A civil constabulary, first officially mooted at a meeting on 21 August 1851, was established in the colony on 5 March 1853. Twenty years later, on 14 November 1873, Detective Sergeant T. Rowe was appointed as the WA Police Force's first detective.
The civil constabulary eventually became the Police force that was a notable party to the removal of Aboriginal children from their parents in Western Australia and which has had a less-publicised role in helping take non-Aboriginal children into 'care'.
Sources used to compile this entry: Chate, A.H; Graham, Bruce; Oakley, Glenda, Date it!: a Western Australian chronology to 1929, Friends of the Battye Library (Inc.), Northbridge, Western Australia, 1991.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 18 January 2012, Last modified: 21 August 2013