On January 1, 1864, Lieutenant David Thompson Seymour, previously of the 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot became the first Commissioner of the newly inaugurated Queensland Police Force. The entire police force consisted of 151 foot and mounted officers and 136 native police.
Commissioner Seymour was responsible for creating the detective force in 1864, sending Indigenous trackers to Victoria in 1880 to assist in the hunt for Ned Kelly and incorporating the Water Police into the force in 1893.
When Commissioner Seymour retired in 1895 (after 31 years of service!) the Queensland Police Force had grown to 907 officers.
The Queensland Police Service now employs more than 17,000 members, among them 12,000 police officers, as well as police liaison officers, protective services officers, watch house officers and staff members.
We think Commissioner Seymour would be pleased with the way his Force has evolved into a Service, with many more specialist units, including units that might seem outrageous to a 19th century former soldier.
The Dive Squad, the Mounted Unit and the Dog Squad would be easy to understand, less so the Police Air Operations, the Forensic Crash Unit and the Financial and Cyber Crime Group!
Commissioner Seymour might also struggle to understand our current eligibility requirements. Candidates for the Queensland Police Service in the 19th century had to be:
- Under the age of 30 years, unless they were a former officer from another police force, in which case they could be 35 years old.
- Must be at least five feet eight inches tall (without their boots!).
- Couldn’t be married.
- Couldn’t get married without permission from the Commissioner.
- Have a strong constitution and “free from any bodily complaint.”
- Able to read and write well.
- Have character testimonials, either from “those under whom they have served at home, or from persons of free respectability in the colony.”
While the current eligibility requirements for the service have changed quite a bit, the requirement for physical and mental fitness and the high standard of past behaviour and conduct remain the same.
Happy birthday to the Queensland Police Service, and here’s to the next 160 years!
