Efficacious attempts at centralised city policing began in earnest in the eighteenth-century, in Dublin. A series of poor harvests and food rioting stemming from cold winters caused by the final stage of the Little Ice Age resulted in several justice administration reforms in the Irish Parliament, eventually culminating in establishment of a day police. A History of Policing Cities (CUP, 2026) explores how city policing emerged as a response to unrest and subsistence crises during the late stage of the Little Ice Age.
Following a bloody affray during an arrest, the Brisbane Courier described Sergeant McDonald as ‘an old Crimean warrior, having taken part in the three great battles of Alma, Balaclava, Inkermann, and the final assault on Sebastopol. In proof of this he now wears with his ordinary uniform the medals and clasps he received for services in that campaign, and also the Victorian Cross, as a special mark of distinction commemorative of his bravery in an incidental collision with the Russians’
You are warmly invited to the War and Police, a new exhibition exploring the stories and experiences of Queensland police during the Great War.
Inspired by Dr Anastasia Dukova’s book Queensland Police in the Great War this exhibition explores the diverse experiences of officers who chose to enlist in the armed forces, those who remained in Queensland, and the challenges of policing the state during wartime.