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Did you know.... The Police Gazette of WA from 1876 onwards

Date:
By Mrs Julie Martin

 

Every family has its secrets, and they are often revealed in The Police Gazette of Western Australia (1876 onwards), a valuable resource for researching people, police and criminals in Western Australia.

Information can be found under various headings:

  • apprehensions (name of person arrested, arresting constable, charge and sentence);
  • police appointments, dismissals, discharges, promotions, resignations and transfers;
  • tickets of leave, certificates of freedom, and conditional pardons issued to convicts;
  • physical descriptions of prisoners (name, condition, build, age, height, hair and eye colour, visage, complexion, trade, nationality and distinguishing marks);
  • deserters from military service;
  • escaped prisoners;
  • expirees leaving the colony;
  • inquests (where held, date, before whom, name and date of death of person, verdict);
  • licences (publican, gallon, eating, boarding and lodging houses, railway refreshment rooms, wine and beer, colonial wine, spirit merchants, club, wayside house, packet and billiard table - name of licensee, name of hotel etc and town or district given);
  • missing friends;
  • prisoners discharged;
  • people tried at Quarter Sessions (name, offence, district, verdict, how disposed of);
  • special inquiries;
  • stealing in dwellings;
  • and warrants issued.

How do you access them?

Click on this link:    https://slwa.wa.gov.au/collections/collections/police-gazettes

With thanks to the Friends of Battye Library and the Sholl Bequest, the Police Gazettes 1876-1900 have been digitised and are fully text searchable.

 

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