Police were often in the forefront of expansion of frontiers, and in this instance provided the first government input into the area and much needed police protection for pastoralists, shepherds and flocks, from attack and other hazards.
This isolated police post is believed to have been located near the ceremony site from 1842 to 1846. Probably built from local stone, it was staffed by two Mounted Constables, assisted at times by a Native Constable. Mounted patrols from
Julia Creek provided police protection until 1846 when the police station was closed and personnel were relocated to the new mining centre of
Burra.
The South Australian Police Historical Society gratefully acknowledges the kind assistance of Mr. & Mrs. Jim & Rhonda Dunstan in constructing the Police
Heritage Monument, and the generous sponsorship of the
Police Heritage Site Plaque by the Community of the Region of Goyder, through their Council.
South Australian Police
When the first Governor of South Australia, Captain
John Hindmarsh, enlisted ten Foot Constables and ten Mounted Constables on the 28th April 1838, he established the first organized state police service in Australia. Indeed, it is one of the oldest in the world, predating many English police
services, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police by 40 years.
A blend and adaptation of Sir Robert Peel’s Irish and English policing ideas, the objectives of the South Australian Police have remained unchanged. They are: the preservation of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime, and the maintenance of the Queens peace.
The South Australian Police has proud traditions, and from humble and often precarious belongings, SAPOL now comprises some 3,700 police officers with a further 600 public service and weekly staff, making a total strength of 4,300, serving the community.