman’s wife. “Week-ends, when he was off duty, we used to go fishing with our son. Vic. loved fishing more than any other pastime. We had planned a trip from Mosman Bay this week-end. “He had only lately been transferred from Clarence Street Station to North Sydney. He liked the move because it brought him nearer home — he could come back to the flat for lunch when he was working early shifts. “Vic. took me to the C.I.B. ball two days before he was killed. I wore a new wine velvet evening dress — my first since the end of the war. Vic. said to me: ‘You don’t look a day older than when I married you. Let’s have our photo taken.’ “He asked me three times before I agreed. I was so surprised, because he hadn’t had a photo taken since our wedding. He hated posing for a picture.” Widowed Mrs. Ahearn will continue to live in her flat at the corner of Walker and Lavender Streets. Said she: “My friends are here. So are my happy memories. Why should I move?
— Townsville Daily Bulletin 17 August 1946

 

REMAND ON MURDER CHARGE SYDNEY, Tuesday.
Sidney Grant and Keith George Hope, charged with the murder of Detective V. D. Ahearn at Matraville on August 11, were remanded until September 10 at the Central Court to-day. Grant said that a writ of habeas corpus had been served on the police to enable his wife to give evidence on a theft charge against him. Grant also faces nine charges of breaking, entering and stealing and two of possessing firearms while being a person previously convicted. Bail was refused both men.
— The Canberra Times 28 August 1946

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The Sydney Morning Herald                 Wednesday  11 September 1946                  page 4 of 36

 

DETECTIVE TELLS OF CAR SHOOTING

Sidney Grant who has been charged with the murder of Det.-Constable Victor Donald Ahearn, drove through the police cordon in a taxi a few minutes after Ahearn had been shot on August 11.

A witness said this at the inquest into the detective’s death at the City Coroner’s Court yesterday.

Present in court were Sidney Grant and Keith Hope, who have been charged with the murder of Ahearn. They were handcuffed together and escorted by police.

Mr. Peter Pelligrini, taxi proprietor, of Nagle Avenue, Maroubra, said that Grant had hailed his cab at Matraville about 3.30 p.m. on August 11 and had asked him to drive to King’s Cross.

Pelligrini said that while driving along Military Parade he had remarked on the presence of a large number of police.

Later he saw a patrol car and a police truck full of police coming along the road followed by an ambulance. He said that Grant then said, ‘There must have been an accident.”

 

“Blood On Grant”

Pelligrini said there was blood on Grant’s shirt and sleeve and the shoulder of his coat was slightly torn. He had a wound behind his ear.

He drove Grant to Cathedral Street, King’s Cross, where Grant got out and paid him. He said he thought Grant had been involved in an accident.

Mr. A. J. Forestal, proprietor of the Alloa Private Hotel, North Sydney, said Grant and Hope had booked accommodation about 2 a.m. on August 11. They said they had come from Melbourne and expected to stay a week. They paid seven days’ rent in advance. He said they had a small cream car.

About midday on August 11, Grant and Hope told Forestal they wanted to go to Mosman. He gave them a street directory.

Hope came back later for a short while and went away with a suitcase. About 4.30 p.m. Grant returned to the hotel with a little blood on his shirt collar, coat, and trousers, and with cuts on his fingers and head.

He told Forestal he had been in a car smash. He said that when driving his car down Military Road he had hit a pole. He said that police were there and he had reported the accident to the North Sydney police station. He discussed the accident with Forestal for about an hour.

Mrs. Esme Olive Lawson, wardress at the Women’s Reformatory, Long Bay, said that Grant and Hope came to visit Edna Grant about 2 p.m. on August 11.

When they left, she saw them being escorted to a police car by two detectives.

Constable Alexander Leslie Bowie, stationed at Mosman, said that he and Detective-Constable Ahearn arrested Grant and Hope outside Long Bay Gaol about 2.30 p.m. on August 11. There was a small cream car with Victorian registration plates outside the gates.

Hope, Grant and Ahearn got into the back seat of the police car with Ahearn in the centre. He and Ahearn had lightly gone over Hope’s and Grant’s clothing for small-arms. Just as he was driving away, Grant asked for his overcoat.

Bowie said he went over to the small cream car and found two overcoats, two scarves, a jemmy, torch, leather gloves, and a bunch of keys.

After searching the coats, he threw them on the back seat of the cream car.

He then drove away from the gaol. While going along Anzac Parade he heard some mention of “tailor-made” cigarettes, and this was followed immediately by the sound of a shot.

“I thought it was a blow-out until I heard Ahearn say: ‘He’s got me,’ ”  Bowie said.

“Then I heard the sounds of another two shots. I applied the brakes and swung the car to the side of the road. I turned to the back seat and saw Hope getting out the door, and Grant with an automatic pistol in his hand pointing it at me.

“Detective Ahearn was trying to swing himself over in Grant’s direction. I struggled with Grant and tried to take the gun from him. I saw the gun was jammed, and when I took it from him I hit him on the forehead with the butt.

 

Kicked In Face

“Grant then said that he had had enough, and I told him to stay still until I handcuffed him. Grant leaned back and kicked me in the face, but I continued to struggle with him, hanging on to his trouser belt. Grant broke my grip, ran down Anzac Parade, and turned into the bush towards Matraville.”

Bowie said he then took Ahearn out of the car and laid him on the side of the road. He was unconscious.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Carruthers ( for Hope ), Bowie said that Hope had made no effort to attack him, and had been quite submissive outside the gaol when being arrested.

Dr. Stratford Sheldon, Government medical officer, said that when he examined Ahearn‘s body there were what he thought to be powder stains on his hands.

One bullet had entered the body near the right wrist and had run along to the elbow joint. A second wound was found on the left side of the chest, and a bullet track through the right ventricle of the heart and the abdomen, ending in the left loin. This was the bullet that had killed Ahearn.

There was a third bullet track through the spine. The bullet was recovered from just above the right hip.

Mr. A. Brindley appeared for Grant, Mr. J. E. Carruthers for Hope, and Sergeant Forde assisted the coroner.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17994334#pstart996502

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CORONER TOLD OF SHOOTING OF DETECTIVE SYDNEY, Tuesday.
Evidence of the shooting of Detective Ahearn in a police car at Matraville on August 11, was given at the Coroner’s Court to-day by Constable Bowie, who was driving the car. Sydney Grant and Keith George Hope were present in custody, charged with murder. Constable Bowie told how he and Ahearn were driving in a police car, in which the accused were also sitting. Previously they had met the accused at the women’s reformatory and told them they were wanted for a “couple of jobs at North Sydney.” They ran their hands over the accused’s clothes, after which the men got in the car with Ahearn between them. After proceeding about a mile and a half, something was said about cigarettes and this was followed immediately by a shot. He heard Ahearn say he had been shot. Almost immediately there were two more shots. Witness stopped the car and saw Hope get out. Grant had a pistol pointed at witness but the pistol jammed. He took the gun from Grant who punched him about the head, but witness grabbed the gun and hit Grant with the butt. The latter replied he had had enough and, referring to Ahearn, said, “Will the poor ———— die?” Grant then leaned back in the seat and kicked witness about the face. The inquiry was adjourned until next Tuesday.
— The Canberra Times 11 September 1946

 

“DETECTIVE GOT IN WAY, SO I LET HIM HAVE IT” Alleged Admission by Accused SYDNEY, Tuesday
At the resumed inquest to-day into the death of Detective Ahearn, the police produced two letters, alleged to have been written by Sidney Grant, one of the accused, to his wife who was an inmate of Long Bay Gaol. An extract from one letter read: “He got in my way, so I let him have it. As for the other fellow, well, he’s lucky he’s not there calling for the angels too. Only for my rod jamming he would have been.”The second letter said in part: “Ahearn got the works for standing in my way and yours.” and also stated: “I got the word through that everything is working as planned by the boys in Melbourne and as soon as they take that escort off, well, it’s on and I’ll be free again.” Telling the court that the letters had been forwarded to the C.I.B., but he could not say by whom, Detective-Constable H. J. Hughes said that Grant had admitted writing the letters but had claimed he did not mean what was in them.The police also tendered to the Court a statement allegedly made by Grant in which it was claimed that the shooting of Detective Ahearn was accidental. According to the statement Grant was getting cigarettes from his pocket when Ahearn saw that he had a gun and tried to grab it. “It accidentally went off the first time and realising what I had done I just went on with it by shooting him again,” the alleged statement added.Also tendered was a statement allegedly made by Keith George Hope, the statement read in part: “I did not want to give myself up until after Grant was caught, as I was frightened at what he might do to me, because after he shot the detective in cold blood he would shoot me without compunction.”
— The Canberra Times 18 September 1946

 

DEFENCE CLAIMS SHOOTING WAS ACCIDENTAL
SYDNEY, Tuesday.
A demonstration to support his claim that the shooting was accidental was given in the Criminal Court to-day by Sidney Grant. Grant and Keith George Hope are jointly charged with the murder of Detective Victor Ahearn, at Matraville, on August 11, and both pleaded not guilty. Grant denied that he was a cold-blooded killer and claimed he had had an opportunity to seize Detective Bowie’s pistol and also shoot him, but had refrained from doing so. With the assistance of a constable, two chairs and a pistol, Grant demonstrated to the jury how the pistol had been removed from his hip pocket. Grant said that when he had withdrawn the pistol, Detective Ahearn saw it and grabbed at it. The safety catch was on when he put it in his pocket and the pressure of Ahearn’s hand must have set it off. “After the first shot was fired I wanted to let the gun go and escape but I feared that if I left the gun in Ahearn’s hand he might shoot me”. I tried to take the gun from his hand and, in doing so, I shot him again.” Grant claimed he handed the gun to Bowie who pointed it at his (Grant‘s) head and he heard three distinct clicks. He did not know the pistol was loaded until it went off. Hope declared on oath that he had taken no part in the shooting. He had not given himself up until Grant was caught as he thought that Grant might shoot him, seeing he was the only witness to the crime. The trial will be resumed to-morrow.
— The Canberra Times 4 December 1946

 

Detective Shot Accidentally, Accused Claims Sydney Grant, 28, labourer, claimed in the Central Criminal Court yesterday that Detective Constable Victor Donald Ahearn was shot accidentally at Matraville on August 11.
Grant and Keith George Hope, 23, farm labourer, were charged with having murdered Ahearn in a police car travelling from Long Bay Gaol to North Sydney. Grant said in evidence yesterday that Ahearn had been shot accidentally while struggling in the car for a gun which he (Grant) was trying to dispose of. Grant said he came to Sydney from Melbourne in a stolen car on August 11. He was accompanied by Hope. He found an automatic pistol in the glove box of the car. In the afternoon, he and Hope went to Long Bay Gaol to see his wife. When he went into the gaol, he put the pistol in his hip pocket. As they left the gaol, they were approached by Constables Ahearn and Bowie, who asked them to accompany them to the North Sydney police station for questioning.
“JAMMED IN POCKET”
Ahearn sat in the middle of the back seat, and Constable Bowie sat at the wheel. He asked Ahearn if he could smoke and he agreed. While trying to pull the revolver out of his pocket it became jammed. Ahearn looked down and saw the weapon. Ahearn grabbed his hand, and tried to pull it forward, causing the pistol to explode. “I realised then what had happened, and thought of escaping,” said Grant. “I thought I would take the gun because Ahearn might shoot me. His body slumped over my shoulder, but he continued to struggle for the gun. I now know he had a death grip on the gun, and it again exploded. The recoil of the gun again caused it to fire.”
COURT DEMONSTRATION
Grant, with a police officer sitting on a chair, demonstrated on the floor of the Court to the jury the movements of the struggle in the car. “After the third shot, I handed the revolver to Constable Bowie,” Grant added. Constable Bowie said, ‘You have killed my mate in cold blood.’ I replied ‘It was an accident. I had no reason for shooting him.’ Hope tried to leave the car after the first shot. Bowie pointed the revolver at me and tried to shoot me, but the pistol had jammed. I punched and kicked Bowie in the face. I felt justified in doing this, because he had just tried to take my life. I eventually worked my way to the offside [ right ] door of the car. I was in a position to see Bowie’s service pistol in a holster. If I had been what the police and public believed me to be-a coldblooded killed-I could have taken his pistol and killed him in cold blood, but I did not, because I am not a killer.”Grant said he got out of the car and picked up a taxi. Hope, he added, did not know he had the pistol in his possession when they went into the gaol. He denied that he had told Hope previously that he would use it if he got into a jam. Keith George Hope, in evidence, said he first knew Grant had a pistol when he went with him to the gaol. He asked him whether it was loaded, and Grant replied that it was, and that he wanted to do a few hold-ups to get his wife out of gaol.Mr. Kinkead ( for Hope ): At any time was there an arrangement to prevent yourselves from being arrested? Hope: No. Hope added that he thought Grant might shoot him as the only witness to his crime. He made up his mind to surrender to the police as soon as Grant was arrested.Sergeant Brown, ballistics expert, recalled, said that if the first shot had been fired as indicated by Grant, with the hands in the position shown by him, the pistol would have jammed after the first shot, because the hands on the pistol would have interfered with the movement of the slide and the ejection of the fired shell.The trial will resume this morning. Mr. T. S. Crawford, K. C. ( by Mr. F. Cleland ) for the Crown; Mr. Kincaid (by Messrs. J. E. Carruthers and Co., for Hope; and Mr. A. G. Brindley for Grant.
— The Sydney Morning Herald 11 December 1946

 

GRANT SENTENCED TO DEATH SYDNEY, Wednesday.
Sidney Grant, who was found guilty by a jury in the Criminal Court to day of murdering Detective Ahearn on August 11, was sentenced to death. Keith George Hope, who was presented on the same charge was found not guilty but he is being held on other charges.
— The Canberra Times 12 December 1946

 

£1,295 FOR SON OF DETECTIVE
Civilians and police have contributed £1,294/16/8 to the fund for the education and future welfare of Max Ahearn, 11, son of Detective V. D. Ahearn, who was shot dead while arresting two men at Matraville recently. Detective Sergeant H. Miller, who is secretary of the fund said yesterday that the money would be invested in Commonwealth stock. The Masonic schools would take care of Max’s education until he was ready to continue his education at the University. The fund would be used for this higher education.
— The Sydney Morning Herald 25 March 1947

 

LIFE IMPRISONMENT
SYDNEY, Tuesday—State Cabinet to-day commuted the death sentence imposed on Sidney Grant, 28, for the shooting of Detective Ahearn at Matraville on August 11, to life imprisonment.
— The Canberra Times 11 June 1947

 

£1,428 GIVEN FOR SON OF DETECTIVE
Public subscriptions to the fund for the education of Max Ahearn, 11, son of Detective Don Ahearn, of North Sydney who was shot dead in a car at Matraville last September, total £1,428. Detective-Sergeant H. Miller, of Petersham, who acted as chairman of the appeal has announced that the fund is closed. “One thousand pounds has been placed in Commonwealth war loans and £250 in war savings certificates,” he said. Max Ahearn will enter a High school soon.
— The Sydney Morning Herald 10 July 1947

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~aherns/ahvda.htm

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Eric George BAILEY GC

26/10/2012

Eric George BAILEY GC

Arrested his own Murderer

Father to John ‘Jack’ George BAILEY – NSWPF # 6293

Grandfather to Stephen Colin MARTIN, NSWPF # 24821

New South Wales Police Force

NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # ???

( Class # 001 was in March 1947 – so Eric pre dates that. )

Regd. # 2382

 

Rank: Commenced Training on ? ? ?

Probationary Constable – appointed Wednesday 16 March 1927

Constable 1st Class – appointed 23 April 1938

Constable 1st Class – posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class

 

Stations: No. 4 Division from 14 June 1927,

The Rocks in 1928, then Gundagai, Narrandera & other rural stations.

Moruya 1938 then Blayney from 4 January 1945

 

Service:  From 16 March 1927 to 12 January 1945 = 18 years Service

 

Awards:  * George Cross  ( GC ) awarded, Granted 20 October 1946 – posthumously

also the George Lewis Trophy.

Bravery Commendation re arrest at Batemans Bay in 1940.

Highly Commended and awarded six months seniority for Conspicuous Bravery for the rescue of survivors, at sea, off Moruya on the 3 August 1942, after a fishing trawler had been attacked by a Japanese submarine.  Also received a Certificate of Merit from Royal Shipwreck Relief and Humane Society of NSW.

 

Born:  Sunday  14 October 1906 at Tenterfield

Died:  Friday  12 January 1945

Age:  38 years, 2 months, 29 days old

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  Outside of Exchange Hotel, Adelaide St, Blayney, NSW

 

Funeral date:  Monday  15 January 1945

Funeral location:  Buried in Rookwood Cemetery, Lidcombe, NSW

 

Grave location:  Anglican Section, Rookwood Cemetery.  Zone C, Section 08, Grave 1959

GPS:  -33.87119050511541,  151.05958014008522

Grave:  [codepeople-post-map]

 

ERIC IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

 

Memorial location:  Below plaque is located at the location of the murder.

On 4 January 1945, Constable 1st Class Bailey commenced duty at Blayney Police Station.  On his 8th day at that station, he was dead.

On a hot summer evening, eight days later, while on duty in Adelaide Street, he was informed that a drinker at the Exchange Hotel was displaying a revolver.

Shortly after 8pm on 12 January 1945, Constable 1st Class Bailey spoke to a man, Cyril Norman, who was dressed in an American Naval Uniform outside the Exchange Hotel, Blayney. The constable told the man that he intended to search him and his belongings regarding his alleged possession of a revolver. The man suddenly produced the revolver and shot Constable Bailey in the stomach. The constable then took hold of the offender and during the ensuing struggle two more shots were fired and the offender was wounded in the wrist. Three railway employees quickly came to the constable’s aid and the offender was handcuffed and detained until the arrival of Constable Grady.  Bailey told Grady: ” He shot me through the back.  Don’t let him get away …I had a go.  I didn’t squib it “.

The wound suffered by Constable Bailey proved to be severe and he died on admission to the Orange Base Hospital with his wife by his side. He had in fact arrested his own murderer.

 

Allegations were later made suggesting that the offender was a contract killer sent to murder another local policeman, Constable Stan Grady, who had been enthusiastically investigating sly grog sellers and SP bookies in the area. The offender was said to have inadvertently shot Constable Bailey, whom he mistook for Grady, who was off duty at the time. When shot, Constable Bailey was in mounted police uniform, and until that day Stan Grady had been the only mounted constable in Blayney, thus the offender’s error. The offender, well-known Sydney criminal Cyril Norman – alias Thomas Couldrey – was convicted and sentenced to death.

Norman was charged with the murder of Bailey and that of Maurice Hannigan, a Sydney shopkeeper from whom he had stolen guns and ammunition. Although he was convicted, the death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

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Bailey was posthumously awarded the George Cross, instituted in 1940 by King George VI and intended primarily for civilians, which recognized ‘acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger’.

The first Australian policeman to be so honoured, he was also posthumously promoted sergeant 3rd class and awarded the George Lewis trophy in 1945 for the most courageous act by a policeman.

Bailey was accorded an official police funeral in Sydney and was buried in the Anglican section of Rookwood cemetery. His daughter and son John, who was to join the New South Wales police at the age of 16, also survived him.

( John ‘Jack’ George BAILEY, NSW Police Cadet # 0613, Regd. # 6293 )

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28 May 2020

Maz Herrmann His son John “Jack” Bailey an ex cadet was our boss at Albury during the 80s and the day he retired I spoke to him that evening and said “Jack what are you fkn doing at work; today is your last day”? He said “I’m just tidying up some things before I go.

I knew Jack when he was a Snr Sgt at Wollongong and I was the Inspectors Clerk in 1977-1980.

I joined the cops the following year 1981 – then I had to call him Sir!

He was definitely an old school copper – enough said.

May he R.I.P.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1087842541279097/

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The Sydney Morning Herald of 11 September, 1947

announced the presentation of Sergeant Bailey’s George Cross by Sir William McKell.

 

GEORGE CROSS AWARD – INVESTITURE BY MR. McKELL.

Mrs. F. M. Bailey, of Cleveland Street, Moore Park, widow of Police Sgt. Eric G. Bailey, yesterday received the George Cross awarded to her husband for holding a man who had fatally wounded him until assistance arrived, at Blayney in January, 1945. The decoration was made at an investiture held by the Governor General, Mr. McKell, at Government House.

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Sergeant Bailey was born in 1906 and joined the New South Wales Police Force in 1927. At the time of his death he was stationed at Blayney. He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class ( Although his grave states Sgt 2/c ) and awarded the George Cross and the George Lewis Trophy.

* Eric BAILEY is the ONLY Australian Police Officer to be awarded the Imperial Honour, namely the George Cross Medal.

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Bailey, Eric George (1906 – 1945)

by Christa Ludlow

This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, (MUP), 1993

Eric George Bailey (1906-1945), policeman, was born on 14 October 1906 at Tenterfield, New South Wales, ninth child of Arthur Peter Bailey, compositor, and his wife Jane, née Bush, both native-born. Eric worked as a postal assistant before joining the New South Wales Police Force on 16 March 1927. After training, he was transferred to Sydney’s No.4 Division on 14 June, and sent to The Rock in 1928; he then served at Gundagai, Narrandera and other rural stations. Bailey was confirmed an ordinary constable on 16 March 1928. He married Florence May O’Connor at Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Waterloo, on 24 November that year.

Promoted constable 1st class on 23 April 1938, Bailey was next stationed at Moruya on the south coast. In 1940 he arrested a criminal at Batemans Bay and was commended for bravery, cool-headedness and devotion to duty. Learning that a fishing trawler had been attacked by a Japanese submarine off Moruya on 3 August 1942, he and Sergeant Horace Miller set out at night in a pleasure launch in heavy seas to assist with the rescue of the survivors. Bailey was highly commended and awarded six months seniority for conspicuous bravery; he also received a certificate of merit from the Royal Shipwreck Relief and Humane Society of New South Wales.

On 4 January 1945 Bailey was transferred to Blayney, south-west of Bathurst. On a hot summer evening eight days later, while on duty in Adelaide Street, he was informed that a drinker at the Exchange Hotel was displaying a revolver. When Bailey questioned the offender, Cyril Norman, and declared that he would search his room, Norman drew a revolver and shot him. In the ensuing struggle two more shots were fired, but Bailey managed to handcuff Norman and restrain him until Constable Grady arrived. Bailey told Grady: ‘He shot me through the back. Don’t let him get away . . . I had a go. I didn’t squib it’. Fatally wounded by the first shot, Bailey died hours later on 12 January 1945 in Orange Base Hospital, his wife at his side.

Norman was charged with the murder and that of Maurice Hannigan, a Sydney shopkeeper from whom he had stolen guns and ammunition. Although he was convicted, the death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Bailey was posthumously awarded the George Cross, instituted in 1940 by King George VI and intended primarily for civilians, which recognized ‘acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger’. The first Australian policeman to be so honoured, he was also posthumously promoted sergeant 3rd class and awarded the George Lewis trophy in 1945 for the most courageous act by a policeman. Bailey was accorded an official police funeral in Sydney and was buried in the Anglican section of Rookwood cemetery. His daughter and son John, who was to join the New South Wales police at the age of 16, also survived him.

Select Bibliography

• I. Bisset, The George Cross (Lond, 1961)
• L. Wigmore (ed), They Dared Mightily (Canb, 1963)
• Police News (Sydney), Feb 1945, p 7, Sept 1945, p 9, Oct 1947, p 44
• Sydney Morning Herald, 14, 20 Jan, 8, 22 Feb, 5 Aug 1945, 30 Oct 1946, 11 Sept 1947
• Sun (Sydney), 17 Jan 1979
• service records of E. G. Bailey (police registry, New South Wales Police Dept, Sydney).

Citation details

Christa Ludlow, ‘Bailey, Eric George (1906–1945)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bailey-eric-george-9403/text16527, published first in hardcopy 1993, accessed online 6 January 2015.

Life Summary [details]

Birth

14 October 1906
Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia

Death

12 January 1945

Orange, New South Wales, Australia

Religious Influence

• Anglican

Occupation

• heroic civilian
• murder victim
• police officer

Workplaces

• Police Force (NSW)

 

This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, (MUP), 1993

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bailey-eric-george-9403

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Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954),

Tuesday 16 January 1945, page 3

MURDER HUNT IN WEST

Inquiries into the murder of Maurice Joseph Hannigan (68), who was battered to death in a King-street shop last week, have extended to a town in western NSW.

Detectives from the CIB are in the town, and sensational developments are expected.

New evidence was obtained following a gun duel between Stephen Henry Cunningham, who committed suicide after shooting two detectives at Redfern on Saturday.

Detectives left for the country on Sunday, and it is likely that their inquiries will solve more than one recent major crime.

Wounded Detectives

Condition of Sergeant V. Hughes, one of the wounded detectives, continues to improve daily, and doctors are hopeful now that he will recover. Detective-Sergeant V. Turner, the other shooting victim, is improving rapidly.

Commissioner of Police ( Mr. W J. MacKay ) yesterday promoted both sergeants, and also promoted posthumously Constable Eric George Bailey, who was fatally shot at Blayney on Friday night.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231710842

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First published on 12 January 2014.

 

 

 

 

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John Edward DUNN

26/10/2012

John Edward DUNN

New South Wales Police Force

Shot – Murdered

Detective Constable 1st Class

35 years

Wollongong

25 April, 1940

 

 

On 25 April, 1940 Sergeant Hall attended a dwelling in Ocean Street, Wollongong where an offender named Hinsby had beaten his wife to death.

After he was confronted and threatened by the offender, who had now taken siege in the house, he called for reinforcements.

Among those to attend were Detectives John Dunn and R.A. Debney.

While negotiations were taking place with the offender, a piece of paper was thrown from a window, and, assuming that it was a note from the offender, Detective Debney crept up to the window to retrieve the paper. As he did so, a shot was fired from inside the house, through the window. The shot struck Detective Dunn, who was waiting nearby and watching Detective Debney. The bullet hit Detective Dunn in the forehead and he was killed instantly.

Tear gas was then used in an effort to flush the offender out, however it was soon found that Hinsby had committed suicide.

 

The Advocate newspaper of 22 May, 1940 reported briefly on the inquest into the matter.

 

RISKED LIFE ONLY TO SEE COMRADE SHOT

SYDNEY, Tuesday – “You two are married, I’m single. I’ll go and get it.” Saying this to two other detectives, Detective Debney went to a window of a house in which an armed murderer was holding the police at bay at Wollongong on April 25 to receive a paper which had fallen from the window.

When he reached the window a shot was fired and Detective Dunn, one of the detectives who had remained behind, fell fatally wounded.

This story was told at the inquest to-day into the death of Detective John Edward Dunn (35), George Hinsby (55), and his wife, Amelia Devine Hinsby (45).

The Coroner found that Hinsby murdered his wife and Detective Dunn and committed suicide while temporarily insane.

It was stated in evidence that since an accident 15 years ago Hinsby had been subject to ungovernable fits of rage.”

 

The detective constable was born in Victoria in 1904 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 27 March, 1929.

At the time of his death he was stationed at Wollongong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John was, reportedly, married to Lawna DUNN nee COOK.