I knew John Allen Garth during the period between 1982 to 1993. When I met him he worked at CIG as the National Security Manager. He had already left the force for some time. He mentioned he was in charge of Wollarah. His close friend and one time partner was Allen Whittaker. Allen passed away 2 yrs later than John. John was a very interesting character with a sharp intellect and a hawk eye for detail. I’m richer by far for having known him.
Anne Sparks via email to AusPol on 11 Oct 2021.
John Benoni ROSS
29/12/2015
John Benoni ROSS
( late of Willoughby and Balmain )
New South Wales Police Force
[blockquote]
Sarah Ann ROSS – wife of John
Died on: 24 April 1885 ( 10 days after her husband )
Funeral date: Sunday 26 April 1885
[/blockquote]
Regd. # ‘Q‘ 2523
For the purposes of this website ‘Q‘ represents those Police joining between 1 March 1862 ( commencement of NSWPF ) – 23 February 1915 ( Commencement of NSWPF current numbering system )
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 25 March 1875
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Balmain 1879 to 1882, North Willoughby Station ( O.I.C. during 1884)
Service: From 25 March 1875 to 14 April 1885 = 9+ years Service
Awards:
Not a Police award but a civilian one
Another lengthy report was in the SMH Tuesday 3″ June 1879:
On the presentation of the gold watch and chain and an address as an acknowledgement of Constable Ross, intrepid conduct rescuing two persons at the risk of his own life. Three cheers were given by the 50 residents attended the Balmain Council Chambers for the presentation.
The inscription: Presented to Constable John Benoni Ross by the inhabitants of Balmain, in admiration of his heroic conduct in rescuing two lives at a well accident, 18 April 1879. Balmain 2 June 1879.
A letter from the Inspector General of Police was noted at the 27 June 1879, Balmain Council meeting, having reference to the gallant conduct of Constable Ross at the recent well accident.
The watch remains in the Ross family treasures.
Born: ? ? 1852, Caithness, Scotland
Died on: Tuesday 14 April 1885 at Police residence, Chatswood Police Stn, North Willoughby
Cause: Typhoid Fever as did his wife Sarah 10 days later aged 30 and their infant daughter Sarah aged 1
Age: 32
Funeral date: Wednesday 15 April 1885
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, corner Mowbray Road West and Pacific Highway, Chatswood. (opposite the Great Northern Hotel)
Memorial at: ?
In Memory of Senior Constable John B. Ross Died 14th April 1885 aged 32. Also Sarah Ann, Wife of the above. Died 24th April 1885 aged 30. Also infant child Sarah. Erected by his comrades & friends.
JOHN is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Kevin Banister May 4 2020 at 4:59 PM Went for a trip this afternoon (4/5/2020) to the Pioneers Memorial Reserve, Mowbray Road, Chatswood and took a couple of photos of the resting place of Senior Constable John Benone ROSS and family. This little cemetery is a heritage site and is being maintained by Lane Cove Council and what a wonderful job they are doing. The ribbon had fallen off and I re-attached it. In the bottom left corner of the plot is a rose bush as is on most other marked graves. Even these are pruned.
The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday 15 April 1885 P 1 of 16
ROSS. – April 14, at his residence, Police Station, North Willoughby, John Binnone Ross, aged 33 years, native of Caithness, Scotland, leaving a wife and five children and large circle of friends to mourn their loss.
ROSS. – April 14, at the Police Station, North Willoughby, Senior-constable John Ross ( late of Balmain ), leaving a wife and five children to mourn their loss.
The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday 15 April 1885 P 16 of 16
THE FRIENDS of the late Mr. JOHN B. ROSS are respectfully invited to his Funeral ; to leave his residence, Lane Cove-road, THIS DAY Wednesday, at 3 o’clock, for the Wesleyan Cemetery, Willoughby.
W. H. HOWARD, Undertaker, Walker-street, St. Leonards.
Balmain Observer & Western Suburbs Advertiser Saturday 18 April 1885 P 3 of 4
Senior Constable Ross, well known in Balmain about four years ago and lately in charge of North Willoughby, died on Monday night, from, consumption.
It will be remembered that he made a very plucky rescue of two men from a well in the neighbourhood of Beattie street, in which was foul air while he was stationed in Balmain, the effects of which he has since suffered from.
The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 25 April 1885 P 20 of 20
THE FRIENDS of the late Mrs. ROSS, widow of the late Senior-constable Ross, of Chatswood, are respectfully invited to attend her Funeral ; to leave her residence at 3 o’clock TO-MORROW, Sunday, for Wesleyan Cemetery.
W. H. HOWARD, Undertaker, Walker-street, St. Leonards.
The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 30 May 1885 P 5 of 24
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
In the Intestate Estate of JOHN B. ROSS, late of Willoughby, Senior Constable, deceased.
CREDITORS are to forward to me ( through the Post Office if they think fit ), at my office, in the Supreme Court, Sydney, their details for proof, verified by affidavit, on or before the fifteenth day of June next, or they will be excluded from all benefit from this estate.
‘Balmain Association’ newsletter dated April 2001.
P o l i c e H e r o i c R e s c u e
A letter from Mrs Meg Chamberlin formally of Ferdinand Street, Balmain and now of Macley Island, Queensland, stated that some information on her family history could be of interest to the Association. While cleaning out a draw on a visit to her mother at the family home, a letter was found with an interesting PS, relating to a presentation of a gold watch to Constable John Benone Ross in 1879.
Constable Ross was stationed at the Watch House from 1879 to 1882 and lived in Darling Street, Rozelle, near Red Lion Street. He then moved to Chatswood where he, his wife Sarah Ann and a child died within a few days of each other in a Typhoid epidemic in April 1885. John was 32 years and Sarah was 30 years and daughter Sarah 1 year. They were buried in the church yard of the Methodist Church, Chatswood. Comrades and friends erected the headstone. Grandmother Sarah Ann Robinson reared the other four children.
In a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 21″ April 1879:
On Friday morning a man named Albert Drave was nearly suffocated by descending into a newly dug well 25 feet deep behind the Bellevue, now Sackville Hotel, Darling Street. A blast had just taken place at the bottom of the well and the smoke not having thoroughly cleared way before Drave descended, he was almost suffocated when he reached the bottom. His distress having been noticed by the proprietor of the allotment Mr Barthrope, he at once descended to retrieve Drave, but he was likewise became overpowered by the fumes of the powder. Constable Ross being near the spot, volunteered to descend and succeeded in bringing up to the surface first Drave, then Barthrope. Drs. Brennan and Evans were quickly on the spot and industriously applied the usual restoratives. Both men are doing well at the latest accounts.
Another lengthy report was in the SMH Tuesday 3″ June 1879:
On the presentation of the gold watch and chain and an address as an acknowledgement of Constable Ross, intrepid conduct rescuing two persons at the risk of his own life. Three cheers were given by the 50 residents attended the Balmain Council Chambers for the presentation.
The inscription: Presented to Constable John Benoni Ross by the inhabitants of Balmain, in admiration of his heroic conduct in rescuing two lives at a well accident, 18 April 1879. Balmain 2 June 1879.
A letter from the Inspector General of Police was noted at the 27 June 1879, Balmain Council meeting, having reference to the gallant conduct of Constable Ross at the recent well accident.
The watch remains in the Ross family treasures.
Goulburn Evening Penny Post ( NSW ) Saturday 26 April 1884 p 4 of 10
Suspicious Death.
ON Wednesday evening Senior-constable Ross, who is in charge of the North Willoughby station, received intelligence from a man named Henby that a death under suspicious circumstances had taken place in the district. He accordingly proceeded to a house near Burn’s Bay, Lane Cove Road, occupied by William Cox, who is stated to be an old resident of the district. In one of the rooms was found the body of Ann Sophia Cox in bed, looking to all appearance dead.
Dr. Rorke, of North Shore, was at once communicated with. He soon arrived, and expressed an opinion that deceased had probably met with her death in consequence of external injuries. The only female clothes in the house beyond those found on the woman were a chemise and another garment, both of which were stained with blood.
Under the circumstances the constable apprehended William Cox, the husband of the deceased, at a late hour last night, and he his now lodged at the St. Leonards police station.
Upon being questioned as to the occurrence the prisoner declared that he knew nothing of the cause of his wife’s death beyond that she had sustained a fall, and expressed ignorance concerning the garment stained with blood. It appears that Cox informed Henby of the death of the woman in the first place.
The police state that prisoner has been often seen of late under the influence of drink, and his domestic matters did not seem to have been of a happy character. He is described as of no occupation.
Buried at: Castlebrook Cemetery, 718 Windsor Rd, Rouse Hill, NSW
Memorial at:
May they forever Rest In Peace
Liz and Bill FAHEY
As of Monday 14 September 2015, Elizabeth Fahey – the wife of deceased Sergeant Bill Fahey, is currently in hospital with a brain tumour and having scans to determine the extend of the tumour.
We wish Elizabeth all the very best for a full and speedy recovery.
As of Wednesday 29 September 2015, Liz’s brain tumour pathology is back and it was found to be malignant. Doctors are going to do chemotherapy & radiotherapy.
Dear family and friends.
Maybe the majority of you will not know the name nor my relationship with this lovely Lady. Yesterday on 25/12/2016, Elizabeth (Liz) Fahey lost her battle with a brain tumour. She was the wife of a ‘giant’ in the New South Wales Police Rescue Squad, Sergeant William (Bill, Uncle Bill) Fahey. Liz and Bill were living in Queensland when Bill died some years back. Liz moved back to NSW but not much is known of her life back here (to my shame) until recently when she became ill.
I joined the NSW Police Force in 1974 and till 1978 I was stationed at Annandale. In 1978 I completed a Rescue course and was transferred to the Police Rescue Squad. One of the first senior members of the Squad I was introduced to was Bill. He was a big man but not tall. Think of the size of an 18 gallon beer keg and apply that to his upper body.
Think this. When wearing his white overalls, he could roll up his sleeves, put the pointy end of a full size anvil in the sleeve and pick up the blunt end of the anvil and lift vertically. A powerful man with the heart of gold. Wasn’t long before I met his beautiful partner Liz. She was a tiny thing, 5 foot nothing. But, when she came around for a visit, or a function at the PRS, she lit up the room. What a gentle soul she was. She would sit with anyone, everyone for a chat. She was a ‘mum’ to us all.
The last time I saw and spoke to Liz and Bill together was in 1985 at my wedding, and have a couple of photos. I shall treasure those photos. God bless Liz, you put up the good fight. You had so many people praying/thinking of you over these past months. The New South Wales Police Rescue Squad, The New South Wales VRA, any Rescue organisation that knew Liz will be thinking of her.
God Bless dear Lady.
Article by Kevin Banister, NSW Fallen Police FB Group
Kel StewartI remember being the barmaid at the Cleveland Inn Surry Hills in those years and serving Liz and Bill Fahey beer whilst they were enjoying a smoke surrounded by Police rescue personel. Liz was a gentle soul Kevin and when I think of her….I smile. Liz is now back with Bill probably enjoying a beer & smoke. RIP Liz. Kel
After 14 days from today an application for a grant of representation will be made to the Supreme Court of Queensland at Brisbane as follows: Deceased:|WILLIAM CHARLES FAHEY| Last Address:|178 Ocean Vista Drive, Maroochy River 4561, Queensland|Address in Will: |178 Ocean Vista Drive, Maroochy River 2561, Queensland|Applicants:|ELIZABETH FAY FAHEY, 178 Ocean Vista Drive, Maroochy River 4561, Queensland.| Grant:|Probate of the Will dated 15 September, 2005.| Caveat:| If you wish to object or to be heard upon the application, you may file a Caveat in the Supreme Court registry mentioned above at any time before the grant is made.| Creditors:|All creditors of the estate are required to
send in particulars of their claim to the applicant's Solicitors within six weeks of the date of publication of this Notice.| Date of Death:|3 November, 2006.| Applicant(s) Solicitors: |Warren Gardiner & Co, Solicitors|| 38 Queen Street, Nambour Qld 4560.|
Location: Sunshine Coast | Published Date: 13 Jan 2007
The Premier, Mr. J. J. Cahill, said yesterday he had called for a report on allegations by Mr. Stefan Iwanowski that police officers had ill-treated him.
Mr. Cahill said he had received a letter from Mr. B. J. Macree, a Sydney solicitor, enclosing a statutory declaration by Mr. Iwanowski, of West Street, Paddington.
Mr. Macree had asked for an extension of the terms of the Studley-Ruxton Royal Commission to include his client’s allegations.
Mr. Cahill said that when he received the report from his officers, he would consider whether action was necessary.
Stefan Iwanowski said in Central Summons Court yesterday that a police sergeant had hit him on the left cheek, and a constable had hit him twice in the stomach.
He said the policemen were Sergeant First-class George Herbert Boyd and Constable William Charles Fahey, both of Darlinghurst.
The Crown by summons charged Iwanowski, of West Street, Paddington, with having used indecent language.
Iwanowski said that the two policemen called at his home about five minutes to midnight on February 17.
The sergeant had said: “What is going on here?” and the constable had said: “You are drunk.” ” Iwanowski said: Then the constable hit me with his fist in my stomach.
“I said: ‘What is the Gestapo tactics to come my place at midnight, disturb my baby and beat me?’
“I will see a solicitor tomorrow and find if you are to come to my place at midnight and beat and do these things like the Gestapo.
“Then the sergeant took me by my hair, pulled me down by the head, and the constable gave me a hit in my stomach with his fist.
“STARTED CRYING“
“I fell down on the chair because I could not get my breath, and I started crying. My baby woke and cried, screaming.
“When the baby started screaming, the sergeant and policeman went to the kitchen.
“I said to them: ‘Constable, I take your number.’ I took up from the table my wife’s pencil, and put the number of the constable on the paper.
“The sergeant said to the constable. ‘Take this —– to the police.’
“My baby was still screaming. “I put my coat on. I didn’t put on shoes or slippers.
“The sergeant started to push me out. After, we walked up the steps. In the front of me was the constable and behind me was the sergeant.”
Mr. K. O’Malley Jones, for Iwanowski: What happened when you went to the police car?
Iwanowski: Some of the police, I don’t know which one, pushed me into the car.
“TAKE A HALF“
Iwanowski, continuing, said that at the police station they told him to get out. The sergeant started pushing him into the police station and kicking his heels.
Iwanowski said: “I started crying. I went into the police station and I said: ‘I have been beaten by police and kicked on my feet, and pulled by my hair.’
“The sergeant said: ‘You are a —– liar. Nobody touched you.’ Then he punched me with his fist.
“Then he started pulling baby from me. My baby was screaming. I said: ‘You don’t take my baby from me. If you take, you take a half.'”
Iwanowski said that Sergeant Boyd took him by the hair and pulled him into the dock. He ordered the constable to take his name, height, and details.
He continued: “He asked me what my profession was. I said, ‘Linesman.’ The sergeant said, ‘Put labourer.’ ”
Mr. O’Malley Jones: Do you remember anything else said before he told you to go home?
Iwanowski: He told me, ‘You are a —— Pole. You are a Communist. They should not let you come to this country. We will teach you how to live in this country.”
Iwanowski said the police started pulling him out of the station by the hair.
NO MARK
To Mr. H. L. Cantor, for the prosecution. Iwanowski said there was no doubt the constable hit him.
Mr. Cantor: Did it leave any mark? Iwanowski: Not in the stomach.
Were you hit anywhere else but in the stomach? – In the police station, in my face.
Did it leave any mark? Pretty sore. It left no mark.
Did he hit you hard? – Yes. That is the sergeant? – Yes. Iwanowski said the sergeant hit him on his left cheek.
[ Sergeant Boyd and Constable Fahey denied during cross-examination by Mr. O’Malley Jones on Thursday that they had pushed, kicked, punched, or pulled Iwanowski’s hair. ]
Mr. H. L. Sargeson adjourned the hearing until 10a.m. on July 9.
Mr. H. L. Cantor ( by the State Crown Solicitor ) for the prosecution: Mr. K. O’Malley Jones ( by B. J. Macree ) for Iwanowski.
Mr. H. L. Sargeson, S.M., in Central Summons Court yesterday, fined Stefan Iwanowski £1 on a charge of using indecent language on February 17.
Iwanowski, a Polish migrant, in evidence earlier in the hearing said that Sergeant George Herbert Boyd and Constable William Charles Fahey had assaulted him.
CLAIMED HE WAS HIT
Iwanowski said Fahey had hit him twice at his home at West Street, Paddington, where, the charge alleged, the language was used.
He said Boyd punched him and pulled his hair at Darlinghurst police station.
Mr. Sargeson said he was satisfied Iwanowski used the words, but added that there were some unsatisfactory features about the case for the prosecution.
It was difficult to understand why Iwanowski was taken to the police station with his baby. It must have been apparent that there would be difficulty in disposing of the baby if Iwanowski was arrested, charged and locked-up.
DELAY
“Another thing is the delay in taking proceedings by way of summons against Iwanowski,” he said.
“I feel that proceedings against Iwanowski were in fact expedited by the prosecution when it was learned that Iwanowski was moving in the matter of the assault alleged by him to have been committed by the police officers concerned.”
Mr. Sargeson said four witnesses – Boyd and Fahey and a Mr. and Mrs. Gray, of West Street, Paddington said they heard Iwanowski use indecent language. He was satisfied they told the truth.
Iwanowski had denied he used indecent language, and complained that he was assaulted by Constable Fahey and Sergeant Boyd.
Iwanowski alleged that Sergeant Boyd struck him on the face, pulled his hair, and trod on his heels as he was entering the police station.
CONFLICT
Mr. Sargeson said, “The witnesses called by Iwanowski didn’t help me in coming to a conclusion.
“Their evidence is only of value in determining the question of the credibility of witnesses for the prosecution.
“The evidence of these witnesses is in conflict in some respects with the witnesses for the prosecution.”
HAD BABY IN HIS ARMS
Sergeant Edward Clyde Davis , of Darlinghurst Police Station said in evidence he was a senior constable on February 17, and on duty as station sergeant.
Early in the morning of February l8, Sergeant Boyd and Constable Fahey brought Iwanowski in the charge room. Iwanowski had a baby in his arms.
Boyd said, ‘This man used indecent language to us, but I can’t lock him up with a baby in his arms.” Iwanowski, said, “Lock me up.”
SAW NO BLOWS
Davis said Boyd told Fahey, “Get his particulars, and we will take out a summons.” Fahey spoke to Iwanowski, and then “Boyd said “You are free to go now, but you will probably get a summons.”
Iwanowski remained in the room speaking in a foreign language.
Davis said he twice told Iwanowski he was free to leave before Iwanowski walked out the door. Iwanowski was highly excited, and was talking loudly.
Davis said he did not see any blows struck, or any force used on Iwanowski.
To Mr. K. O’Malley Jones ( for Iwanowski ) Davis said he had been 26 years in the police force. At this time he had been 10 months at Darlinghurst.
Mr. O’Malley Jones: You are the sergeant who has been referred to by a probationary police constable in the court yesterday?
Davis; I decline to answer. Mr. H. L. Cantor ( for the police ) objected to the question.
Mr. O’Malley Jones: It is not the only question I am going to ask.
QUESTION ALLOWED
Mr. Sargeson, S.M., allowed the question, but told Davis not to answer further questions until be gave him permission.
Davis: I am the sergeant. Mr. O’Malley Jones: And the gist of it is that in relation to that matter you and the probationary constable are diametrically opposed on an important matter?
Mr. Cantor: There are some matters which, even if it were felt they would assist on the witness’s credit, should not be allowed. It is sub judice.
Mr., Sargeson disallowed the question.
Davis said he had not asked Sergeant Boyd or Constable Fahey whether they would begin proceedings against Iwanowski. He could not remember when he was told he would be needed to give evidence, but an inspector, Mr. Mijch, of Darlinghurst, had asked him to write a report.
Mr. O’Malley Jones: Did he say proceedings would be instituted against Iwanowski because he had indicated he was assaulted by the police? Davis: No.
SUMMONS
Davis said he was with Sergeant Smith when Smith served the summons on Iwanowski.
Mr. O’Malley Jones: Would it be quite a common thing for n summons issued on March 16 at the Court of Petty Sessions, Sydney, to be served on the same day from Darlinghurst Police Station?
Davis: It generally takes a couple of days.
Was it indicated to you by anyone in the station that this was a case in which the summons had to be served very quickly? – No.
Constable Atholl John Arndell, of Darlinghurst Police Station, said he was on duty when Sergeant Boyd and Constable Fahey brought Iwanowski into the police station.
He did not see any violence used towards Iwanowski.
Was 1 of 50 ‘free men’ who volunteered and were accepted to join the Loyal Sydney Association set up by Governor Hunter to quell a possible uprising by ‘the Irish’. They were under the control of a civilian by the name of William Balmain. Frederick was involved in the Battle of Vinegar Hill in 1804. The 50 were known as armed volunteer Police (Militia)
1811 – 1828.
Sworn in 1811 as Constable under the newly formed NSW Police set up by Governor Macquarie.
Served at Liverpool 1822-1828 becoming Chief Constable in 1826.
Believed to have resigned in *1828 to become the first Post Master at Liverpool Post Office.
A story, below, indicates that Meredith – as the Chief Constable of Liverpool, was shot in both legs during a bush-ranger’s robbery in 1830.
Total Years of Service: 17 years
Awards: ?
Born: 5 October 1763 in Dinham, Ludlow, Shropshire, England
Died on: Thursday 23 June 1836
Event location: Bankstown, NSW
Cause: ?
Age: 73
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Pioneer Memorial Park, Liverpool
Frederick MEREDITH – Headstone in Liverpool Pioneer Park – 14 August 1977
FREDERICK is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
Funeral location: ?
Frederick is believed to be the “third” Chief Constable of Liverpool until 1833.
He arrived on the First Fleet on the Scarborough.
His grave is at Liverpool Cemetery.
In 1811 Frederick joined Governor Macquarie’s police force. He was later appointed the first constable, then the “third” chief constable of Liverpool.
He remained in the police until 1833, holding positions of Constable, Chief Constable & District Constable.
Info via Jay Chappo – Beyond Courage FB page – 20 August 2015
Frederick Meredith (1763–1836)
Frederick Meredith was a steward aboard the Scarborough which landed in Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet. On 2 May he joined Sirius as an able seaman (baker). He had a child, Charlotte, with Mary Allen. After the wreck of the Sirius he returned to England by the Waaksamheid in March 1791.
He returned to Sydney as a settler by the Bellona in January 1793 and received a 60 acre grant of land at Liberty Plains. He had a daughter with Mary Martin in 1790, a daughter with Ann Case in 1793, a daughter with Mary Kirk in 1794, and a son with Sarah Mason; he and Sarah married on 17 January 1801.
In 1802 Meredith was a private in the Sydney Loyal Association and was a member of Governor Macquarie’s constabulary in 1810. In 1809 he was granted 120 acres at Punchbowl. He operated as a baker from at least this time. In 1831 he was granted 60 acres on the Liverpool Road at Bankstown. Following his wife’s death in 1832, Meredith married Ann Day, a widow, on 19 February 1833. He died on 23 June 1836 and was buried at St Luke’s, Liverpool; his age was given as 73.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), pp 243-44
They Sydney Gazette & New South Wales Advertiser Thursday 7 July 1836 page 3 of 4
DIED.
On Thursday, June 23, at his farm Banks Town, Mr. Fredrick Meredith, aged 72 years, greatly respected. Mr. Meredith arrived here as a sailor, in the first fleet, and had long been a resident on the Liverpool Road.
Ordinary constables appointed to operate under Macquarie’s 1811 regulations were, John Jones, John Godwin, Edward Tulby, Matthew Quinn, Patrick Field, Samuel Reid, George
Cochrane, John Ayres, Joseph Evans, John Smith, James Mannek, William Goodman, William Donnelly, Abraham Lee, William Welch, Joseph Welch, Michael Simpson, John
Pauley, John Webb, Thomas Colebrook, James Phelan, William Thorn, Charles Evans, Thomas Jones, Abraham Bateman, George Atkins, John Anslie, William Foster, John Randall, Robert McAlister, Aaron Packenham, Thomas Mansfield, John Burgess, Thomas Salmon, John Smith, George Phillips, Ambrose McGuiggan, Gilbert Baker, Frederick Meredith, Joseph Smith, John Lyster, Thomas Dunn, James Chamberlin (also shown as Chamberlain).
Matthew Gibbons was Clerk of the Market and William Hawkins was Assistant Clerk of the Market.
Daniel Cubitt was Gaoler. In 1811, Macquarie also introduced traffic regulations.
NSW Police Heritage Story p231
Liverpool Police complained in July, 1845, that the police establishment there was completely without serviceable firearms. Consistent with outlying districts of Sydney in
those days, Liverpool District was plagued at times by bushrangers. Liverpool Police, like police throughout the colony, faced dangerous situations in which they depended on
their government issue firearms.
For instance, in 1830, Liverpool’s Chief Constable Frederick Meredith, was seriously wounded in a clash with a bushranger gang. ( Later reading, below, indicates that this would have been Frederick Meredith ( Jnr ). )
In March, 1830, a gang of 6 bushrangers entered a public house on the Liverpool Road and stole 8 pounds in cash, plus 5 gallons of spirits and a brace of pistols.
The robbers later entered the residence of a man named Jackson on the Liverpool Road and gained entry to the premises by posing as constables.
When the robbers entered the premises, the men were confronted by Jackson and Chief Constable Meredith. The candle illuminating the inside of Jackson’s place was extinguished and an affray followed, resulting in Jackson and his wife being injured. Meredith was shot in both legs.
One of the gang was captured, but the other bushrangers escaped, leaving behind a number of firearms.
Two of the bushrangers were John McNamara and William Dalton.
Following the demise of Dalton and McNamara, in June, 1830, McNamara was shot dead by Samuel Horn, wardsman of Parramatta, and Dalton came to the end of his life on the
hangman’s rope, Frederick Meredith was given a land grant for his conduct in protecting Jackson’s premises.
The Governor also commended Jackson for his conduct against the bushrangers. Jackson’s assigned servant William Johnston, received a ticket of leave for courageously protecting his master’s property.
Frederick Meredith
Frederick Meredith arrived with the First Fleet as a steward to Captain John Marshall of the convict transport Scarborough. He came before a magistrate for exchanging a “squirrel” for rum, apparently on the orders of the captain, and was sentenced to 100 lashes. Governor Phillip reduced the sentence to 50 lashes on representations from the captain and others. Shortly before the Scarborough sailed to China, he signed on to the HMS Sirius with the duties of a baker. He was twenty three and gave his birthplace as Denham Wales.
Convict transport Scarborough
His initials are still visible at Garden Island where the crew were assigned to preparing a garden. After the Sirius was wrecked off the coast of Norfolk Island on 19 March 1790, Frederick and some of the other crew members returned to Port Jackson on HMS Supply.
Frederick Merediths initials at Garden Island ” Possibly the oldest marks er?ant of white settlement in Australia. Initials F.M. and I.R. with date 1783. F.M. believed to be Frederick MEREDITH, a member of the crew of H.M.S. SIRIUS. I.R. not known. ” Frederick Meredith’s initials at Garden Island
Captain Hunter of the wrecked Sirius and the crew embarked for England in March 1791. Frederick was then paid off by the navy in 1792 and decided his future lay in Botany Bay.
HMS Sirius
He returned on the Bellona in 1793 with a small group of the first free settlers. They were given land grants at Liberty Plains (now Strathfield). His second grant was 60 acres, where Rhodes railway station is today. Both land grants were unsuited to farming.
Frederick received a further grant of 120 acres near his farm at Salt Pan Creek (pictured at left and now part of Punchbowl) in 1809, for aiding a neighbour in an affray with the aborigines.
He also had a bakery in Chapel Row (now Castlereagh Street) which he sold in 1810.
Frederick had several children with convict women: Charlotte born to Mary Allen (Allein) in 1790; Amelia to Anne Case in 1793; and Charlotte to Mary Kirk in 1794.
Salt Pan Creek Grant
In 1800, Governor Hunter set up the Loyal Sydney Association, following reports of rebellion by Irish convicts. Frederick enrolled as a volunteer armed policeman and was involved in the Vinegar Hill uprising.
Frederick married Sarah Mason, a convict who also arrived on the Bellona. Their relationship had begun in 1800 and they were married in 1811 when Frederick joined Governor Macquarie’s police force. He was later appointed the first constable, then chief constable of Liverpool. Their children were Frederick junior, born in 1801, Sophia in 1803, Elizabeth in 1806, William in 1807, Anne in 1811 and Eleanor in 1813.
In 1823 he joined the Liverpool and surrounding districts police force. He remained in the police until 1828, holding positions of Constable, Chief Constable and District Constable. His final land grant was 60 acres at Liverpool Road, Banks Town in 1826. The farm was called Gunsborough.
The first post office was opened at Liverpool in 1828 and Frederick acted as the first postmaster until Donald MacLeod took up his appointed position.
Frederick and Sarah lived at Gunsborough until her death in 1832. He married Mary Ann Day in 1833. He died at the property in 1836 and was buried next to Sarah at Liverpool Cemetery.
Birth
Death Marriage
Spouse
Marriage
Spouse
Marriage
Spouse
Marriage
Spouse
Marriage
Spouse
Father
Mother
Sibling/s
Children
5 October 1763
23 June 1836 (didn’t marry)
Mary Allen
(didn’t marry)
Anne Case
(didn’t marry)
Mary Kirk
26 February 1811 Sarah Mason
19 February 1833
Mary Ann Day Charlotte Allen(mother; Mary Allen)
Amelia Case (mother; Anne Case)
Charlotte M Kirk/Meredith (mother; Mary Kirk) Frederick Meredith (mother; Sarah Mason)
Sophia Meredith (mother; Sarah Mason)
Elizabeth Meredith (mother; Sarah Mason)
William Meredith (mother; Sarah Mason)
Ann Meredith (mother; Sarah Mason)
Eleanor Caroline Meredith (mother; Sarah Mason)
Dinham, Ludlow, Shropshire, England
Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Liverpool, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Frederick Meredith was born on the 5th of October 1763. It is thought that he was born in Dinham, Ludlow, Shropshire, England. It is unclear where exactly Frederick was born, with people speculating that he may have been born in Denham, Buckinghamshire, London, England which is just South East of Harefield, home to many bakers, which Frederick later became (see Frederick Meredith by David Swinfield).
Many of his descendants are currently using DNA research to try and narrow down an area of the UK he and his ancestors are from. If you are one of Frederick’s descendants and would like to know more you can get in touch with Paul Gallagher at the Frederick Meredith Descendants Group (FMDG).
Not much is known of Frederick’s early life in England.
On the 13th of May 1787 Frederick left from Portsmouth, England on board the “Scarborough” as part of the First Fleet. There were 208 male convicts onboard. Frederick came free as steward to Captain John Marshall.
The Scarborough by marine artist Frank Allen
The “Scarborough” was a ship of 430 tons built at Scarborough in 1782. She was 111 feet (34m) long and 30 feet (9m) wide. The prison deck was very small and cramped. The height of the space was only 53 inches (135cm). The ship had a contract with the British Government to carry convicts. The owners were paid at a rate of 10 shillings per ton per month. They had to agree to keep the prisoners secure and in safe custody. After transporting the convicts to New South Wales, the “Scarborough” was under contract to work for the East India Company. The “Scarborough” sailed back to England and returned to Port Jackson in the Second fleet. Apart from the ‘Sirius’ and ‘Supply’, she was the only other ship from the first fleet to return.
The First Fleet consisted of 11 ships which sailed from Great Britain on the 13th of May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts (192 women & 586 men), to establish the first European colony in Australia. The fleet was led by Captain Arthur Phillip.
The ships arrived at Botany Bay between 18 & 22 January 1788. HMS Supply arrived on the 18th of January. The “Alexander”, “Scarborough” & “Friendship” on the 21st of January. The remaining ships, “Charlotte”, “Lady Penrhyn”, “Prince of Wales”, “Borrowdale”, “Fishburn”, “Golden Grove” & “Sirius” on the 22nd of January.
So on the 21st of January 1788, aged 24 years, Frederick arrived in Botany Bay, Sydney, with 201 male convicts, 30 crew and 50 marines surviving the 251 day voyage aboard the “Scarborough”. They sailed into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) on the 26th of January. The new site had everything the first settlers needed; deep water close to the shore, shelter and fresh water. Phillip named the site Sydney Cove, after Lord Sydney the British Home Secretary. Today this date is still celebrated as Australia Day, marking the beginnings of European settlement.
This was one of the world’s greatest sea voyages — eleven vessels carrying about 1,487 people and stores had travelled for 252 days for more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km) without losing a ship. Forty-eight people had died on the journey, a death rate of just over three per cent. Given the rigours of the voyage, the navigational problems, the poor condition and sea-faring inexperience of the convicts, the primitive medical knowledge, the lack of precautions against scurvy, the crammed and foul conditions of the ships, poor planning and inadequate equipment, this was a remarkable achievement.
On the 22nd of February 1788 Frederick was charged with exchanging goods with convict James Stow. Frederick had given the convict beef and bread as well as rum in exchange for a ‘curious beast’ a possum. Such exchanges were against government orders, and although Meredith had his master’s
permission, he was sentenced to receive 100 lashes, on his bare back, with a cat of nine tails, in the middle of the convict’s camp. Governor Phillip reduced the sentence to 50 lashes in response, said surgeon Arthur Bowes Smyth, to appeals from ‘several gentlemen’ who respected Meredith and who believed the punishment too harsh for the crime. He was the fourth person to appear before the magistrate and received 50 lashes as punishment.
In 1788 Frederick was assigned to look after the vegetable patch on Garden Island in Sydney Harbour. While there Frederick, along with 2 other European Settlers, carved his initials FM along with the year 1788 in a rock.
The other initials are believed to belong to marine private Joseph Redford of HMS Sirius and William Bradley, first lieutenant of HMS Sirius, who was a cartographer. Frederick was chosen because of his ability to both read and write and thus his ability to document the time spent there. All three men were crew members of HMS Sirius during the winter months of 1788 at a time when Sirius was anchored off Garden Island and the ship’s crew had planted a garden there to grow vegetables to help the reduction of scurvy.
Frederick’s initials carved in sandstone at Garden Island, Sydney Harbour in 1788. Possibly the oldest marks extant of European settlement in Australia.
Frederick was on the “HMS Sirius” when it sailed from Sydney in October 1788 for the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa in search of food for the starving colony. They returned to Sydney in May 1789.
On the 9th of May 1790 a daughter was born to Mary Allen. She was named Charlotte.
In Sydney he was given the care of 25 sheep and lambs, the property of commissary John Palmer. In August, Frederick and Mary gave evidence before the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction in the trial of Hugh Low, charged with stealing one of the lambs. Low was sentenced to death and executed the next day. Judge-Advocate David Collins noted that no leniency could be extended because ‘the preservation of our stock was an object of so much consequence to the colony’.
After being back in Sydney for 1 month he then departed aboard the Dutch merchant ship “Waakzaamheid” (alternate spelling “Waaksamheyd”) bound for England, with 125 men on board. He was hired to sail to Batavia to collect supplies and then on to England for Captain John Hunter to face court-martial, for the loss of HMS Sirius, in which he was eventually honourably acquitted.
On the 22nd of April 1792, Frederick arrived in Portsmouth, England aboard the “Waakzaamheid”. Owing to her bad sailing, contrary winds, and calms, the voyage to Batavia had lasted for 26 weeks (onboard they only had provisions for 16 weeks). While attempting to get provisions at Mindanao, the party had a serious affray with the Malays, fortunately without sustaining any loss.
Unknown to him, back in Sydney his daughter Charlotte had died in May 1792 and the child’s mother Mary Allen was living with another convict, Edward Pales.
Frederick departed Gravesend in Kent, England on the 8th of August 1792 aboard the “Bellona”. After a 163 day voyage the “Bellona” arrived in Sydney Harbour on the 16th of January 1793.
The ship was carrying 17 female convicts, including Ann Case whom he had impregnated during the voyage and Sarah Mason who was to become his future wife and mother to 6 of his children. His daughter, Amelia Meredith, born to Ann Case, was born on the 10th of May 1793. The affair with Ann was brief and by the time Amelia died, on the 27th of February 1794, Frederick had formed a liaison with Mary Kirk, who was transported on the “Royal Admiral” in 1792.
On the 28th of May 1793 Frederick was granted 60 acres of land at Liberty Plains (now Strathfield) which he named “Charlotte Farm”. He later sold this property to Thomas Rose, as it was unsuitable for farming.
The earliest use of the name Liberty Plains is found in the description of grants of land to Thomas Rose, Frederick Meredith, Thomas Webb and Edward Powell on 28 May 1793. They had arrived as passengers on the “Bellona” in January of the same year. With the help of families and servants, they cleared the land and grew wheat and corn. However, the fertility of the ground was exhausted within four to five years, so that their families were dependent on government rations.
Clearing the land was slow. Samuel Crane was killed in 1794 by a falling tree when felling timber on his 25 acres at Concord. His farm was advertised for sale as having ‘a comfortable hut, four acres planted to corn and half an acre to potatoes’.
The grant can be seen to the south of the railway line, between Strathfield and Homebush stations. Meredith Street, Homebush, runs down to one corner of the grant.
Meredith St, Homebush
Frederick St, Bankstown
Meredith St, Bankstown
On the 26th of April 1794, Frederick fathered another child, this time to Mary Kirk. The daughter was named Charlotte. Charlotte and a man named William Stewart had 3 children; Jane Rebecca, Robert, and John, born in 1812, 1816, and 1818. Charlotte then married James Charles Farrell in 1825. Their children were James Lawrence (1825), Mary Elizabeth (1828), Charlotte Rosina (1831), Charles Frederick (1833), and William Thomas (1835). She died in 1852 in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, aged 58.
On the 11th of November 1794 Frederick received his 2nd land grant, 60 acres at Concord which he named “Charlotte Field”. He later sold this property in 1798 to John Colethread/Coulthread for 87 pounds, as it too was unsuitable for farming.
On the 17th of March 1801, Frederick’s partner Sarah Mason gave birth to a boy, Frederick Meredith Junior. Frederick and Sarah would have 6 children in total; Frederick, born 1801, Sophia, born 1803, Elizabeth, born 1805, William, born 1807, Ann, Born 1811, and Eleanor Caroline, born in 1813. Frederick and Sarah would later marry in 1811.
In September 1800 he was subscribed to the rules and orders of the Sydney Loyal Association (an armed body which was formed to guard against the possibility of an insurrection by seditious Irish convicts). Governor Hunter set up the Sydney Loyal Association in 1800, following reports of rebellion by Irish convicts. Frederick volunteered as an armed policeman & was involved in the Vinegar Hill uprising.
On 4 March 1804, 233 convicts led by Phillip Cunningham, escaped from a farm, intent on capturing ships to sail to Ireland. In response, martial law was quickly declared in New South Wales. The mostly Irish rebels, having gathered reinforcements, were hunted by the colonial forces until they were sequestered on 5 March 1804 on a hillock nicknamed Vinegar Hill. Under a flag of truce, Cunningham was arrested and troops charged and the rebellion was swiftly crushed by raid. Of the nearly 300 rebels directly engaged in the battle, 15 were killed, nine executed, seven whipped with 200 or 500 lashes then allotted to the Coal River chain gang, 26 sent to the Newcastle coal mines, others put on good behaviour orders against a trip to Norfolk Island, and most pardoned as having been coerced into the rising. Cunningham was court martialled under the Martial Law and hanged at the Commissariat Store at Windsor. It was the first and only convict uprising in Australian history.
In March 1809 Frederick had resumed his trade as a baker. He had a bakehouse in Chapel Row (now Castlereagh St, Sydney).
On the map it may be seen to be bounded by Moxon Rd, Canterbury Rd, Punchbowl Rd, Ross St, Cullens Rd, and Wiggs Rd.
Frederick was awarded a 3rd Land Grant of 120 acres by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in the Botany Bay district Salt Pan Creek (now Punchbowl) on the 1st of January 1810. It was called “Meredith’s Farm” and was bounded on the southern side by a line of ponds, which provided the property with water. This grant was awarded for aiding a neighbour in an affray with the aborigines.
New farms bordered the pathways to the Georges River, Kogarah Bay and Salt Pan Creek, and when William Bond and Frederick tried to occupy their land between Cox’s Creek and Salt Pan Creek, they had to battle a possession dispute with Aboriginal leader Tedbury and his group, the Gwea Gal tribe. During this clash, a spear went close enough to graze Frederick’s ear. Frederick and the other settlers retreated, only to return when the aborigines had moved on.
In 1811 Governor Lachlan Macquarie formed a regular police force and Frederick was among those appointed as constable. He eventually became the first Chief Constable at Liverpool NSW Australia.
He married Sarah Mason on the 26th of February 1811 at the St Phillip’s Church of England in Sydney.
St Phillip’s Church 1798-1856, was on part of the site now covered by Lang Park, which is bounded by York, Grosvenor and Lang Streets, Sydney NSW Australia. The church had a 150-foot high, round clock tower. It was made from poor materials and gained a reputation as “the ugliest church in Christendom”. The church was named in honour of the colony’s first Governor, Arthur Phillip.
On the 23rd of May 1822, he was appointed constable at Liverpool. On the 11th of March 1823, Frederick was nominated to act as Chief Constable at Liverpool.
In 1828, when the first post office was opened at Liverpool, Frederick acted as the first postmaster until Donald MacLeod took up his appointed position.
Frederick remained Chief Constable at Liverpool up until at least 1833.
In 1831, aged 68, a 4th Land Grant was awarded to Frederick of 60 acres at Liverpool Rd, Bankstown (now the Hume Highway). Although promised earlier (by Governor Macquarie) the grant was not made legal until signed by Governor Darling. The farm was named “Gunsborough”.
The position of the grant is clearly marked by the line of present day Meredith St which runs from North to South through the full length of the farm. To the West lay Frederick Meredith Junior’s grant – called “Merefield”.
St Luke’s Anglican Church, Liverpool; built in 1815, it is the oldest Anglican Church in Australia.
On the 19th of February 1833, aged 69, Frederick married Mary Ann Day at St Luke’s, Liverpool.
Frederick died on the 23rd of June 1836 at his residence “Gunsborough” Liverpool Rd, Bankstown aged 72 years.
7 July 1836, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, page 3
He is buried alongside Sarah Mason at Liverpool Pioneers Memorial Park.
In 2013 they met at Garden Island, where Frederick’s initials are carved, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of his youngest child Eleanor Caroline Meredith.
Eighteen years ago Class 9 /1951 from the Penrith Police College held the final get together with my father Keith Holstein as he was too sick to travel to a reunion. The group changed their plans and visited dad at home. He passed away 18 years ago today. Sadly missed.
Keith HOLSTEIN: Class 9 /1951 from the Penrith College held the final get together with my father Keith Holstein as he was too sick to travel to a reunion. The group changed their plans and visited dad at home.
( L-R at rear ) ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, Eric MAURER # 7134
Class 9 – Penrith Police College. It is possible that the Class number is wrong and further details are needed to verify the actual Class number. This photo DOES contain Keith HOLSTEIN, NSWPF # 7130, It is most probably taken around October / November 1951 at Penrith BUT the Class number is wrong. ( 2025 )
Gloucester Advocate (NSW : 1905 – 1954),
Tuesday 10 December 1940, page 2
SCHOOL CONCERT
Successful Entertainment.
The ever popular School Concert in connection with the ‘break-up’ of the Gloucester District Rural School, held in the Star Theatre on Thursday night, brought a crowded house. My attention was as much upon children in the audience as those upon the stage, for their interest in every word and movement was so in tense as to be a drama in itself — and the pride of the parents was equally manifest. All classes from the smallest to the highest contributed to the programme, and each gave a splendid account of itself. The little playettes, pantomimes, singing and intricate dances were delightful to watch. Their training was wonderful. No child forgot his or her part, and everything ran along smoothly— a tribute to the children and to the patient training given by their teachers.
Percussion Band : Conductor was Julie Williams, players from the Infants ; Mrs. Pussy, Julie Williams was Mother Cat, Graham Ross the Mouse and children from 1st and 2nd class ; Verse Speaking, ‘The Table and the Chair’ by 3rd’ Class pupils; ‘The Cat and the Parrott,’ the Parrott was Lynn Gray, the Cat was Dick Channell, the Old Woman was Joan Fordham, the King was Gordon West, Queen, Belle Relf, the Soldiers were Edward Patmore, Geoff. Holden and the Elephants were arranged and acted by Roger Dombkins and Keith Holstein. The Donkey was Patsy Morris and the ‘Old Man’ was Les. Wilmen, the Land Crabs were Namoi Franks and Lola Jacobs and the narrator was Julie Williams.
Cantata. — Queen, Jan McLeod ; Captain Soot, Colin Gray ; Dr. Sun light, Lynn Gray ; Baron Hairbrush, Jim Walden ; Lord Bootlace, Di^k Channel ; Lady Soapsuds, Iris Hoy; Secretary, Ron Chapman ; Wag, Ross Campbell, and the Fairies and Black Brigade were from the Lower Primary Classes.
Choir, from Senior Pupils, ‘Here’s a Health unto His Majesty,’ ‘Hearts of Oak.’
Folk Dances : Super Primary Girls.
The Russian Play entitled, ‘Bal bushka,’ was produced by 4th class pupils ; Babushka, Jean Nichols ; Motheiy June Nichols.
‘The School at ‘Possum Flat,’ . produced by 5th class pupils : Tea cher, Pell Brorson ; Mayor, Noel Jory ; Mrs. Onions, Vida Ferguson; Mrs. Pumpkinskull, Nancy Wharton.
Verse Speaking : ‘Ballad of Dick Turpin,’ was rendered by 6th Class pupils and the ‘Extracts from the Revenge,’ and’ ‘For England,’ were rendered by 7th Class pupils.
The Choir, consisting of Senior pupils rendered, ‘Xmas Carols’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory.’ The pupils were prepared by Mrs.) Nash, Miss Moses, Miss Henderson,) Mr. Wilmot and Mr. Ward. Mrs. Nash officiated at the piano.
Messrs. Shepherd and Shiels gave assistance as doorkeepers, and Miss Bessie Shepherd and Mrs. Eric Morris officiated1 in the ticket office.
The children’s sporting events at the Carnival were in the capable hands of Messrs. McGown, Punton, Critchley, Wilmot and Thompson. It was disappointing that more of the district teachers did not come along and assist in the big job that these teachers had to carry out.
However the children enjoyed themselves’ thoroughly and were quite satisfied with their races and games.
The outstanding events were the tug-o-war and the ball games, which caused much excitement during the running of them.
Every team had its following of barracker’s and the contests were closely fought out in every case.
To cap all the fun, there was the apple race, which was enthusiastically contested by many boys, who were rather well washed by the time the event had been decided — many were given a whole bath on reaching the tub first.
Each child received 6d for 1st and 3d for second place, and 6d for each member of the 1st teams and 3d for each member of the 2nd teams.
Following were the results: —
Races. —
Boys under 8, Don Searle 1, Eric Latimore 2 ;
Girls under 8, Fay Baker 1, June Woodger 2 ;
Boys under 9, Keith Holstein 1, Eric Latimore 2 ;
Girls under 9, Jan McLeod 1 ;
Boys under 10, ? 1, M. Ferguson 2 ;
Girls under 10, Joan Jory 1 ;
Boys under 11, B. Jory 1;
Girls under 11 ? 1, M. Hebble-White 2 ;
Boys under 12, Barry Drewe 1, Ivan Morris 2 ;
Girls under 12, Jean Lowe 1, Kath Saxby 2 ;
Boys under 13, G. Dean 1, A. Woollard 2 ;
Girls under 13, Heather West 1, V. Slade 2 ;
Boys under 14, John Testorelli 1, M. Smitn 2 ;
Boys over 14, Jim Landers 1, Gordon Cameron 2 ;
Egg and Spoon Rain, Flora Farley 1, June Williams 2 ;
Thread the Needle Race, Heather West 1, Vida Ferguson 2 ;
Sack Race Rex. Beattie and Barry Jory a tie.
Ball Games (Girls) : Tunnel Ball. M. Lovett’s team 1, H. West’s team 2 ;
Overhead Ball, H. West’s team 1, G. Hebblewhite’s team 2 ; Captain, M. Lovett’s team 1, H. Latimore’s team 2.
(Boys) : Tunnel Ball, K. Pile’s team 1, F. Eade’s team 2 ;
Overhead ball, F. Eade’s team 1, P. Brorson’s team 2 ; Captain, F. Eade’s team 1, P. Brorson’s team 2.
Tug-o-War : P. Brorson’s team 1, K. Pile’s team 2.
Note. — Some names are missing in the foot-racing results).
A youth and a man are in Albury Hospital as a result of being involved in minor accidents.
Keith Holstein, 17, single, of Bethanga, suffered injuries to both shoulders and the right elbow when he fell from a horse. His condition was stated to be satisfactory.
Joseph Matyga, 33, migrant, of 4COD, Albury, sustained multiple abrasions when he fell off a motor cycle.
At the Bathurst, Court yesterday, Mr. Dash. SM., fined Gordon Henry Barnes, of 34 Morisset Street, £5 with 9/- costs, for negligent driving after dismissing a first charge of driving under the influence.
The charges arose from a collision on the afternoon of Tuesday November 4, between defendant’s car travelling along George Street and another parked at the kerb owned by Bruce Rogerson, an announcer of 2BS, Bathurst.
Barnes, a 24-year-old vendor and truck driver, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence.
M. C. L. Weaver, of Bathurst, appeared for Barnes and Sgt. W. Boyd was the Police Prosecutor. Dismissing the charge of driving under the influence. Mr. Dash said there was no evidence by the prosecution as to the condition of the defendant at the time if the accident.
On the evidence of the prosecution, I could not be satisfied that the defendant was under the influence of liquor at the time of the accident he added. he added .
Mr. Weaver has entered a plea of guilty to negligent driving.
Sgt. Boyd said from the witness box that about ?pm on November 4 last, he walked to George Street Bathurst with Sgt Beach and saw Constable Holstein standing near a damaged car. He then went to Howick Street where he saw a cream sedan, also damaged. He then went to 34 Morisset Street and spoke to defendants wife.
The defendant came out of the house dressed in pyjama trousers and white shirt, dressing gown socks and slippers. Sgt. Beach told defendant he was making inquiries about an accident in George Street that afternoon. Defendant said he was in bed at 2.30 that day.
When defendant came onto the verandah, the Sgt. said, he was unsteady on his feet and leaned against the wall of the house.
I said to defendant, ‘you have been drinking to-day and you are under the influence of intoxicating liquor.’ Sgt. Boyd said. Defendant said he did not drink often and had not had anything to drink that day. He admitted having had two or three beers at Kelso that morning when he was finished the ice run.
When questioned further regarding the cream sedan, belonging to his brother, defendant said he had parked it in front of Bedwells. Sgt. Beach told him it was now parked on the opposite side of the road and damaged. ‘Defendant said ‘ someone else must have driven it.’
‘Defendant was very pale and leaning against the wall. ‘I said, ‘walk across here’. ‘He commenced to walk, turned yellow in the face, and became sick.’
Defendant explained at the time that he always ‘got sick’ when he ha 2 or 3 beers.
Defendant was taken to the police station and charged.
He still claimed at the station that he had been in bed since 2.30. He declined to be examined by a doctor, the Sgt. added.
To Mr. Weaver, Sgt. Boyd said the other vehicle damaged belonged to Bruce Rogerson. It was parked outside 2BS studio in George Street.
The front bumper bar was bent forward, at right angles to the car.
Sgt. Beach, gave corroborative evidence of his enquiries in the company of Sgt. Boyd and Constable Holstein, and the arrest of Barnes.
To Mr. Weaver, Sgt. Beach said Sgt. Boyd made an examination of Rogerson’s car and spoke to Constable Holstein while he remained in a police vehicle on the opposite side of the road. Sgt. Boyd returned to the police car, told him something and they walked to Howick Street, where the sedan was parked.
Sgt. Beach said defendant’s condition at the time of the arrest was ‘consistent with him having taken liquor very recently.’
Constable Keith Holstein, also gave corroborative evidence.
Bruce Rogerson, 2BS announcer & salesman, of 264 Rankin Street’ said on Tuesday, November 4, he parked his car in George Street. He went in to the studios of 2BS and was there only a short while. He was told something and went downstairs to the car. The car had been damaged. He saw the defendant inspecting the damage. When asked whether he caused the damage, Barnes had said ‘yes’. ‘Barnes got cranky about it and denied damaging the grill of my car Rogerson said. Rogerson added that he suggested calling the police.
Defendant then left, promising to return, witness said.
To Mr. Weaver. Rogerson said he did not ring the police but someone did so at his request. He stayed with the car until the constable arrived.
The accident occurred between 4.30 and 4.45 pm.
To Mr. Dash, Rogerson said he could not say how close to the kerb he parked before the accident. He would not say the front of his vehicle protruded beyond the fronts of the other vehicles parked in George Street.
At that stage Mr. Weaver announced that he was prepared to admit defendant was the driver of the car involved in the accident. He submitted that there was no evidence to show that defendant was under the influence of liquor at the time of the accident. There was no evidence however that defendant was under the influence of liquor at 6.20, the time of the charge.
Mr. Dash subsequently dismissed the charge.
PLEADED GUILTY
On the second charge of negligent driving, Mr. Weaver entered a plea of guilty on behalf of Barnes. Evidence of damage to the vehicles was given by Constable Holstein.
To Mr. Weaver the constable said the damage to Rogersons car was consistent with being scraped by a passing car. From enquiries made he ascertained that Barnes was the driver of that other car.
Mr. Weaver submitted that defendant was careless to the extent that he did not notice Rogersons car was protruding beyond the line of the other cars.
Mr. Dash asked Mr. Weaver why defendant told lies to the police regarding the time he went to bed.
Mr. Weaver explained that defendant, a young man, had only held a license since August. He was driving his brothers car and damaged it. He was afraid police investigation would lead to the loss of his license and job, Mr. Weaver added.
A 24-year-old married man was found dead in a bedroom of his home at 9 Moresby Way, Bathurst, last night. He was Norman Murray, who was employed by Mr. A. E. Conroy as a lorry driver.
Shortly before 10 o’clock, Murray’s wife and her sister, 14-years-old Lorna George, were preparing to retire in another bedroom of the home when they heard a shot. They rushed into the second bedroom where they found Murray’s body slumped across a bed.
A .22 repeating rifle was beside him.
A neighbor, Raymond Barrymore Hutchins, notified Bathurst police.
Constables K. Holstein and K. Franklin rushed to the house, where they were later joined by Sergeant F. Murray, who took charge of inquiries.
Bathurst doctors and Bathurst Ambulance went to the house, but death had been almost instantaneous. He had been shot through the right temple. Police later found a slug in the room. A small purse containing live bullets was also found. Police said that Murray did not own the rifle; but had borrowed it to go shooting next week-end.
On October 4 a Bathurst jury had awarded £223/12/5 damages against Murray in the District Court following a claim made against him by a Perthville woman.
Murray had been the driver of a lorry involved in a collision with the woman’s car on the Perthville Road on August 20, 1952. She claimed damages as a result of the collision.
Murray is survived by his wife and two children, aged five years and nine months.
Police said last night there were no suspicious circumstances and that a post-mortem would not be conducted. The Deputy Coroner (Mr. O. G. Parnham) will view the body this morning.
A New Australian, Josef Quitter, ( 41) of Russell Street. Bathurst, was fined £5 for driving a vehicle while under the influence of liquor, at Kelso an October 5. On a second charge of indecent behaviour, Quitter was fined £3.
Sgt R. Beach said at about 2.30pm on October 5. 1954, he was on duty at Kelso with Constable Keith Holstein.
He saw defendant commence to drive a utility from in front of a store at Kelso. He drove for about 4 feet and then stopped. On three occasions he drove the vehicle forward for a distance of about 40 feet. He go out of the car, continued witness, and staggered to a private fence on and behaved indecently. Asked why he did this, defendant replied, ” I do no harm, nobody see me. ”
Defendants breath smelt of intoxicating liquor, and he stated he had had a drink at the Kelso hotel about 20 minutes before.
He said he had one drink at Bathurst earlier.
Defendant had a cigarette in his mouth and it appeared that the lighted portion was inside his mouth. He appeared to be more than moderately under the influence, and he had appeared to have consumed more liquid than what he said he had.
When defendant behaved indecently, there was a man and a woman only about 40 feet away, added witness.
In reply to Mr. Braham ( for Quitter ), Sgt. Beach said defendants Wife was standing away from the car and it appeared that they had a difference.
Mr. Braham said that on the day of the offence Quitter had had an argument with his wife and only a few minutes before his arrest, defendant’s wife had slapped his face. Defendant, at this time, was highly excited but did not intend to drive his vehicle. He knew he had had too much to drink.
Mr. Braham added that defendant, on the day of the alleged offence had been trying to make up with his wife and just before his arrest had an argument with her and as a result he was highly excited. This made him do things he would not normally do, Added Mr. Braham.
Mr. Dash, SM. said that even though he took this fact into consideration, he must convict defendant. He fined Quitter £5 with 12′- court costs.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 – 2001),
Friday 21 June 1968 (No.76), page 2537
Department of Mines, Sydney, 21st June, 1968.
APPOINTMENT
HIS Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, and in pursuance of the provisions of section 6, Mining Act, 1906, as amended, has approved of the appointment of Sgt 3rd Class Keith Stanley Holstein, Officer-in-Charge of Police, Nundle, as Warden’s Clerk, Mining Registrar and Officer authorized to issue Miner’s Rights and Business Licenses at that place, such appointment to take effect on and from 12th February, 1968, vice Senior Constable Victor John Feltis. (Ms 68-3984).
SERGEANT KEITH BEAN – KISSING HIS DAUGHTER – MELINDA.
James Keith Swanton BEAN aka Keith, Duke Husband to Mary SCHNEIDER OAM ( for 35 years ) and Father to Melinda SCHNEIDER ( Country singer )
KEITH is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
Finding Melinda Schneider
…….
So just how is Melinda planning on touring with a 16 month-old and remaining sane? “I don’t know yet!” she exclaims. “We will probably just go out for weekends or for a few days at a time. Mark will come out with me and help out. It’s not going to be easy and I’m sure it will have its challenges. However Sully [Sullivan] loves new adventures, they [children] need such stimulation anyway. I’ll just take one day at a time.”
Listening to Melinda chatting about going on tour with her family reminded me that her own upbringing was not dissimilar. Melinda is the only child of yodelling great, Mary Schneider, and her policeman father, Keith Bean, was also from a musical family. Melinda spent many a night backstage whilst her mother performed, sometimes sleeping in her mother’s fur coat. I touch on this subject with Melinda and ask if having famous parents will impact the way she raises her son.
“It was interesting writing this show – when you have a child you look at your own upbringing – as much as your parents did the best they could you don’t want to make some of the same mistakes they made. It takes you a while to figure out who you are with famous parents. I recall Chaz Bono [offspring of Sonny and Cher Bono] saying that it’s difficult to know where you belong when your parents are famous. It’s not a normal family situation – the attention is on the parents the whole time rather than the children. I talk about that in the show.
“With Sully I want to keep a good balance of making sure he is number one focus and it’s not all about me – I want him to have a good sense of self. Growing up, my mum had taught me dancing, juggling, yodelling … and I didn’t really have a great interest in it myself. I want to see who he is – what’s in his heart. I’m fascinated to know who he is.”
Continuing on the subject, Melinda adds, “When I was three I recorded on Mum’s albums, I had a show by age of eight. People would come up to me after the show and say ‘You’re not as good as your mother’. That used to really upset me – no one wants to hear that. Growing up I was quite confused about what I wanted to do musically and what was my truth. I just didn’t know who I was.”
Most people don’t realise that Melinda didn’t become a recording artist in her own right until her late 20’s. In fact, Melinda left school young and went and studied fashion. She remembers, “I had my own fashion label working out of Mum and Dad’s garage – I made stage costumes and all sorts for loads of people. Mum’s grandma was an amazing seamstress – perhaps that is where I got the talent from. It was funny, during my early 20s I would be in the garage running the business and always singing at top of my lungs to Top 40 hits and Michael Bolton songs. Mum used to come in and ask ‘Are you sure you don’t want to be a singer?!’ I think I was denying myself. Then I realised, deep down, I really did want to be a singer.”
DAVE’S DIARY – 23/1/13 – PREVIEW OF EPISODE 7 – SERIES 19
Elizabeth collaborated with former Nu Country TV host and recording stage star Melinda Schneider, now 40, to write the title track of her fourth album Balls.
They both recorded their co-writes Some Times It Takes Balls To Be A Woman and Rest Your Weary Mind on recent albums.
Elizabeth and Melinda co-wrote more than a dozen songs including I Like Men in Trucks on Melinda’s fourth album Stronger.
Melinda also wrote songs about late father – Sgt Keith Bean – a policeman.
Keith and Tom didn’t meet at a still but Melinda’s mum – famed yodeller Mary Schneider – sang with Tom and Joyce backstage at the Grand Ole Opry during one of Cook’s many dates there.
“I used to sing The Black Hills Of Dakota with my mum (yodelling icon Mary) and my Aunt Rita when I was a little girl,” Melinda revealed as she romped through one of many songs from 1953 movie Calamity Jane and its successors.
“We’d do the three-part harmony at family get-togethers.”
She accentuated the family flavour with a shout out to her duet partner at ground zero who responded with a yodel – her unique GPS beacon.
“I could never lose mum in the dark,” she joked.
Melinda also tickled the family tree when she revealed how her late sire – Sgt Keith Bean – greeted her decision to revert to her mama’s name after cruel Kogarah schoolyard taunts ranging from “string been to les been.”
Melinda Schneider long ago mastered cross genre pollination with music and dance.
But she made a huge leap to the mainstream with her writing, narrating and performing in this energised Doris Day tribute show.
And the dynamic diva also disproved the adage about dangers of working with animals.
Schneider’s rapport with her teenage Labrador-Kelpie crosses Rosie and Daisy was also a stroke of magic.
They were all ears and eyes when she serenaded them on the stage front couch with Your Eyes Don’t Lie.
It was fitting that she returned to the scene of the rhyme – Mike Walsh’s Melbourne mecca Her Majesty’s – to premiere her show.
Seven years ago in the Yarra city the seeds for the show were sown when the singer was a guest artist on a Doris tribute concert.
So it was no surprise there was a capacity crowd for the premiere of a fast paced trip through the back pages of the octogenarian Hollywood legend.
When Schneider bumped Canadian balladeer Michael Buble from ARIA chart tops with her 12-song disc Melinda Does Doris she was thawing out that metaphorical iceberg.
This time, in collaboration with co-writer David Mitchell, Melinda tapped a deep well.
“I used to sing The Black Hills Of Dakota with my mum (yodelling icon Mary) and my Aunt Rita when I was a little girl,” Melinda revealed as she romped through one of many songs from 1953 movie Calamity Jane and its successors.
“We’d do the three-part harmony at family get-togethers.”
She accentuated the family flavour with a shout out to her duet partner at ground zero who responded with a yodel – her unique GPS beacon.
“I could never lose mum in the dark,” she joked.
Melinda also tickled the family tree when she revealed how her late sire – Sgt Keith Bean – greeted her decision to revert to her mama’s name after cruel Kogarah schoolyard taunts ranging from “string been to les been.”
“Dad said I was now a has-been,” she joked.
This was a winner with the ageing audience, daubed with dowagers and duchesses from the demographic that 3AW and Magic leg-ropes to the wireless.
Despite the acrid aroma of mothballs from stoles and furs liberated from suburban closets (not those that once housed much younger opening night au pair boys) the wearers knew most of 26 songs from a Golden era when lyrics reigned supreme.
Just like roots country – the genre banished from commercial radio here.
Not for these Day devotees grunge or techno trash that energises ecstasy bunnies down on King, Queen and William Streets.
This was a gramophone-generated posse waltzing down memory lane to the refined refrains of his or her majesty’s voice.
You know the songs – Everybody Loves A Lover, Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps, Sentimental Journey, I’ll See You In My Dreams, Secret Love and Teacher’s Pet before the latter two became a trigger for the Victorian court name suppression industry.
Schneider, enhanced by her 14-piece orchestra, also revived romance in Love Somebody, Put Em In A Box, The Deadwood Stage and It’s Magic.
“possible” relation in “the job”: A.R. WHITTAKER, NSWPF # 8649
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 18588
Joined NSW Police Force via NSW Police Cadet system on 1 February 1977
Cadet # 3334
Rank: NSW Police Cadet – commenced 1 February 1977 ( aged 16 years, 9 months, 16 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 17 April 1979 ( 19 years, 0 months, 1 day )
Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( YES )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st class – appointed 16 April 1984
Senior Constable – appointed 16 April 1988
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 27 September 1991
Final Rank: Detective Sergeant – Death
Stations: ?, Gosford Drug Unit ( Brisbane Waters LAC ) – Death
Service: From 1 February 1977 to 28 September 1991 = 14 years, 7 months, 27 Service
Time in Retirement: 0
Age at Retirement: n/a
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: Saturday 16 April 1960
Died on: Saturday 28 September 1991 @ Royal North Shore Hospital, NSW
Cause: Cerebral Haemorrhage
Age: 31 years, 5 months, 12 days
Funeral date: ? October 1991
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: CREMATED:
Ashes Interred in the Palmdale Lawn Cemetery & Memorial Park, Palmdale Rd, Palmdale, NSW
Rose Garden, 26A, Site 58
Memorial Plaque: Point Frederick Pioneer Park, 1 Albany St, Pt Frederick, NSW
-33.449594151.341945
Memorial Plaque location: [codepeople-post-map]
RICHARD WHITTAKER
Touch plate for Richard Charles WHITTAKER at the National Police Wall of Remembrance
DICKIS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Memorial plaque: This plaque was laid in memory of RICHARD CHARLES WHITTAKER, a Detective Sgt of Police attached to the Gosford Drug Unit, who died of a work related illness on the 28th of September, 1991, whilst in the service of the people of New South Wales & the Central Coast area. Richard was born in the Point Frederick area and spent many of his childhood days in this park. Dedicated by his family & many friends on the 16. 4. 1992.
Richard Charles WHITTAKER – Memorial Plaque – Pt Frederick, ( Central Coast ), NSW, as of April 2022. Credit: Kevin Banister.
Memorial Plaque – Pt Frederick, ( Central Coast ), NSW, as of April 2022. Credit: Kevin Banister.
Richard Charles WHITTAKER – Grave location. Palmdale Cemetery, Palmdale, NSW
Richard Charles WHITTAKER – Grave location. Palmdale Cemetery, Palmdale, NSW
Before his death Detective Sergeant Whittaker and other Police had been involved in a major drug investigation which had resulted in the arrest of eighteen offenders. Corruption allegations were made by a number of the offenders resulting in a Police Internal Security Unit investigation.
During the protracted internal investigation the Sergeant was under enormous pressure and as a result suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.
He passed away at the Royal North Shore Hospital on 28 September 1991.
He was posthumously cleared of all allegations by Judge Allen at the Sydney District Court on 30 September 1991.
The Sergeant was born in 1960 and joined the New South Wales Police Service, via the NSW Police Cadet system on 1 February 1977 and was Attested, as a Probationary Constable on 17 April 1979.
At the time of his death he was attached to the Gosford Drug Unit.
‘Our boys haven’t been forgotten’: Policemen honoured in Brisbane Water row
September 15, 2015 3:16pm
Geraldine Cardozo Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate
(L-R) Sarah Matthews, Kylie Kerr and Tracey Holt remember their police officer partners at Gosford waterfront. Brisbane Water LAC officers will be taking to the water in honour of the policemen.
When Sarah Matthews returned home after her shift at Gosford Hospital on the evening of April 13, 2002 and spotted a row of waiting police cars she thought the neighbours were having a noisy party.
“It never struck me what was coming next,” remembers the emergency nurse who was told the worst — her fiancée Senior-Constable Chris Thornton had been killed on duty hours earlier.
“It didn’t hit me. Even when I was told. I don’t think that’s something that ever leaves you.”
This week Miss Matthews, Kylie Kerr and Tracey Holt will get together to remember their partners, Sen-Constable Thornton, Sen-Constable Peter Gordon Wilson and Sergeant Richard Whittaker, who all died on duty while with the Brisbane Water Local Area Command.
(L-R) Brisbane Water Inspector Paul Nicholls, Tracey Holt, Brisbane Water Commander Daniel Sullivan, Sarah Matthews and Kylie Kerr at Gosford Waterfront ahead of the NSW Police Legacy row. Picture: Mark Scott
On Thursday officers from Brisbane Water LAC will take part in a paddle to raise money for NSW Police Legacy to support the families of fallen officers.
“You never want to be a part of Legacy but now we are part of this unique group and without Legacy we wouldn’t have each other,” Miss Matthews said.
But for two of the women, the close bond was forged by their shared loss and haunting similarities in how their partners lost their lives.
Sen-Constable Thornton, 35, died in a motor vehicle accident while on patrol in Woy Woy in 2002, while Mrs Kerr’s long-term partner Sen-Constable Wilson, 41, was killed when he was hit by a car while carrying out speed checks on the M1 at Somersby in 2006.
Both men were based at Brisbane Water LAC, both died in car accidents on a Saturday night, and both had the same patrol car number — 202.
Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson with fiancée Kylie Kerr.
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
Senior Constable Chris Thornton was killed on duty during a high-speed pursuit at Woy Woy in 2002.
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
Mrs Holt, whose husband Sgt Whittaker was stationed at the Gosford drug unit and was involved in drug investigations at the time of his death when he died from a brain haemorrhage in 1991, said the annual paddle is a “beautiful day”. “It is amazing the effort Daniel Sullivan and the team put in to keep the memory going of old work mates and have a good time doing it,” she said.
Sergeant Richard Whittaker who died on duty with Brisbane Water Local Area Command in 1991. Picture: Supplied
SYDNEY: The stress of unfounded corruption allegations killed a policeman who suffered a stroke at the weekend, according to the Police Association.
The association’s president, Tony Day, said yesterday that Gosford-based Detective Senior Constable Richard Whittaker, who was promoted to detective sergeant last Friday, had been implicated in a bribery conspiracy by a drug dealer.
Yesterday, the dealer, an industrial chemist, was sentenced to a minimum of 11 years jail after pleading guilty to manufacturing and supplying amphetamines with a street value of more than $4 million.
Handing down the sentence in Darlinghurst Supreme Court, Justice Allen said John Oldfield, 52, of Winston Hills in Sydney’s west, had stated he had tried to bribe a police officer through a contact known as “M” in November, 1990.
After the alleged bribe attempt had failed, Oldfield had gone to the Police Internal Security division and made a detailed statement, implicating the officer. The judge said he was satisfied the detective knew nothing about the alleged bribe.
Mr. Day said the Police Internal Security division investigation into Oldfield’s allegations had been “dubious”.
“Every crim in NSW knows that if they want their case adjourned they just have to implicate the police, and there will have to be an investigation,” he said.
“Eighty per cent of corruption and bribery charges are disproved.”
Detective Whittaker, 31, was married with two-year-old twin daughters.
Mr Day said the Oldfield affair had played a major role in causing Detective Whittaker stress, resulting in his death.
The Brisbane Water LAC has tragically lost three staff members in the execution of their duty: Sergeant Dick Whittaker and Senior Constables Gordy Wilson and Chris Thornton. The 12 September is the annual sports charity day to remember these officers.
Paddling from Ocean Beach Surf Club to Bluetongue Stadium along the Brisbane Water on the NSW Central Coast (approximately 15km).
SYDNEY: The stress of unfounded corruption allegations killed a policeman who suffered a stroke at the weekend, according to the Police Association.
The association’s president, Tony Day, said yesterday that Gosford-based Detective Senior Constable Richard Whittaker, who was promoted to detective sergeant last Friday, had been implicated in a bribery conspiracy by a drug dealer.
Yesterday, the dealer, an industrial chemist, was sentenced to a minimum of 11 years jail after pleading guilty to manufacturing and supplying amphetamines with a street value of more than $4 million.
Handing down the sentence in Darlinghurst Supreme Court, Justice Allen said John Oldfield, 52, of Winston Hills in Sydney’s west, had stated he had tried to bribe a police officer through a contact known as “M” in November, 1990.
After the alleged bribe attempt had failed, Oldfield had gone to the Police Internal Security division and made a detailed statement, implicating the officer. The judge said he was satisfied the detective knew nothing about the alleged bribe.
Mr. Day said the Police Internal Security division investigation into Oldfield’s allegations had been “dubious”.
“Every crim in NSW knows that if they want their case adjourned they just have to implicate the police, and there will have to be an investigation,” he said.
“Eighty per cent of corruption and bribery charges are disproved.”
Detective Whittaker, 31, was married with two-year-old twin daughters.
Mr Day said the Oldfield affair had played a major role in causing Detective Whittaker stress, resulting in his death.
Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 2 May 2005? with Class # ???
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Stations: Wollongong – Death
Service: From ? 2005 to 20 April 2008 = 3 years Service
Awards: ?
Born: Wednesday 26 May 1976
Died on: Sunday 20 April 2008
Cause: Injuries received in a motor vehicle accident – Off Duty
Event location: Picton Rd, Cataract Dam
Age: 31 years, 10 months, 25 days
Funeral date: Tuesday 29 April 2008
Funeral location: St Agatha’s Church, Pennant Hills, at 11am on Tuesday
Buried at: North Rocks Cemetery, North Rocks Rd, North Rocks, NSW ( with her Mother – Ann )
Grave location: Sect. B, Row 8, Grave 2
GPS -33.768712, 151.040709
Engaged just two days … Elise Krejci.
ELISE is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
Grave location: [codepeople-post-map]
Herald Sun 22 April 2008
Elise couldn’t wait to tell her news to police mates
WITH a new engagement ring worn proudly on her finger, Elise Krejci could not wait to return to work to share the news with her police colleagues.
After accepting a romantic Gold Coast proposal from boyfriend and workmate Brett Wright on Saturday, the 31-year-old Wollongong constable was rostered back on duty at 6.30am yesterday.
But Constable Krejci did not make it back to work to share her happy news as she was killed in a road crash on Sunday.
And the popular officer’s engagement ring was locked in a safe at Wollongong police station, removed from her finger by a numbed colleague.
Constable Krejci was returning home from a week-long holiday with Senior-Constable Wright and his three children – aged seven, 10, and 13 – when the Holden Commodore she was driving slammed head-on into a Ford Fiesta at Cataract in Sydney’s southwestern outskirts, killing her instantly.
As Sen-Constable Wright, 36, remained in a serious condition with spinal injuries at Wollongong Hospital, family and colleagues yesterday spoke of the cruel twist of fate that robbed of a life together. Stephen Krejci told The Daily Telegraph how his younger sister had phoned home overjoyed at her engagement after Sen-Constable Wright’s proposal on Saturday.
The couple had been together for about a year and Constable Krejci was excited about becoming a stepmother.
“She was so happy about it (the engagement). Everyone was very happy,” Mr Krejci, 38, said.
“They were planning on building a house in Wollongong. They had bought the land and had it all planned out. They had everything to look forward to.
“It’s just a tragedy. She was such a warm, friendly person. We’re all a bit numb.”
Mr Krejci said his sister, who would have turned 32 on June 3, joined the police about four years ago. She was following in the footsteps of her younger sister Anna, who worked at Wollongong police as a school liaison officer.
She was working in the same 20-officer general duties team as Sen-Constable Wright and cherished being close to her sister – two girls in a family of five brothers.
“She transferred to Wollongong only a few years ago to be close to her family and friends,” Mr Krejci said.
“That’s where she met Brett. They’d been together about a year. I just hope that he can recover.”
Colleagues, including officers who attended the crash site on Picton Rd, near Cataract dam, remained in shock with a chaplain and psychologist offering counselling.
Wollongong crime manager Inspector Mark Lavers said Constable Krejci “was such a lovely girl. We have 240 people here and a lot of them will be upset.”
Police believe that the crash occurred after Constable Krejci’s Holden Commodore hit a patch of water and aquaplaned into the Ford Fiesta in heavy weather.
Sen-Constable Wright’s three children escaped the crash unhurt.
The driver of the Ford, a 23-year-old Lurnea man, was flown to Liverpool Hospital with hip, leg and facial injuries.
A female passenger in that car was taken to St George Hospital in a stable condition.
The crash yesterday, and right, Elise Krejci. Photo: David Tease and Syliva Liber
Daniel Emerson
April 21, 2008 – 9:34AM
A policewoman who yesterday died in a traffic crash that seriously injured her partner, a fellow officer, became engaged to be married two days ago, their commanding officer has revealed.
Constable Elise Krejci, 31, and Senior-Constable Brett Wright, both attached to Wollongong local area command, were travelling along Picton Road at Cataract at about 1pm yesterday when their Holden Commodore collided with a Ford Fiesta.
Constable Wright’s three children were in the back of the car and suffered minor injuries.
Constable Wright remains in a serious but stable condition in Liverpool Hospital with a fractured hip and spine and internal bleeding.
“I just found out they were engaged two days ago,” he said.
Inspector Lavers said Wollongong highway patrol officers who did not work with the pair were first on the scene.
Command of the crash scene was transferred to Illawarra police and crash investigation officers as soon as possible to reduce the trauma for officers who had worked with the police couple.
Wollongong officers have received counselling.
“We have had psychologists and police chaplains at the station,” Inspector Lavers said.
He said the deceased officer, from Shellharbour, was very popular.
“She’s a lovely girl and a good officer,” Inspector Lavers said. “We never had to chase her up for her work. She was well respected by her peers and senior management.”
Constable Krejci was first stationed at Wollongong in December 2005,
Police said the 23-year-old driver of the other car, a Ford Fiesta with L-plates, suffered hip, leg and facial injuries, and was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition. His female passenger was taken to St George Hospital.
The Illawarra Mercury today quoted the officers’ team leader, Inspector Brian Wyver, saying each of the five teams at Wollongong Police were made up of 20 officers and camaraderie in the teams was strong.
“She has been in the police for about two years and she was well-liked and it was a close team,” he said. “Brett was her fiancé and he is on that team as well . . . it’s just a sad day.
“Morale is always good and this is where they really get behind each other.
“It’s a sad day and they are dealing with it in their own way.”
Inspector Wyver said Constable Krejci enjoyed bush walking with Constable Wright and others in the team.
He said they both had family in the Wollongong area and that Constable Krejci’s sister, Anna, was a school liaison officer with Wollongong Police.
We had that perfect love, says killed cop’s fiancé; Elise Krejci
Fond memories … Brett Wright and Elise Krejci with Brett’s three children.
HE calls her his soulmate and just 10 days ago Brett Wright was ecstatic when a smitten Elise Krejci agreed to become his wife.
The Wollongong policeman was yesterday lying in hospital with a broken back and his “perfect” woman’s engagement ring hanging from his neck as he bravely prepared a eulogy for the love he cruelly lost in a road crash.
Six days after Constable Krejci was killed as the couple returned from a family holiday, Senior-Constable Wright spoke for the first time about the “wife” he planned to spend his life with.
“We had that absolute perfect, beautiful, wonderful, true love. We were true soulmates,” the 36-year-old told The Daily Telegraph from his Wollongong hospital bed.
“Elise was the perfect partner in every way. She lived to please me and I lived to please her and that’s what made us happiest. We spent virtually every moment together from the time we got together until Sunday.
“Every day was perfect. I’m so fortunate to have had my time with her.”
The couple met when Constable Krejci moved to Wollongong two years ago. They had a fairytale romance, moving in together two days after their first kiss during a holiday with colleagues last September.
When Sen-Constable Wright gave his 31-year-old love a commitment ring a month later, she immediately placed it on her wedding finger and began calling him her husband.
That destiny was to be fulfilled, with the couple already booking their church and reception, before Sen-Constable Wright proposed 10 days ago.
Yesterday, the grieving officer spoke of memories of their final days and plans for children, before their car slammed head-on into another vehicle, driven by a learner driver at Cataract, just 20 minutes from their Wollongong home.
Choking back tears, Sen-Constable Wright said he was feeding his fiancee a mandarin when the car hit water on Picton Rd and collided with oncoming traffic.
He passed out for several minutes before waking to find Constable Krejci dead and his children, Sarah, 13, Renee, 10, and Matthew, 7, crying in shock.
“I just remember the car started to aquaplane and I could see us sliding towards the other car and thinking ‘this is not good’, then I think I passed out and the next thing I woke up and the car was on its side,” he said.
“It happened so fast, one minute we were laughing and sharing a mandarin and then . . .”
The policeman, who will deliver a eulogy from a stretcher at Constable Krejci’s funeral on Tuesday, broke down as he showed photographs of their engagement and final holiday together.
The couple had driven to the Gold Coast with Sen-Constable Wright’s children, spending a day at Movie World and soaking up the sun, before going to Port Douglas on April 15, where the wedding proposal occurred.
“It was just the most perfect day. I’m just glad we were given that last holiday with the family,” he said.
“We were brought safely all the way back to Wollongong and when we were back she was taken.
“But I believe she was taken because there’s another purpose for her. She’s got other things to do now and I believe I was left behind because I’ve still got the kids to look after.
“When my time is finished I know that she’ll be up there waiting for me. She’ll probably say something along the lines of: ‘What took you so long?’
“That’s what I believe. To believe anything else would be too painful.”
Sen-Constable Wright said, although his back and hip were broken, his spinal cord was not damaged and he was determined to return to work at Wollongong, where a plaque will be erected to commemorate Constable Krejci. He also vowed to build their dream home on the block of land in Wollongong’s south.
“I’ll do everything the way we planned, I know she’ll be looking down.”
A Requiem Mass will be held for Constable Krejci at St Agatha’s Church, Pennant Hills, at 11am on Tuesday, followed by a burial service at The North Rocks Cemetery.
The Daily Telegraph 30 April 2008
On stretcher Brett Wright lays true love Elise to rest
True love … Policeman Brett Wright and his fiancee Elise Krejci.
True love … police officer Brett Wright on stretcher at the funeral of his fiancee Elise Krejci. Picture: Channel 9
True love … a photograph of policewoman Elise Krejci adorns her coffin. Picture: Channel 9
WHAT began as the hardest journey Brett Wright would ever make ended, fittingly, in an emotional send-off for Elise Krejci, his “perfect, beautiful, wonderful, true love”.
The Wollongong policeman and father-of-three travelled by ambulance from Wollongong Hospital to St Agatha’s Catholic Church in Pennant Hills yesterday, where he joined family and friends at his fiancee’s funeral.
Speaking from a hospital bed and supported by emergency services personnel, Senior Constable Wright spoke for almost 20 minutes about his love for Constable Krejci, his “soulmate”.
He is still recovering from injuries to his spine, lung and ribs, which he sustained in the accident that killed Constable Krejci, 31, on April 20.
The couple was returning from a family holiday on the Gold Coast with his three children when the Holden Commodore she was driving collided with a Ford Fiesta on a wet and slippery Picton Rd.
She had accepted his proposal of marriage a day earlier and couldn’t wait to return to work to share the news with colleagues and friends.
Yesterday, the 200-strong crowd also heard a series of other tributes from a number of Constable Krejci’s friends and relatives, including her sister Anna, brother Paul and 13-year-old step-daughter Sarah.
Her duty officer, Detective Inspector Brian Wyver, said she had become an integral and essential part of his team, despite having being stationed in Wollongong for only a relatively short time.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, who attended the funeral, said Constable Krejci’s family had supported each other through the death of her mother Elaine, who succumbed to ovarian cancer in 1999.
Their “strength and stoicism” was again evident yesterday, he said.
“All in all, it was one of the tearier and more emotional funerals I’ve been to but when you lose one of your own, it becomes doubly sad,” he said.
“Elise was a beautiful girl – very stunning in appearance, well-travelled, well-educated and very respected. She was a teacher and a nurse, and then she joined us.”
Mr Scipione said he had been struck by the courage of Constable Krejci’s father Ernie. “The tragedy, when you reflect upon what’s happened here is that no parent should ever have to bury one of their children – the time is not right,” he said.
“She has left this Earth far too early, at 31, and certainly we’re much poorer, as an organisation, for having lost her but at least we knew her and in terms of policing, she was an important part of the landscape wherever she worked.”
Bruce I am lost without u…you are Locked safe in my heart….36020…
Memorial: NSW Police Force Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills, F13 ( right wall )
BRUCE is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
Bruce IS mentioned on the NSW Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre F13 ( Right Wall )
Funeral location: [codepeople-post-map]
Bruce William GALLAGHER – Memorial Plaque – Sydney Police Centre. Left Wall – Placement F13
Bruce GALLAGHER
Snr Const Gallagher’s daughters Jordann and Jessica with their father’s hat and photo. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Illawarra Mercury 28 April 2008
Thin Blue Line pays silent tribute to one of their own
IN a week clouded by grief, the region’s police demonstrated a show of unity yesterday at the funeral of colleague, Senior Constable Bruce Gallagher.
Onlookers were held breathless as more than 160 police formed a guard of honour and another 40 officers, led by Lake Illawarra police Superintendent Mick Plotecki and two mounted riders, escorted the cortege from Hansen & Cole at Kembla Grange.
Snr Const Gallagher‘s daughters Jessica, 17, and Jordann, 15, did their father proud, marching with his police hat and photo.
The 39-year-old Lake Illawarra police officer died suddenly from a heart attack last Thursday.
Jessica and Jordann remembered their dad as a loving man who was always ready with advice and support.
“I was always so proud to tell people my dad was a police officer,” Jessica told yesterday’s service.
“Dad, I am so grateful you taught me so much in life … I know you would not have left us if you didn’t think we could cope.”
Jordann added: “From the very first time you held me to the last time you saw me, you were always there for me no matter what, and I will never forget those memories.” Brother Mark Gallagher read a message on behalf of Snr Const Gallagher‘s wife Shirlena.
“You were my best friend, my husband and father to our two wonderful girls, but most of all you are my soul mate … I will never let you go. You will stay in my heart forever. Wait for me sweetheart, because one day I will be in your arms again.”
Mr Plotecki said Snr Const Gallagher displayed a strong work ethic that had earned him many accolades from the time he joined the force in May 2002. ( 2001 )
“Bruce’s name was often put forward as being involved in very meritorious and commendable police work,” he said.
“I have no doubt he had the potential and capability to add an even more significant contribution to his chosen profession.
“My last duty as Bruce’s commander is to pass on a message to his family, on behalf of the people of NSW. It’s a simple message, consisting of two words: ‘Thank you’. You were a real credit to your police uniform.”
Chief Inspector Bob Noble said that after meeting Snr Const Gallagher‘s wife and daughters, it was clear he was a reflection of a loving, supportive environment.
“The importance of family support in policing is paramount and it is for this reason that Bruce’s family has been, and will forever remain, a part of the police family,” he said.
Chief Insp Noble read a letter from colleague Senior Constable Chris Warren who said his close friend’s sudden death had left everyone in a state of shock.
The two men had joined the force at the same time, representing “two older blokes who were fulfilling a lifelong desire”.
Police chaplain Gordon Bradbery, who conducted the service, encouraged Snr Const Gallagher‘s grieving police colleagues to look after themselves.
Shirlena Gallagher, wife of the late Senior Constable Bruce Gallagher, joined police yesterday in remembering those lost. Picture: WAYNE VENABLES
Illawarra residents have been urged to “whinge” less and appreciate the good work of the NSW Police Force.Uniting Church minister and police chaplain Reverend Gordon Bradbery told yesterday’s Police Remembrance Day service that people “whinged” too much about peripheral concerns when they should be thankful for the things that were really important.
Assistant Commissioner Robert May, Wollongong Police Commander Wayne Dedden and Lake Illawarra Commander Mick Plotecki were among those who attended the service at Wollongong’s Wesley Church on the Mall.
Shirlena Gallagher, wife of Senior Constable Bruce Gallagher who died of a heart attack on April 17, also attended the 20th annual national day of remembering.
Another Illawarra officer to lose her life in the past 12 months was Constable Elise Krejci, who was killed in a car accident on Picton Rd, three days after Snr Const Gallagher’s death.
Back from a visit to Third World countries in South America, Rev Bradbery told the service that he had witnessed terrible scenes that made him appreciate living in Australia. “What a great country we live in, what a land of opportunity,” Rev Bradbery said. “But suddenly I am aware that on occasions like this, when we gather to remember the safety and security that we have in our community, how it has come at a cost. “I am conscious of the fact there are men and women who have lost their lives in the interests of policing this state – what it is when we don’t have to live in a land where our police wear flak jackets and carry machine guns.” He said that in appreciating these blessings, the community must also acknowledge they had come at a cost, sometimes in police lives.” They have gone beyond, they have given not only of themselves, but ultimately their breath and their pulse.”
