What is a Police Gazette?
Compiled to be distributed amongst the Police Force only, Police Gazettes
contain details and information that can not be found anywhere else. Produced at
regular intervals (usually once a week), it was a way of making information
available to all in the Police Force throughout the whole state.
What information can be found in a South Australian Police Gazette?
The information contained in the Police Gazettes does vary a little from
year to year, but overall you will find details of any changes within the police
force which are all listed (promotions, demotions, discharges, resignations,
deaths), information is also given on housebreak-ins,
robberies, arson, murders, lost horses and cattle, deserters from services and
from families, escaped prisoners,
missing friends, lost and found items, and reports on those released. Notices from interstate police
gazettes are usually included if it was felt that the person may be heading
towards that state.
How can this help me?
Anyone researching their family will have a 'lost' family member or two! You
may well find them listed here, being on either side of the law. Or maybe they
were a Policeman who transferred to another department or division, or someone
that was a victim of a crime. You can find the physical details on persons
listed here, missing, wanted or released, which helps to paint a picture of them
(name, aliases used, age, height, colour hair, colour eyes, distinguishing
features, even colour clothing worn).
Far from being just a unique and extremely fascinating resource for local,
family and social historians - they are useful for anyone with an interest in
South Australia in the 1870s. The CD contains the 1879 and 1880 South
Australian Police Gazettes on one CD.
Example entry taken from the 3 September 1879 issue:
Inquests
On the 29th ultimo, by Thomas Ward, J.P., City Coroner, at the Yatala Labor
Prison, on the body of a convict named James Williams. Verdict - 'died from
consumption'.
On the 25th ultimo, by Thomas Ward, J.P., City Coroner, at the Adelaide
Hospital, on the body of Charles Richards. Verdict - 'Died from peritonitis, the
result of being kicked by a horse'.
This CD contains high quality scanned images of the whole of each year's issues.
It has been bookmarked for easy navigation. and pages can be searched, browsed,
enlarged and printed out if required.
