South Australia was colonised in 1836. Unlike the other States, it was not a penal settlement and migrants were ‘free settlers’. It was hoped that by adopting this type of migrant, a respectable society would grow in South Australia and there would be no need for an organised Police Force. Shortly after colonisation some protection was afforded the colonists by the employment of a few retired artillery-men, special volunteer constables and a small group of marines from the H.M.S. ‘Buffalo’, which vessel had brought the Governor to the new land. The marines were found to be unsatisfactory as they were not always sober !

The emigrants brought with them to the new colony of South Australia their British laws and institutions. To dispel any doubts which might have existed among the colonists as to which laws and statutes of England were legally binding on the colony, the following Act was finally gazetted in February 1840. It stated that :

"all the laws and statutes which were in force in England on the 28th day of December 1836 so far as the same are applicable to the circumstances of this Province....shall be deemed to be part of the laws of this Province."

Also brought with the emigrants was the ancient office of Constable. However, this office was never a popular one. Governor Hindmarsh lamented to George Fife Angas, a notable early settler, as to what he should do without a small military force, and complained :

"It is true that I can institute a police force, but whom am I to make a policeman? Those of sufficiently respectable character are able to earn much higher wages than I dare offer, and I am restricted in the salary to a police magistrate to £100 a year. Where shall I get a gentleman fit to do such a duty who will give up his time for so small a sum?"

Hindmarsh did find a suitable person willing to accept the position of Constable, for the first reference to such an office appears in the Colonial Secretary's correspondence on 6th January 1837. In this correspondence the Colonial Storekeeper is instructed to furnish Mr W Williams, High Constable for the district, with 3 braces of pistols, 3 swords, and 24 ball cartridges, all for the purpose of his office. Like the marines who had accompanied Hindmarsh to the colony, the High Constable was to be amply armed.

It is recorded that the High Constable received instructions from the Governor in June 1837, when he was ordered to prevent the sale of beer from taking place within two miles of the landing place at Holdfast Bay. The reason for this action was a complaint that certain premises were considered to be in too close proximity to the government storehouse.

Williams retained the office of High Constable for only a few months, for the position was advertised in only the third issue of the ‘South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register’. This advertisement stated :
"persons desirous of becoming candidates for the situation may apply at the office of the Colonial Secretary between the hours of ten and twelve in the forenoon".

William Henry Gray was the successful applicant, and his appointment dated from 29th September, 1837. For the services which he rendered to this office, Gray was paid the sum of £13.2.0 Gray, as the Province's Chief Constable, also had the services of a Constable named Windebank, who received payment of £7.0.6. However, no further records remain to indicate Windebank’s length of service as Constable.

Indeed, the official recordings of the various appointments which were made by the early Hindmarsh government were scant and occasional. No announcement was made either of the appointment of Gray’s predecessor, or of his successor. From an issue of the ‘South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register’ on 3rd March 1838, we learn that Andrew Birrell had been appointed Chief Constable of the Province following the resignation of Mr Lines from that office. The earlier complaint of Hindmarsh appears vindicated when one realises the brief terms during which the various Chief Constables held office.

The position for which William Henry Gray had successfully applied, had been gazetted on the authority of Henry Jeckling, clerk of the Magistrates and Judge of the Supreme Court. That the office of Chief Constable was by the authority of the Magistrates and the Courts, sheds some light on the nature of the duties involved. As well as the less specified and common law duties of apprehending offenders, preventing crime, and maintaining public good order; summonses were to be issued, warrants executed, and the increasing number of gazetted Government Orders and Acts enforced. While the marines, who had no commanding commissioned officer, and whose duties were largely uncertain, were under the direct control of the Governor, the Chief Constable and his deputies were controlled by the Magistrates.

There was duality and confusion in the area of law enforcement, and the respective roles to be played by both the military presence and the civil authority. The body of marines, when sober and not the cause of disturbances themselves, were occupied principally as gaolers. The sergeant of marines found himself to be both gaoler and constable.

By 1837 it was realised that a permanent police force was an urgent necessity because of the influx from the eastern states of criminals who considered the ‘free settlers’ to be ‘easy game’. In November of that year, Governor Hindmarsh wrote to the Colonial Office in the following terms - ‘the number of bad characters arriving daily from Encounter Bay and suspected of being runaway convicts make it necessary that a strong Police body should exist.’

In early 1838 Governor Hindmarsh organised a Police Force comprising ten Foot and ten Mounted Constables. It was formally proclaimed on April 28^th, 1838. In the same month, Henry Inman arrived from Tasmania to take command and he was made Inspector of Police. At this time the Force cost the Treasury forty pounds (£40) per week. When, on 17th October 1838, Governor Hindmarsh was succeeded by Governor Gawler, Inman was raised to the status of Superintendent. The existence of the Police Force was accepted by the settlers and became a necessary and integral part of the life of the colony. After the Police Force was established, Aboriginal troubles caused concern in the community and led to an increase in Police strength.

In 1839 the Legislative Council, to fulfil a guarantee made to the settlers by the South Australian Board of Commissioners, authorised the formation of the Police Force on a proper basis. The new Force was placed under the control of four Honorary Commissioners - the Colonial Secretary (Robert Gouger), the Advocate General (Robert Burnard) and two Justices of the Peace (T S O’Halloran and T Walker). The Force in 1840 comprised one Superintendent, two Inspectors, three Sergeants and forty seven Constables.

The South Australia Police Force is unique in the history of Australian Police Forces inasmuch as since European settlement it has been continually centrally administrated. That makes it the oldest Police organisation in Australasia and one of the oldest established Police Forces in the world.

In June 1840, Major T S O’Halloran, one of the original Board of Commissioners, was appointed Commissioner of Police.- the first paid officer in that capacity - after which the old Board was dissolved. The Commissioner of Police was the sole source of orders from the Government to which he was responsible for the efficiency and discipline of the Police Force. Two other men, Matthew Smith and William Field Porter, were appointed District Commissioners for the Port Lincoln district at the same time, as because of its distance from Adelaide, decentralisation of administration was necessary.
 
 

The first police station at Darwin.

The stirring times and the excitement of Police life in the early days attracted men from all walks of life. Titled men, men of letters, foreigners who could justly lay claim to titles, all enlisted for service in the Police Force. Two of the most picturesque of these were the poet Adam Lindsay Gordon, and Alexander Tolmer who later became Commissioner of Police.

In 1840 the first Police Station, which contained four cells and was officially described as a ‘lock up house’ was erected in the parklands, near the site of the Aser Centre. It remained in use until 1850.

Prior to 1841, troopers had to be quartered in public houses or private lodgings, but in that year new barracks were prepared on the north side of North Terrace near Kintore Avenue. The new barracks comprised two wings, each containing three small rooms, one of which was set apart as a guard room, cook house and mess room. Three were sleeping apartments. The other two in the west wing were especially made over for use by Alexander Tolmer when he was Inspector of Police. The stables extended from wing to wing and were built of broad palings, affording accommodation for about twenty horses, with a loft above for hay.

 

The Barracks were subsequently rebuilt in about 1851 and closed for police use when the Thebarton Barracks were built in 1916. The old Barracks was used by a number of Government departments,  including the Children's Library and was partly demolished in the 1960’s to make way for A modern  building. The old gate of the Barracks still stands between the huge portals and archway, and is to be preserved because of its historical value. The Police Historical Society opened a Museum in the three  top rooms on April 28th, 1988 and closed in December 1996. It has been partly re-established in the Thebarton Police Barracks. *

In 1891, 1 Angas Street Adelaide became the permanent address of the Headquarters of the South Australia Police Department. Prior to that time the Police Headquarters and the Court were established in a building adjacent to the present G.P.O. building in King William Street, Adelaide. In 1965 a multi-storey building was erected in Angas Street and this became Police Headquarters. On 18th September 1978, Police Headquarters was transferred to 202 Greenhill Road, Eastwood and the Angas Street building became Central Police Headquarters. In March 1993 the Eastwood premises were vacated and Police Headquarters were moved to its present day location of 30 Flinders Street, Adelaide.
 
 
 

By 1890 the Force was divided into three Branches - Mounted, Foot and Detective - and the State was divided into six Police Divisions : Metropolitan, Suburban, South Eastern, Central, Northern and Far Northern. Police Stations has also been established throughout the interior, following the telegraph line to Darwin. The Northern Territory Police comprised one Inspector and twenty six men, with forty eight horses. They were part of the South Australia Force but were managed entirely by the Inspector in Charge who was responsible to the Minister for the Territory.

The daily pay for all Constables was seven and six pence (7/6d). In addition, Constables of more than four years standing were entitled to one penny (1d) per day for every year of service in excess of four years. Leave of absence for recreation on full pay, not exceeding fourteen days in the year, was allowed to every Constable. Members who committed breaches of discipline were punished by fines or dismissed, and the fines, fees and forfeitures were used to pay retiring allowances to non-commissioned Officers and Constables.

New recruits were drilled twice a day for a month and were required to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the Instruction Book as well as the general routine of street duty during that period. They also attended the Police Courts every morning to familiarise themselves with the method of giving evidence and general court procedure.

Until 1869 the Force was conducted under the Act of 1839 - 1841, with various amendments, but during 1869 - 1870 Parliament passed a Consolidating Act which controlled the administration of the Police Department.

The administration of the Northern Territory was taken over by South Australia in 1863 and was transferred to the Commonwealth in 1911.

In 1952 a new Police Regulation Act was passed, and a comprehensive set of Police Regulations was instituted for the management of the Force.

From 1840 the Police Department had been run as two Branches, the Foot and the Mounted, later to become the Metropolitan and the Country Police. In July 1958 the Department became one Service.

For Police purposes the State is divided into regions which are major administrative commands. These incorporate both metropolitan and country areas.

The Emergency Fire Service was inaugurated under the auspices of the Police Department in 1946.

In 1976 the Country Fires Act established the E.F.S. as an independent body, responsible directly to the Chief Secretary, and the organisation renamed County Fire Services.

The Civil Defence organisation (now the State Emergency Service) in this State was placed under the auspices of the Police Department in January 1962

 

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