Police Honour Roll - The Police Association Victoria

The members listed below have paid the supreme price in the service of their community.

Their duty-related deaths are hereby commemorated in the Victoria Police Honour Roll and serve as a reminder that policing is never without its attendant risks.

30 Jan 1837	Constable Matthew Tomkin (Melbourne Police)	Shot in the Western District by an escaped convict
1 Feb 1852	Corporal William Harvey (Gold Fields Police)	Shot at Buninyong police camp by another Trooper who objected to his personal boxes being searched

Formation of Victoria Police in 1853

5 Aug 1853	Constable Edward Gray	Drowned whilst on duty
3 Dec 1853	Constable Daniel Mullaly	Fell from horse and dray,subsequently crushed by cart wheel
26 Feb 1854	Constable William Hogan	Accidentally drowned whilst on the lookout for smugglers
3 Aug 1854	Constable Andrew Henderson	Thrown from horse and trampled upon
8 Aug 1854	Constable Robert Lindsay	Accidentally shot himself in the arm, resulting in amputation and later death.
2 Jan 1856	Constable Robert Brunton	Thrown from horse
7 Jul 1856	Constable David Anderson	Drowned (unknown circumstances)
2 Aug 1856	Constable Stephen Bates	Drowned whilst crossing a river with his horse
16 Oct 1856	Sergeant John McNally	Shot whilst attempting to effect arrest
21 Oct 1856	Constable Edward Fallon	Drowned crossing a creek whilst on patrol
4 Dec 1856	Cadet Mounted Constable Edward Thompson	Shot by Bushrangers (Bradley and O’Connor)
1 Feb 1858	Constable Edward Barnett	Shot whilst attempting to effect arrest
30 Aug 1858	Constable Robert Logan	Thrown from horse whilst on patrol
30 Sep 1858	Constable Philip Cabot	Drowned (unknown circumstances)
26 Apr 1859	Constable Walter Rendell	Drowned when he fell from Australia Wharf whilst investigating a charge of pilfering from a vessel that was moored there
18 Aug 1859	Sergeant George Dodds	Stabbed whilst attempting to effect arrest
12 Nov 1859	Senior Constable Patrick Henry Moylette	Disappeared in the bush whilst returning from Britannia Goldfield
29 Jun 1860	Constable Edward Reilly	Thrown from horse whilst on patrol
17 Aug 1860	Constable William Campbell	Thrown from his horse whilst on patrol
27 May 1862	Constable Patrick Conarty	Fatally injured by a falling tree whilst speaking to a potential witness in a forthcoming trial
4 Apr 1863	Constable Robert Strahan	Drowned whilst fording a river after recapturing an escaped prisoner
5 Aug 1863	Constable Daniel O’Boyle	Struck with a hammer by a prisoner on remand
25 Sep 1863	Superintendent 2^nd Class Robert Crofton Taylor	Accidentally shot himself whilst cleaning his revolver at home
7 Jun 1864	Constable William Hanson	Died as a result of assisting at a postmortem whilst having a cut on his skin; Inquest vedict: “absorption of matter into his skin”
5 Oct 1864	Constable John McElveen	Drowned whilst crossing a flooded creek on horseback
19 Mar 1867	Constable Justin McCarthy	Thrown from his horse whilst escorting a prisoner
20 Nov 1868	Sergeant Thomas Wood Hull	Shot by a disgruntled constable who had been dismissed that day for persistent drunkenness and blamed his colleagues for the loss of his job
8 Sep 1870	Constable William Kennedy	Fell from his horse and drowned on a flooded road
27 Oct 1870	Constable John Joseph McNamara	Drowned in a flooded creek
6 Jun 1871	Constable James Deacon	Died when his horse, which was pulling a dray load of wood, bolted, causing a dray wheel to pass over his back
11 Nov 1871	Constable John Alexander Duff	Thrown from his horse whilst on patrol
28 May 1872	Constable Patrick Francis Curtin	Thrown from a wagonette and suffered fatal internal injuries whilst on his way to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a felon
31 July 1876	Constable James Herlihy	Thrown from his horse
23 Mar 1877	Constable Thomas Collins	Fell from his horse whilst on patrol; an unlit obstruction left on the roadway contributed to the accident
26 Oct 1878	Sergeant Michael Kennedy	Shot by bushrangers (Kelly Gang – Stringybark Creek)
26 Oct 1878	Constable Thomas Lonigan	Shot by bushrangers (Kelly Gang – Stringybark Creek)
26 Oct 1878	Constable Michael Scanlan	Shot by bushrangers (Kelly Gang – Stringybark Creek)

12 Jun 1880	Sergeant 1^st Class Leonard Fawssett	Broke his leg as a result of a stagecoach accident and eventually required an amputation; gangrene later set in
7 Jun 1880	Constable Patrick Mallavey	Drowned whilst performing wharf patrol along Yarra Bank, Melbourne; it was later deduced he tripped in a hole in the wharf planking and fell into the water
18 Jan 1881	Constable David Digby	Washed to sea when attempting to return to shore, after gaurding a ship that had been stranded on rocks
23 Feb 1881	Sergeant 1^st Class James Porter	Fell down a flight of steps at the Richmond Depot and was fatally injured
28 Dec 1881	Senior Constable Irwin William	Thrown from his horse whilst fetching a dray to recover a dead body
15 Jun 1882	Patrick Barrett	Hit by a train on his way to serve a summons
6 Jan 1886	Constable Thomas Ryan	Disappeared whilst checking the local Chinese camp in White Hills
27 Nov 1887	Constable William Clarke	Died resulting from injuries inflicted by a prisoner he was conveying
15 Oct 1888	Constable Daniel James Courtney	Hit by a train whilst on patrol
13 Mar 1892	Constable Arthur William Brown	Struck unexpectedly in the mouth by another man, causing him to fracture his skull when he fell
24 Mar 1893	Constable James Paul Slattery	Hit by a train as he went to see a Magistrate to get some documents signed
25 Sep 1893	Senior Constable Thomas Holt	Thrown from his horse whilst conducting investigations in the Nagambie region; his internal injuries compelled him to resign and he died later that year
14 Feb 1894	Constable John Joseph Glynn	Thrown or fell from his horse
10 Aug 1895	Constable Olaf Henry Hoyem	Fractured his skull when his horse shied as he attempted to mount it
28 Dec 1897	Constable Josiah Rowley	Driven down and drowned under the weight of his horse when his mount fell as they attempted to cross a makeshift bridge over a flooded billabong
1 Jan 1902	Constable Timothy John Murphy	Contracted typhoid fever, possibly by drinking from a billabong whilst on patrol
18 May 1902	Constable Charles Elwood Hornibrook	Fell from horse
12 Oct 1902	Constable Richard Johnston	Shot by an offender
5 Jan 1906	Constable Henry Charles Blair	Died from meningitis, which had supervened on typoid fever contracted from drinking contaminated water from a billabong whilst on patrol
15 Mar 1907	Constable Hugh Lennox	Sustained severe internal injuries when his horse bucked after returning from patrol; he suffered a fractured pelvis and developed peritonitis
19 Jun 1908	Constable Hugh Kennedy	Rode into the back of an unlit plough whilst on patrol and later developed peritonitis

17 Jul 1909	Constable Francis Bruckner	Hit by a train whilst walking to a job
4 Jan 1911	Constable Charles Hothem Jones	Struck on the head whilst escorting a prisoner to the local watch house as a rescue attempt of the prisoner was made
10 Jan 1911	Constable John Sanford Collins	Died from ulceration of the bowels – the result of having been kicked in the stomach whilst attempting an arrest four and a half years prior to his death
8 Dec 1911	Constable James Ogilvie	Sustained serious injuries on the way to a Police Band picnic when the front wheels of their motor vehicle collapsed; he died within days of the accident
8 Dec 1911	Constable Harold Riddle	Killed in same incident
6 April 1912	Constable Edmund Crimmin	Fell from his horse whilst pursuing a cyclist
1 Oct 1915	Constable David Edward McGrath	Shot by an offender whilst investigating a burglary
24 Oct 1916	Senior Constable John Tennant	Motor vehicle accident on return from conducting enquiries in another township
25 Nov 1916	Constable Angus McInnes	Fell from his horse whilst returning from mounted patrol at Flemington Races
20 Mar 1920	Constable George Henry Taylor	Shot whilst attempting to effect arrest
9 Jan 1921	Constable William Michael Sharrock	Drowned when a motor launch sank in a river near Warnambool; posthumously awarded the Valor Badge for helping to save the lives of others as the vessel sank
3 May 1922	Constable Edward O’Neill	Died of septic meningitis caused by a fracture to his skull after falling from his horse
3 Sep 1923	Constable Joseph Delaney	Shot by a burglary suspect he had gone to interview
12 Jul 1925	Constable Victor Nelson	Died from an attack of erysipelas combined with blood poisoning, caused by direct contact with septic burns on a person he was escorting.
24 Dec 1925	Constable James Clare	Stabbed in a fracas involving two young men whilst accompanying two colleagues on a plain clothes patrol of North Melbourne
1 Oct 1926	Constable Arthur Roy Currie	Motor vehicle accident caused by his patrol car running into a tramway excavation
9 Jun 1928	Constable Owen Harrison Maggs	Died as a result of a collision with a motor car whilst travelling as a passenger in a police motorcycle outfit
27 Jun 1929	Constable Donald Gordon Duncan	Killed when his motorcycle collided with a truck whilst on patrol
14 Feb 1931	Constable William John Vincent Roberts	Motor vehicle collision whilst on patrol
5 Jan 1935	Constable Clyde James Smith	Fatally injured when a colleague’s gun accidentally discharged
30 Apr 1935	Constable John Henry Robins	Fatally injured in a motor car collision whilst travelling as a passenger in a police motorcycle outfit
1 Feb 1937	Constable Leonard Cardell Rymer	Died from complications when his police motorcycle outfit, which had broken down and was being towed back to Russell Street, overturned
12 Jan 1938	Constable Bertram Clifford Robinson	Fell to the pavement whilst cleaning a third floor window; he was performing fatigue duties at the Gaming Squad offices at the time
4 Apr 1938	Constable Victor Ernest Bateman	Struck a tramway pole whilst driving a police motorcycle outfit in pursuit of a speeding motorist; the latter had already crashed into another car and Bateman swerved to avoid the collision
30 Jun 1939	First Constable William Frederick Cawthorn	Struck by a passing car whilst attending the scene of a motor vehicle accident
1 Mar 1943	Senior Constable Frederick Edward Jones	Shot in Richmond by a passenger in a passing taxi cab
2 Jan 1948	Constable Maxwell Herbert Coop	Died from injuries sustained when his motorcycle ran off the road whilst on patrol
21 Oct 1948	Constable Garth Elvin Atkin	Collided with the rear of a truck whilst riding a police motor cycle outfit
1 Feb 1952	Constable George Howell	Shot by an offender whilst investigating a series of car thefts
6 Apr 1952	Constable Ronald Albert Creusot	Collided with a motor car whilst riding a police motor cycle
17 May 1954	Constable Charles Marcus Reeve	Collided with a motor car whilst riding a police motor cycle
16 May 1956	Constable William Joseph Harnetty	Swept away in flood waters and drowned when his boat capsized