From tracking bushrangers through the scrub to tracing missing mobile phones through social media, policing in Forbes has a colourful history.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now those who have served since police presence was established on the Lachlan diggings in 1862 have been painstakingly recorded in an honour roll.
The first name in the Forbes Police honour roll is Inspector Frederick Pottinger, whose name is often associated with the pursuit of bushrangers in the Lachlan region at the time.
No less than 29 police served in Forbes in 1862, with activity on the Lachlan goldfields at its peak.
There were two police stations, one in town and one at Camp Hill. There was a large contingent of mounted police, including Pottinger.
Two local officers met tragic ends within the station’s first two years: Constable William Havilland was fatally shot - accidentally - on a gold escort by his own firearm; Constable Jeremiah O’Horrigan drowned crossing the Lachlan River after his horse fell.
The controversial Sir Pottinger died en route to Sydney in 1865 after the pistol he was carrying in his waistcoat accidentally discharged.
Pottinger had spent many hours in the saddle and living in the bush on the trail of bushrangers Gardiner, Gilbert and Ben Hall.
The website benhallbushranger.com.au says Pottinger was attempting to lure the threesome into the open at a local horse race by riding, in breach of police regulations.
He was dismissed for this and was on his way to Sydney to seek redress when he was killed.
The honour roll lists officers who have worked in Forbes each year from then until now, with plenty of room to go forward.
The historical data has been carefully gathered through the past three years by police chaplain Father Peter King, Senior Constable Daniel Greef, Detective Senior Constable Allan Donnelly, Senior Sergeant Henry (Harry) Coggan, Senior Sergeant Don Craft, Sergeant Lyndon Byrne and Senior Constable (Allan) John Penrose.
Len Pietsch agreed to the job of scribe and found he too spent hours looking through the historic records.
In the past three years he has spent many hours carefully printing the names and numbers of Forbes officers into a single A4 book.
“I was trapped into this in some ways, but I’m pleased,” he said.
“It’s been an interesting exercise.
“Each time we thought we were near the end another lot of names would turn up.”
History enthusiast Peter Thornton has agreed to keep the honour roll updated in future and the book was handed over yesterday.
Sgt Adam Beard thanked all involved for their time and effort and presented Mr Pietsch with a certificate of appreciation for his work.
“From bushrangers to break-ins at the bowlie, policing in Forbes has a colourful history,” he said.
“To have a record like this is great.”