Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Updated 5 August 2025 with Class photo and associated links.
Donald Roy PATERSON
03/08/2025
Donald Roy PATERSON
AKA Don PATERSON, Patto, Donald PATERSON
* Nickname: ?
Late of ?
Relations in ‘the job’?
“possible” relation in ‘the job‘: ?
NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern – Class #? ? ?
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 9183
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 17 November 1958 ( aged ? years, ? months, ? days )
Probationary Constable – appointed ? ? ?( aged ? years, ? months, ? days )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed 17 November 1964
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed 17 November 1968
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1 April 1974
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 20 November 1981
Last appears in the 1988 ‘Stud Book’ as a Sgt 2nd Class but not the 1989 issue.
Final Rank: = Sergeant 2nd Class
Stations: Don Served in Cyprus as a United Nations Civilian Police officer ( sometime between 1964 – 1976 ), ?, S.T.P. @ Traffic Branch, Liverpool ( 22 Division )( S.T.P. )( June 1966 – ),?, Fairfield ( 34 Division )( early 1980s )( Sgt ), ?
Service ( From Training Date ) period: From 17 November 1958 to ? ? c1989? = 31+ years, ? months, ? days Service
Time employed ( Paid ) with NSW Police: From: 17 November 1958 to ? ? c1989? = 31+ years, ? months, ? days Service
Time in Retirement from Police: ? years, ? months, ? days
Age at Retirement / Leaving: = ? years, ? months, ? days
Awards: National Medal – granted 15 May 1986 ( Sgt 3/c )
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 15 May 1986 ( Sgt 2/c )
2nd Clasp to National Medal – granted 15 May 1986 ( Sgt 2/c )
Sgt 2/c – taken in the meal room of the old Fairfield Police Station, Smart St, Fairfield, NSW in the 1980s.
Born: Thursday 18 April 1929
Died on: Tuesday 14 May 2024
Age: 95 years, 0 months, 26 days
Organ Donor: No – Age restrictive
Cause: Age
Event location: ?
Event / Diagnosis date: ?
Funeral date: ? ? ?
Funeral location: ?
LIVE STREAM?
Wake location: ?
Wake date: ???
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: ?
Grave Location: Section: Row: ?Plot: ?
Grave GPS: ?, ?
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( July 2025 )
DON is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
( L – R ): Col PATEMAN ( # 16846 ), Warren McDONALD ( # ????? ), Sgt Don PATERSON ( # 9183 ), Bob McDONAGH ( # 8565 ), Bruce McKEACHIE ( # 6785 ), Trevor TOBIN ( # 14323 ) taken in 1980s in the meal room at the old Fairfield Police station, Smart St, Fairfield, NSW.
* Story behind any Nickname:
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
John will, amongst other things, be remembered for his ‘carrot’ orange VW.
* Story behind any Nickname:
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Our deepest condolences to Carol, family & friends.
It is believed that Neville Flegg was also a member of 2 Military Police Company, Ingleburn, NSW, with Keith KERR, Steve OFFEN, Bluey SMITH, Henry JOHNSON, Bill TAYLOR and Barry LEWIS.
Neville Herbert FLEGG AKA Neville FLEGG Nickname: Fleggy
Class 110 – All the Police cyclist’s from that Class. Sworn in 3 April 1967. Back Row ( L – R ): ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ? Front Row: ?, ?, ?, Ron SADLER, ?, ‘the Black Prince’ Roger DeLivera ( born in Sri Lanka )
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),
Monday 12 March 1990, page 2
IN BRIEF
Information on bus crash
NSW police are looking for a motorist who they believe may have crucial information about last December’s bus tragedy at Kempsey.
Thirty-five people were killed when two coaches collided on the Pacific Highway at about 3.30am on December 22.( 1989 )
Sergeant Neville Flegg, of the Accident Investigation Squad at Newcastle, said police were anxious to speak to a man who was seen driving a small green Datsun panel van south along the Pacific Highway in the Clybucca area about the time of the crash.
Any information regarding the driver can be telephoned to the squad at Newcastle on (049) 290744.
SYDNEY: A driver involved in Australia’s worst bus crash, near Kempsey in December, had taken the drug ephedrine several hours before a head-on collision with another bus, an inquest into the smash heard yesterday.
Chief investigating officer Sergeant Neville Flegg told Glebe Coroner’s Court that McCafferty’s Coach Operator’s driver Russell Wirth had been found to have a low stimulant level in his blood – not enough to impair his driving.
Mr Wirth was killed in the accident.
However, Sergeant Flegg said, the drug’s presence and evidence that the McCafferty’s bus headlights were on high beam suggested ” a lack of control and / or concentration by Mr Wirth “.
NSW Coroner Kevin Waller has heard that the McCafferty’s bus crossed the centre line of the Pacific Highway as it travelled south at Clybucca Flats, north of Kempsey, before dawn on December 22.
Then it ploughed into a Trans City bus headed for Brisbane, killing 35 people.
Sergeant Flegg said the driver of the Trans City bus ” would have had about 1½ seconds to react and take evasive action “.
He was giving evidence on the first day of the inquest into the smash.
KEMPSEY: NSW police have revised the death toll from Friday’s head-on bus smash on the Pacific Highway from 36 to 35.
A police spokeswoman said difficulty in identifying the dead had led to the confusion.
Incomplete passenger lists had further complicated efforts to account for those aboard the two buses, which collided along the Pacific Highway, 14km north of Kempsey about 3.30am on Friday.
Police were unable to locate the drivers’ manifests which would have provided the most accurate list of passengers, the spokeswoman said.
She said the death toll stands at 35 and 41 people were injured.
Police were investigating yesterday why one of the buses crossed to the wrong side of the road into the path of the other.
Accident Investigation Unit head Sergeant Neville Flegg said, ” There is no doubt that the south-bound coach [McCafferty’s] was on the wrong side of the road. What we are trying to determine is why. ”
Sergeant Flegg said police had interviewed the relief driver of the north bound TransCity coach but the man was unable to provide much information because he was ” dozing ” at the time of the crash.
Today, accident investigation officers are hoping to interview a pedestrian, now in Sydney, who reported a near miss between a coach and another vehicle.
They also are trying to trace three interstate drivers who reported other near misses on the highway before the crash.
The coaches involved in the near misses could not be positively identified with either of the two buses which crashed, Sergeant Flegg said.
Sergeant Flegg said passengers told police both buses were travelling at ” normal ” speeds, but he did not rule out excessive speed as a contributing factor.
Investigators at this stage did not believe mechanical failure played a part, but routine examinations were being made.
Meanwhile, families of the dead have begun the grim task of identifying their relatives in a Sydney morgue after the bodies, many mangled beyond recognition, arrived aboard a refrigerated truck..
NSW Coroner Kevin Waller has ordered police not to release the names of the dead until Wednesday.
Kempsey Hospital’s acting chief executive officer, Michael Doyle, said 10 patients remained in the hospital, with the critically injured having been flown to major centres on Friday. Most of the victims suffered chest and head injuries.
Debriefing sessions were being held over the Christmas weekend for the emergency workers who spent up to 10 hours removing dead bodies and wounded.
The local community will pay tribute to those who lost their lives in a memorial service at All Saints Anglican Church, Kempsey, at 12.30pm on Wednesday.
Brisbane journalists John and Robyn Harris and their 15-year-old son Nicky were among the 35 people killed.
Forty-eight year-old Mr Harris was an arts critic for The Sun newspaper and his wife, 51, was a casual journalist on The Sunday Sun.
Mr Harris’s last film review, on The Delinquents, appeared on Friday in the same issue which carried the front page story of the head-on collision between two buses near Kempsey.
Colleagues did not realise they were among the victims until the news was broken by his family yesterday.
A spokesman said the couple and their son were on the way to Newcastle for Christmas.
Meanwhile, the federal Opposition land transport and shipping spokesman, John Sharp, said a Coalition government would reform and partially privatise Australia’s rail system to relieve pressure on the road system,
“These measures will enable the Coalition to deal with the deterioration of the road system which has been underlined by a series of tragic accidents…,” he said in a statement
He said the Coalition wanted private enterprise to play a greater role in the railways. _
“Not only will the costs of maintaining the road system be reduced, but lives will be saved,” he said.
“Similar proposals have been success fully.developed in EC countries and will allow a greater degree of genuine competition, leading to a better and more reliable service which would be less costly.”
NSW Police Force, on Friday 22 December 1989., a bus crash in Kempsey, New South Wales, kills 35 people.
In the early hours of 22 December 1989, two tourist coaches were involved in a head-on collision at Clybucca Flat, twelve kilometres north of Kempsey, NSW. The McCafferty’s Sydney-bound coach impacted five rows back into the cabin of the TransCity Brisbane-bound coach. Both drivers were killed instantly, another 33 passengers died, and 41 more were injured. A coroner’s inquest found that neither coach was speeding at the time of the crash, and there were no mechanical faults present in either vehicle. The inquiry ultimately found that the driver of the Sydney-bound coach fell asleep at the wheel and failed to negotiate a left-hand bend on the highway, causing the bus to cross to the wrong side of the road.
A contributing factor to the high death toll was the fact that the impact snapped seats from their anchor bolts so that both seats and passengers were hurled about the vehicles with tremendous force. Subsequently, the report from the inquiry recommended research to improve coach seating, seat anchorages and seatbelts. Better emergency exits for coaches were also recommended, as rescuers were unable to enter the wreckage immediately because the exits were 2.4m above the ground. Photo Port Macquarie News.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Updated 30 Jan 2025 with LinkedIn Post re Kempsey Bus Crash and also Funeral Notice clipping.
Ronald Arthur BLYTON
03/08/2025
Ronald Arthur BLYTON
AKA Ron BLYTON, Ronnie BLYTON
* Nickname: ?
Late of Forster, NSW
Relations in ‘the job’:
“possible” relation in ‘the job‘: O.R. BLYTON, NSWPF # 8715?
NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern / Police Training College – Penrith – Class # ? ? ?
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 8038
Rank: Commenced Training at either Police Training College Penrith or Police Training Centre Redfern – Police Academy on Tuesday 12 April 1955 ( aged 19 years, 5 months, 5 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable – appointed 17 May 1956
Constable 1st Class – appointed 17 May 1961
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed 17 May 1966
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( N/A )
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 28 January 1971
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 18 August 1978
Final Rank: = Sergeant 2nd Class
Stations: Redfern ( 7 Division ) GDs ( 9 May 1955 – 24 August 1956 ),
Dubbo GDs ( 25 August 1956 – 5 February 1958 ),
Baradine GDs ( 6 February 1958 – 2 February 1961 ),
Mudgee GDs ( 3 February 1961 – 18 July 1963 )( Cst 1/c ),
South District – Captains Flat GDs / O.I.C. ( 19 July 1963 – 12 June 1971 ),
Jerilderie O..I.C. ( 13 June 1971 – 9 August 1973 ),
Forster O.I.C. ( 10 August 1973 – 8 May 1985 ) ,
Hornsby Police Station GDs ( 16 Division )( 9 May 1985 – 30 June 1989 ) – Retirement
Time employed ( Paid ) with NSW Police: From: 12 April 1955 to 30 June 1989 = 35 years, 5 months, 7 days
Service ( From Training Date ) period: From 12 April 1955 to 30 June 1989 = 35 years, 5 months, 7 days Service
Retirement / Leaving age: = 53 years, 7 months, 23 days
Time in Retirement from Police: 35 years, 5 months, 7 days
Awards: No Find on the Australian Honours system – although:
National Service Medal – granted 22 March 2017
Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal – granted 20 February 1978
Commended for Courage and Efforts in the arrest of armed male at Home Rule, via Mudgee between 29 July – 1 August 1961.
Former Forster police officer, Ronald (Ron) Arthur Blyton was farewelled by family and friends at a service conducted by Great Lakes Funerals earlier this month, Monday, January 6.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Condolences to his wife, Dtr Judy Perl and their sons.
* Story behind any Nickname:
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services
26 December 2024:
Media statement from Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy APM
The Northern Territory Police Force is today mourning the loss of one of its serving members.
Yesterday, Christmas Day, one of our Darwin based officers passed away while on leave at Daly River.
This is a deeply distressing time for the officer’s family and colleagues, and in accordance with the wishes of the member’s family, we will not be releasing the officer’s name.
On behalf of the Northern Territory Police Force, I extend our deepest condolences to the officer’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they navigate this difficult time.
We also wish to reassure the community that the death is not being treated as suspicious and we ask that the media respect the family’s privacy and allow them the space they need to grieve.
Support services are being provided to those within the Northern Territory Police family who have been impacted by this loss.
* Story behind any Nickname:
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
picture of Class 111 26th June, 1967. All the cyclists have the first of the white helmets. They didn’t last long either’, once they realised that the broken necks were coming from the bad design, where the back of the helmet sat at the perfect point to break your neck, if your head was snapped backwards. Second white helmets issued hurriedly, ‘say no more’..! Class 111 Redfern Police Academy 15/5/1967 to 26/6/1967. Robert HYNES # 12668 – third row 4th from the right.
Glenn Taylor December 3, 2015 Just been looking at some old Police photos I have from Albury days. These two photos would have been taken in the late 70’s of the Albury District SWOS at the time. I recall some of the names, Graham (Squizzy) Taylor who is now deceased, Terry Frazer, Bill Drummond, Col Harrington, Bob Schmidt and possibly Craig Whitmore (although not certain if it is Craig) The two guys at front in the bigger group photo and the guy in uniform I am not sure of. I think Bob Schmidt and Bill (bulldog) Drummond are still around Albury. Not sure of the others. Remington 370 pump action 12 gauge shotguns. Certainly better than the old 38 Smith & Wesson in dangerous situations. Terry Fraser and Col Harrington… 2nd row, 3rd & 4th… 🙂 I think that is Dave Ferguson on the lower left. Graham Squizzy Taylor was a Sgt of mine back in mid 90s at Bondi. Good fella. May he RIP
Glenn Taylor December 3, 2015 Just been looking at some old Police photos I have from Albury days. These two photos would have been taken in the late 70’s of the Albury District SWOS at the time. I recall some of the names, Graham (Squizzy) Taylor who is now deceased, Terry Frazer, Bill Drummond, Col Harrington, Bob Schmidt and possibly Craig Whitmore (although not certain if it is Craig) The two guys at front in the bigger group photo and the guy in uniform I am not sure of. I think Bob Schmidt and Bill (bulldog) Drummond are still around Albury. Not sure of the others. Remington 370 pump action 12 gauge shotguns. Certainly better than the old 38 Smith & Wesson in dangerous situations. Terry Fraser and Col Harrington… 2nd row, 3rd & 4th… 🙂 I think that is Dave Ferguson on the lower left. Graham Squizzy Taylor was a Sgt of mine back in mid 90s at Bondi. Good fella. May he RIP
Colin Robert Harrington
09/01/1938 – 26/12/2024
Dearly loved husband of the late Val Harrington
Much loved father & father in law of Debra, Robert & Janet and Lana & Chris
Cherished Pa of Craig, Michael, Trent, Whitney, Dean, Lucy and Cooper
Great Pa to Isla, Theodore and Caleb.’
Resting Peacefully.
The cortege is appointed to leave St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Leeton
after a service commencing at 11:00am, on Friday January 3, 2025 for interment in the lawn portion of the Leeton Cemetery.
* Story behind any Nickname: Ocker ( very Australian – knock about bloke )
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Stephen Charles HARDWICK at an awards day with his family in 2021 when he received his Warrant of Appointment ( Sgt ) and 1st clasp to the NSW Police Medal.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
* Story behind any Nickname: Ted – common nickname for Edwin.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
