🏢 Police Department, Tuapeka District, Tuapeka and Lawrence
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Array ( [entityType] => ITEM [entity] => Array ( [contextId] => aims [description] => Array ( [0] => No summary is currently available ) [id] => AAHE [idSort] => AAHE [name] => Police Department, Tuapeka District, Tuapeka and Lawrence [custom] => Array ( [custom1] => Date disestablished: Not researched (after 1876) Location Main station: Tuapeka (1863-1867), Lawrence (1867-1876) The Tuapeka District comprised ...all that area bounded towards the north by the Ranges between Mount Benger and Lammerlaw, towards the east by the ...Police Districts of Dunedin and Tomairiro, towards the south by Dull Burn, Waitahuna, and Clutha Rivers, and towards the Clutha Rivers, and towards the west by Black Cleugh Burn, and the Ranges running from Papanui Ranges to Mount Benger. [Proclamation of Police Districts under Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (16 November 1863, OPGG, 1863, Vol. VI, p. 491] For the period to 1876 (when provincial government was abolished - the subsequent period is not being documented at this stage), this District had the following stations: Tuapeka c.1863-1867 Lawrence 1867- Waipori Havelock 1876- Roxburgh 1876- Switzers 1868- Tapanui 1869- Waitahuna 1865-1875 Teviot 1866-1871 Wetherstones c.1863-1869 Tokomairiro 1866 Blue Spur 1866 East Taieri 1866 Glenore 1866 Monroe's c.1863-1865 Lower Waitahuna c.1863-1864 Upper Waitahuna c.1863-1864 (Those with an opening date of 1863 may have existed before then, but that is the first year in which details of stations are given in the Police Report in the Appendix to the Otago Votes and Proceedings). Responsible Minister Provincial Secretary 1863-1868 Provincial Secretary and Treasurer 1868-1870 Provincial Treasurer 1870-1871 Provincial Secretary and Treasurer and Secretary for Lands 1871-1874 Provincial Secretary and Secretary for Lands and Works 1874-1875 Provincial Secretary and Secretary for Lands and Railways 1875-1876 Notes This agency documentation has been prepared as part of a project on the archives of the Otago Provincial Government. It therefore concentrates almost exclusively on the provincial period (1853-1876). It has been assumed however, that the agency continued to exist after 1876, but with a different controlling organisation. The documentation has been prepared almost exclusively from the annual returns for the Police Department, in the AOV&P, 1863-1876. Returns for some years are not printed, however, which may mean there are some minor errors in the documentation, e.g. exact dates of stations, or the possible omission of stations that existed only in a year for which the return was not printed. Years for which no returns are given are 1867, 1872, and 1873. [custom2] => Official publications: Otago Provincial Government Gazette, 1853-1876 Otago Provincial Council. Ordinances, 1854-1876 Otago Provincial Council. Votes and Proceedings, 1854-1876 New Zealand Statutes, 1854-1876 Secondary Sources: R.S. Hill, Policing the Colonial Frontier, Part II (Wellington, 1986) ) [identifier] => Array ( [priref] => Array ( [0] => 187 ) ) [agentControlRelation] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [name] => Province of Otago [type] => controlled_by [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1863-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [hasEndDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1876-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Organisation [relationHasSource] => A0016 ) ) [agentHierarchicalRelation] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [name] => Police Department, Dunedin District [type] => controlling [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1863-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [hasEndDate] => Array ( [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => unknown ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasTarget] => AAGE ) [1] => Array ( [name] => New Zealand Police, National Headquarters [type] => controlling [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1863-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => approximate [1] => yearOnly ) ) [hasEndDate] => Array ( [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => unknown ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasTarget] => AAAJ ) [2] => Array ( [name] => Blue Spur Police Station [type] => controlled_by [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1864-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => approximate [1] => yearOnly ) ) [hasEndDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1877-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => approximate [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasSource] => DAMD ) ) [agentMandateOther] => Array ( [0] => Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension and Amendment Ordinance 1863 (No. 129) [1] => Immigration - Police were the only persons authorised to receive passage money, outside the Government Buildings, Dunedin (Notice by Immigration Agent, 12 April 1870, OPGG, 1870, p. 174) [2] => Chinese - Proclamation: (29 January 1868, OPGG, 1868, p. 39) [3] => Town Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1856 (No. 16) [4] => Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 (No. 27) [5] => Diseased cattle - regulations for the destruction of diseased cattle, and for preventing the spread of pleuro-pneumonia (18 January 1864,OPGG, 1864, pp 25-26) [6] => Common Lodging-Houses Ordinance 1862 (No. 105) [7] => Licensing Ordinance 1864 (No. 162) [8] => Licensed Auctioneers Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 18969 (No. 283) [9] => Otago Roads Ordinance 1865 (No. 190) [10] => Sheep Ordinance 1867 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 266) [11] => Turnpikes Ordinance 1866 (No. 232) [12] => Electric Telegraphs' Ordinance 1862 (No. 111) [13] => Lake Steam Navigation Ordinance 1863 (No. 130) [14] => Town and Country Police Ordinance 1862 (No. 103) [15] => Otago Provincial Government. Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary Force of Otago, New Zealand (Dunedin 1865) [16] => Pawnbrokers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 113) [17] => Licensed Hawkers Ordinance 1864 (No. 170) [18] => Thistle Prevention Ordinance 1862 (No. 93) [19] => Justices of the Peace Act 1866 [20] => Vagrant Ordinance 1861 (No. 62) [21] => Goat Nuisance Ordinance 1868 (No. 273) [22] => Kerosine and Parafine (sic) Oils Ordinance 1863 (No. 131) [23] => Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (No. 65) [24] => Gold Fields Provincial Management Ordinance 1867 (No. 245) [25] => Sheep Ordinance 1856 (No. 12) [26] => Cattle Ordinance 1864 (No. 169) [27] => Assaults on Constables Act 1873 [28] => Quarantine - constables authorised to detain persons evading quarantine (Quarantine Regulations, 12 January 1864, OPGG, 1864, pp 71-72) [29] => Municipal Corporations Act 1867 [30] => Bakers and Millers Act 1871 [31] => Registration of dogs - penalty (between 20s. and £5) for each dog unregistered, from 1 July 1855; constabulary force officers instructed to require exhibition of registration tickets (OPGG, Vol. I, 1854, p. 81) [32] => Bush Fires Ordinance 1864 (No. 166) [33] => Impounding Ordinance 1872 (No. 365) [34] => Protection of Animals Act 1867 [35] => Impounding Ordinance 1862 (No. 112) [36] => Dog Registration - police stations within Waikouaiti District appointed as places for dog registration - Waikouaiti, Oamaru (OPGG, 1863, p. 570) [37] => Pig and Poultry Nuisance Ordinance 1864 (No. 165) [38] => Trigonometrical Station Ordinance 1861 (No. 48) [39] => Militia Act 1865 [40] => Cattle Ordinance 1864 Amendment Ordinance 1869 (No. 364) [41] => Police Regulations Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 1864 (No. 141) [42] => Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1862 (No. 78) [43] => Licensing Ordinance 1865 (No. 207) [44] => Bread Ordinance 1863 (No. 117) [45] => Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1864 (No. 170) [46] => Licensing Act 1873 Amendment Act 1874 [47] => Common Lodging-Houses' Ordinance 1862 (No. 105) [48] => Weights and measures - authorised copies of standard weights and measures to be kept at Central Police Station, Dunedin, and at main station of other Police Districts (OPGG, 1869, p. 76) [49] => Contagious Diseases Act 1868 [50] => Otago Roads Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1872 (No. 364) [51] => Licensed Theatres Ordinance 1870 (No. 310) [52] => Victoria Government, Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary of Victoria (Melbourne, 1856) [53] => Police Regulation Ordinance 1862 (No. 100) [54] => Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 272) [55] => Rules, Order and Regulations…for the Government of Members of the Police Force of Otago ([April 1866], Supplement, OPGG, 1866, pp 89-108) [56] => Fencing Ordinance 1867 (No. 246) [57] => Licensing Ordinance 1861 (No. 56) [58] => Dog Nuisance Ordinance 1862 (No. 85) [59] => Licensing Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 302) [60] => Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension Ordinance 1865 (No. 214) [61] => Fire Inspectors Act 1870 [62] => Medical Practitioners' Ordinance 1864 (No. 183) [63] => Armed Constabulary Act 1867 [64] => Constabulary Force Ordinance Amendment Act 1868 [65] => Sheep Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 303) [66] => Licensed Theatres' Ordinance 1862 (No. 108) [67] => Provincial Constabulary Act 1865 [68] => Appointments - numerous (named) members of Police as Registrars of Cattle and Sheep, Registrars of Brands, Gaolers (e.g., OPGG, 1863, p. 464; OPGG, 1868, p. 112; OPGG, 1873, p. 329) [69] => Employment - Police stations keep register of employment vacancies (as notified by employers) and are to give information to any men seeking employment ([17 October 1871], OPGG, 1871, p. 408) [70] => Distress Ordinance 1863 (No. 121) [71] => Licensed Carriages' Ordinance 1862 (No. 102) [72] => Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 109) [73] => American Blight Prevention Ordinance 1861 (No. 50) [74] => Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 99) ) [agentType] => Other [digitalRecordInArchive] => [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [type] => YearStart [normalizedValue] => 1863-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [hasEndDate] => Array ( [type] => YearEnd [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => unknown ) ) [history] => In 1861 a Gold Field Police Department was included in the Provincial appropriations: this was an interim measure to ensure order was kept on the goldfields, pending other arrangements. The general Otago Police Force took over responsibility for the goldfields, and in 1862 the Police Commissioner (St John Branigan) reported that the large increase in serious offences necessitated a large increase in the strength of the police force.
The new gold fields have caused a large increase of population, and necessitated a more than proportionate increase of Police Stations, as they not only require protection themselves, but, being situated at a long distance from Dunedin, need expensive escort arrangements, and the formation of stations along the whole of the road. The latter precaution is the more imperative from the fact that the track lies though country offering many advantages to the highway robber. [Police Report, in Departmental Reports, AOV&P, 1862, Session 19, p. 67]
In 1863 Branigan split Otago into several districts, the Officer-in-Charge of each district being responsible direct to the Police Commissioner. Each district had several police stations, though changes in population and resources meant the districts were adjusted from time to time. Branigan pointed out the multiplicity of duties performed by Otago Police:
.......such as inspection of slaughter yards, registration of dogs, crown land rangers, inspection of licenses, the collection and supervision of tolls, the performance of branch mails, and shortly, as I hope, the inspection of weights and measures, for none of which do they receive extra pay. [20 December 1868, cit. Annual Report, 1869, AOV&P, 1869, Session 25, p. 46].
The Tuapeka police were also responsible for the district gaol at Lawrence.
Relevant Legislation
Ordinances administered (Otago Provincial Government):
In addition to the ordinances listed below, many ordinances provided for summary proceedings and penalties against offenders. The police would have been involved in those proceedings.
Licensing Ordinance 1861 (No. 56)
- Commissioner of Police to approve lamp over door of licensed premises; police powers re offences etc
Dog Nuisance Ordinance 1862 (No. 85)
- dogs registered at district Police Office
- registration details; registry book to be kept and open to inspection
- registration fees to be paid over to Provincial Treasurer
Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 99)
- constable may inspect records of auction entries for sale of cattle; summary proceedings for offences
Police Regulation Ordinance 1862 (No. 100)
- regulation of Police force
- constables and sergeants to attend Resident Magistrates' and Justices of the Peace' Courts, when not engaged on actual duty, and obey directions
- applies to water police too
Town and Country Police Ordinance 1862 (No. 103)
Common Lodging-Houses' Ordinance 1862 (No. 105)
- police may have access, for disinfecting house; powers
Licensed Theatres' Ordinance 1862 (No. 108)
- police to have free access (on duty)
Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 109)
- requires Police District boundaries to be defined by proclamation of Provincial Superintendent
Impounding Ordinance 1862 (No. 112)
- notices of impounded animals etc to be posted at police stations
- constables empowered to impound animals trespassing
Pawnbrokers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 113)
- constable can demand to see licence; enforce ordinance
Bread Ordinance 1863 (No. 117)
- Inspector of Weights and Measures has authority to check accuracy of scales and of bread weight (and to enter premises, etc to do so)
Distress Ordinance 1863 (No. 121)
- Bailiffs authorised to act as sworn appraisers of good and chattels distrained for rent
Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension and Amendment Ordinance 1863 (No. 129)
- enforcement
Police Regulations Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 1864 (No. 141)
- Superintendent may remove inspectors and sub-inspectors; hear appeals against dismissal from lower ranks
Licensing Ordinance 1864 (No. 162)
- licences not to be granted to police officers
- police may have entrance by day or night; enforce ordinance
Pig and Poultry Nuisance Ordinance 1864 (No. 165)
- police to keep register of animals destroyed
Licensed Hawkers Ordinance 1864 (No. 170)
- notice of applications to be given to police by Clerk to Resident Magistrate's Court
Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension Ordinance 1865 (No. 214)
- offence added to named ordinances
Goat Nuisance Ordinance 1868 (No. 273)
- police to keep register of goats; enforcement
Licensing Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 302)
- Police of JP may object to renewal of licence
- police etc may inspect premises of holders of bottle licences, at any time; penalty if search prevented
Summary proceedings/penalties under these Ordinances (Otago):
Sheep Ordinance 1856 (No. 12)
Town Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1856 (No. 16)
Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 (No. 27)
Trigonometrical Station Ordinance 1861 (No. 48)
American Blight Prevention Ordinance 1861 (No .50)
Licensing Ordinance 1861 (No. 56)
Vagrant Ordinance 1861 (No. 62)
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (No. 65)
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1862 (No. 78)
Thistle Prevention Ordinance 1862 (No. 93)
Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 99)
Licensed Carriages' Ordinance 1862 (No. 102)
Common Lodging-Houses Ordinance 1862 (No. 105)
Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 109)
Electric Telegraphs' Ordinance 1862 (No. 111)
Pawnbrokers' Ordinance 1862 No. 113)
Bread Ordinance 1863 (No. 117)
Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension and Amendment Ordinance 1863 (No. 129)
Lake Stream Navigation Ordinance 1863 (No. 130)
Kerosine and Parafine (sic) Oils Ordinance 1863 (No. 131)
Licensing Ordinance 1864 (No. 162)
Bush Fires Ordinance 1864 (No. 166)
Cattle Ordinance 1864 (No. 169)
Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1864 (No. 170)
Medical Practitioners' Ordinance 1864 (No. 183)
Otago Roads Ordinance 1865 (No. 190)
Licensing Ordinance 1865 (No. 207)
Turnpikes Ordinance 1866 (No. 232)
Gold Fields Provincial Management Ordinance 1867 (No. 245)
Fencing Ordinance 1867 (No. 246)
Sheep Ordinance 1867 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 266)
Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 272)
Goat Nuisance Ordinance 1868 (No. 273)
Licensed Auctioneers Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 1869 (No. 283)
Cattle Ordinance 1864 Amendment Ordinance 1869 (No. 364)
Sheep Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 303)
Licensed Theatres Ordinance 1870 (No. 310)
Otago Roads Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1872 (No. 364)
Impounding Ordinance 1872 (No. 365)
Acts Administered (General Assembly):
Provincial Constabulary Act 1865
- powers conferred on Governor (Legislative Council: Ordinance to provide for the establishment and management of a Constabulary Force) to be exercised by Provincial Superintendents
- Superintendents/Provincial Councils may make laws for regulating Constabulary Force
Militia Act 1865
- exempt from militia service: Sheriffs and Constables
Justices of the Peace Act 1866
- constables conveying accused/prisoners elsewhere to be allowed his expenses (Paid by Colonial Treasurer, then chargeable against relevant province)
- constable, gaoler or turnkey must obey order to inflict punishment of whipping
- constables - execution of search warrants; may take bail (including provision for record book thereof)
Armed Constabulary Act 1867
Municipal Corporations Act 1867
- police constables to assist fire inspectors
Protection of Animals Act 1867
- constables (etc) may demand production of licence for hunting/selling game
Constabulary Force Ordinance Amendment Act 1868
- Governor may delegate powers
Contagious Diseases Act 1868
- Superintendent of Police to lay information, serve notice, apprehend offenders, etc
Fire Inspectors Act 1870
- police constables authorised to assist Fire Inspectors; may close street, may remove person interfering with operations
Bakers and Millers Act 1871
- constable may search baker's premises etc
- repeals Bread Ordinance 1863 and Bread Ordinance 1863 Amendment Ordinance 1864
Assaults on Constables Act 1873
- penalty of £10 or two months' imprisonment for assaulting/obstructing peace officers
Licensing Act 1873 Amendment Act 1874
- Chief Officer of Police (in each District) to furnish report to Licensing Court re licensed houses in District
Victoria Government, Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary of Victoria (Melbourne, 1856)
Otago Provincial Government. Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary Force of Otago, New Zealand (Dunedin 1865)
Rules, Order and Regulations...for the Government of members of the Police force of Otago ([April 1866], Supplement, OPGG, 1866, pp 89-108)
- details of organisation, structure, procedures
- districts, stations (including goldfields)
- "The Province is divided into certain districts, and these again are sub-divided into stations. At one of the stations are the head-quarters of the officer in charge of the district, which is in most cases designated by the name of the station. The stations with the exception of the head-quarters' station, are placed in charge of a non-commissioned officer, and where the station is of minor importance, in charge of a constable. In either case the party in charge is responsible to the officer in charge of the district for the locality over which he is placed.
"From the auriferous nature of the Province, and the migratory character of a great portion of the population...it is not possible to decide what shall be, for any lengthened period, the number of stations in each particular district. The number and boundaries of districts must necessarily be varied from time to time, as circumstances require, it often happening that a district of no great importance becomes, in a very short time, from an increase of population, far more than one officer can control." (p. 90)
- detectives
- detailed duties, powers of different ranks
- instructions re correspondence, reports etc
- books to be kept
Appointments - numerous (named) members of Police as registrars of Cattle and Sheep, Registrars of Brands, Gaolers (e.g., OPGG, 1863, p. 464; OPGG, 1868, p. 112; OPGG, 1873, p. 329)
Registration of dogs - penalty (between 20s. and £5) for each dog unregistered, from 1 July 1855; constabulary force officers instructed to require exhibition of registration tickets (OPGG, Vol. I, 1854, p. 81)
Police Districts - Proclamation defining same (16 November 1863, OPGG, 1863, p. 491)
Proclamation, extending Town and Country Police Ordinance 1862 to Dunedin, Port Chalmers, Oamaru, Hampden, Havelock, Molyneux, Outram, Clyde, Cromwell, Frankton, Queenstown, Kingston (16 December 1863, OPGG, 1863, pp 550-551)
Dog Registration - police stations within Waikouaiti District appointed as places for dog registration - Waikouaiti, Oamaru (OPGG, 1863, p. 570)
Diseased cattle - regulations for the destruction of diseased cattle, and for preventing the spread of pleuro-pneumonia (18 January 1864,OPGG, 1864, pp 25-26)
- powers of Inspectors of Diseased Cattle, and of Constables
Quarantine - constables authorised to detain persons evading quarantine (Quarantine Regulations, 12 January 1864, OPGG, 1864, pp 71-72)
Chinese - Proclamation: "the Police are strictly enjoined to keep a protective watch over the Chinese population in their respective districts, and in case of their being made aware of any injury having been illegally inflicted on any of the Chinese Population, to lose no time in bringing the perpetrators thereof to justice." (29 January 1868, OPGG, 1868, p. 39)
Weights and measures - authorised copies of standard weights and measures to be kept at Central police Station, Dunedin, and at main station of other Police Districts (OPGG, 1869, p. 76)
Immigration - Police were the only persons authorised to receive passage money, outside the Government Buildings, Dunedin (Notice by Immigration Agent, 12 April 1870, OPGG, 1870, p. 174)
Employment - Police stations keep register of employment vacancies (as notified by employers) and are to give information to any men seeking employment ([17 October 1871], OPGG, 1871, p. 408) [itemType] => Agency [rdfType] => agent [recordIsMissing] => [sequentialRelation] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [name] => Police Department, Dunstan District, Dunstan and Clyde [type] => predecessor [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1875-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasTarget] => AASE ) [1] => Array ( [name] => Police Department, Dunstan District, Dunstan and Clyde [type] => predecessor [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1865-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasTarget] => AASE ) [2] => Array ( [name] => Police Department, Tokomairiro District, Tokomairiro [type] => predecessor [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1866-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasTarget] => AAHF ) [3] => Array ( [name] => Police Department, Dunedin District [type] => predecessor [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1863-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasTarget] => AAGE ) [4] => Array ( [name] => Police Department, Tokomairiro District, Tokomairiro [type] => successor [hasBeginningDate] => Array ( [normalizedValue] => 1867-01-01T00:00:00.0Z [dateQualifier] => Array ( [0] => exact [1] => yearOnly ) ) [itemType] => Agency [relationHasSource] => AAHF ) ) [setSpec] => agency ) )
Show History
In 1861 a Gold Field Police Department was included in the Provincial appropriations: this was an interim measure to ensure order was kept on the goldfields, pending other arrangements. The general Otago Police Force took over responsibility for the goldfields, and in 1862 the Police Commissioner (St John Branigan) reported that the large increase in serious offences necessitated a large increase in the strength of the police force.The new gold fields have caused a large increase of population, and necessitated a more than proportionate increase of Police Stations, as they not only require protection themselves, but, being situated at a long distance from Dunedin, need expensive escort arrangements, and the formation of stations along the whole of the road. The latter precaution is the more imperative from the fact that the track lies though country offering many advantages to the highway robber. [Police Report, in Departmental Reports, AOV&P, 1862, Session 19, p. 67]
In 1863 Branigan split Otago into several districts, the Officer-in-Charge of each district being responsible direct to the Police Commissioner. Each district had several police stations, though changes in population and resources meant the districts were adjusted from time to time. Branigan pointed out the multiplicity of duties performed by Otago Police:
.......such as inspection of slaughter yards, registration of dogs, crown land rangers, inspection of licenses, the collection and supervision of tolls, the performance of branch mails, and shortly, as I hope, the inspection of weights and measures, for none of which do they receive extra pay. [20 December 1868, cit. Annual Report, 1869, AOV&P, 1869, Session 25, p. 46].
The Tuapeka police were also responsible for the district gaol at Lawrence.
Relevant Legislation
Ordinances administered (Otago Provincial Government):
In addition to the ordinances listed below, many ordinances provided for summary proceedings and penalties against offenders. The police would have been involved in those proceedings.
Licensing Ordinance 1861 (No. 56)
- Commissioner of Police to approve lamp over door of licensed premises; police powers re offences etc
Dog Nuisance Ordinance 1862 (No. 85)
- dogs registered at district Police Office
- registration details; registry book to be kept and open to inspection
- registration fees to be paid over to Provincial Treasurer
Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 99)
- constable may inspect records of auction entries for sale of cattle; summary proceedings for offences
Police Regulation Ordinance 1862 (No. 100)
- regulation of Police force
- constables and sergeants to attend Resident Magistrates' and Justices of the Peace' Courts, when not engaged on actual duty, and obey directions
- applies to water police too
Town and Country Police Ordinance 1862 (No. 103)
Common Lodging-Houses' Ordinance 1862 (No. 105)
- police may have access, for disinfecting house; powers
Licensed Theatres' Ordinance 1862 (No. 108)
- police to have free access (on duty)
Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 109)
- requires Police District boundaries to be defined by proclamation of Provincial Superintendent
Impounding Ordinance 1862 (No. 112)
- notices of impounded animals etc to be posted at police stations
- constables empowered to impound animals trespassing
Pawnbrokers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 113)
- constable can demand to see licence; enforce ordinance
Bread Ordinance 1863 (No. 117)
- Inspector of Weights and Measures has authority to check accuracy of scales and of bread weight (and to enter premises, etc to do so)
Distress Ordinance 1863 (No. 121)
- Bailiffs authorised to act as sworn appraisers of good and chattels distrained for rent
Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension and Amendment Ordinance 1863 (No. 129)
- enforcement
Police Regulations Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 1864 (No. 141)
- Superintendent may remove inspectors and sub-inspectors; hear appeals against dismissal from lower ranks
Licensing Ordinance 1864 (No. 162)
- licences not to be granted to police officers
- police may have entrance by day or night; enforce ordinance
Pig and Poultry Nuisance Ordinance 1864 (No. 165)
- police to keep register of animals destroyed
Licensed Hawkers Ordinance 1864 (No. 170)
- notice of applications to be given to police by Clerk to Resident Magistrate's Court
Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension Ordinance 1865 (No. 214)
- offence added to named ordinances
Goat Nuisance Ordinance 1868 (No. 273)
- police to keep register of goats; enforcement
Licensing Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 302)
- Police of JP may object to renewal of licence
- police etc may inspect premises of holders of bottle licences, at any time; penalty if search prevented
Summary proceedings/penalties under these Ordinances (Otago):
Sheep Ordinance 1856 (No. 12)
Town Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1856 (No. 16)
Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 (No. 27)
Trigonometrical Station Ordinance 1861 (No. 48)
American Blight Prevention Ordinance 1861 (No .50)
Licensing Ordinance 1861 (No. 56)
Vagrant Ordinance 1861 (No. 62)
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (No. 65)
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1862 (No. 78)
Thistle Prevention Ordinance 1862 (No. 93)
Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 99)
Licensed Carriages' Ordinance 1862 (No. 102)
Common Lodging-Houses Ordinance 1862 (No. 105)
Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 109)
Electric Telegraphs' Ordinance 1862 (No. 111)
Pawnbrokers' Ordinance 1862 No. 113)
Bread Ordinance 1863 (No. 117)
Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension and Amendment Ordinance 1863 (No. 129)
Lake Stream Navigation Ordinance 1863 (No. 130)
Kerosine and Parafine (sic) Oils Ordinance 1863 (No. 131)
Licensing Ordinance 1864 (No. 162)
Bush Fires Ordinance 1864 (No. 166)
Cattle Ordinance 1864 (No. 169)
Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1864 (No. 170)
Medical Practitioners' Ordinance 1864 (No. 183)
Otago Roads Ordinance 1865 (No. 190)
Licensing Ordinance 1865 (No. 207)
Turnpikes Ordinance 1866 (No. 232)
Gold Fields Provincial Management Ordinance 1867 (No. 245)
Fencing Ordinance 1867 (No. 246)
Sheep Ordinance 1867 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 266)
Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 272)
Goat Nuisance Ordinance 1868 (No. 273)
Licensed Auctioneers Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 1869 (No. 283)
Cattle Ordinance 1864 Amendment Ordinance 1869 (No. 364)
Sheep Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 303)
Licensed Theatres Ordinance 1870 (No. 310)
Otago Roads Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1872 (No. 364)
Impounding Ordinance 1872 (No. 365)
Acts Administered (General Assembly):
Provincial Constabulary Act 1865
- powers conferred on Governor (Legislative Council: Ordinance to provide for the establishment and management of a Constabulary Force) to be exercised by Provincial Superintendents
- Superintendents/Provincial Councils may make laws for regulating Constabulary Force
Militia Act 1865
- exempt from militia service: Sheriffs and Constables
Justices of the Peace Act 1866
- constables conveying accused/prisoners elsewhere to be allowed his expenses (Paid by Colonial Treasurer, then chargeable against relevant province)
- constable, gaoler or turnkey must obey order to inflict punishment of whipping
- constables - execution of search warrants; may take bail (including provision for record book thereof)
Armed Constabulary Act 1867
Municipal Corporations Act 1867
- police constables to assist fire inspectors
Protection of Animals Act 1867
- constables (etc) may demand production of licence for hunting/selling game
Constabulary Force Ordinance Amendment Act 1868
- Governor may delegate powers
Contagious Diseases Act 1868
- Superintendent of Police to lay information, serve notice, apprehend offenders, etc
Fire Inspectors Act 1870
- police constables authorised to assist Fire Inspectors; may close street, may remove person interfering with operations
Bakers and Millers Act 1871
- constable may search baker's premises etc
- repeals Bread Ordinance 1863 and Bread Ordinance 1863 Amendment Ordinance 1864
Assaults on Constables Act 1873
- penalty of £10 or two months' imprisonment for assaulting/obstructing peace officers
Licensing Act 1873 Amendment Act 1874
- Chief Officer of Police (in each District) to furnish report to Licensing Court re licensed houses in District
Victoria Government, Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary of Victoria (Melbourne, 1856)
Otago Provincial Government. Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary Force of Otago, New Zealand (Dunedin 1865)
Rules, Order and Regulations...for the Government of members of the Police force of Otago ([April 1866], Supplement, OPGG, 1866, pp 89-108)
- details of organisation, structure, procedures
- districts, stations (including goldfields)
- "The Province is divided into certain districts, and these again are sub-divided into stations. At one of the stations are the head-quarters of the officer in charge of the district, which is in most cases designated by the name of the station. The stations with the exception of the head-quarters' station, are placed in charge of a non-commissioned officer, and where the station is of minor importance, in charge of a constable. In either case the party in charge is responsible to the officer in charge of the district for the locality over which he is placed.
"From the auriferous nature of the Province, and the migratory character of a great portion of the population...it is not possible to decide what shall be, for any lengthened period, the number of stations in each particular district. The number and boundaries of districts must necessarily be varied from time to time, as circumstances require, it often happening that a district of no great importance becomes, in a very short time, from an increase of population, far more than one officer can control." (p. 90)
- detectives
- detailed duties, powers of different ranks
- instructions re correspondence, reports etc
- books to be kept
Appointments - numerous (named) members of Police as registrars of Cattle and Sheep, Registrars of Brands, Gaolers (e.g., OPGG, 1863, p. 464; OPGG, 1868, p. 112; OPGG, 1873, p. 329)
Registration of dogs - penalty (between 20s. and £5) for each dog unregistered, from 1 July 1855; constabulary force officers instructed to require exhibition of registration tickets (OPGG, Vol. I, 1854, p. 81)
Police Districts - Proclamation defining same (16 November 1863, OPGG, 1863, p. 491)
Proclamation, extending Town and Country Police Ordinance 1862 to Dunedin, Port Chalmers, Oamaru, Hampden, Havelock, Molyneux, Outram, Clyde, Cromwell, Frankton, Queenstown, Kingston (16 December 1863, OPGG, 1863, pp 550-551)
Dog Registration - police stations within Waikouaiti District appointed as places for dog registration - Waikouaiti, Oamaru (OPGG, 1863, p. 570)
Diseased cattle - regulations for the destruction of diseased cattle, and for preventing the spread of pleuro-pneumonia (18 January 1864,OPGG, 1864, pp 25-26)
- powers of Inspectors of Diseased Cattle, and of Constables
Quarantine - constables authorised to detain persons evading quarantine (Quarantine Regulations, 12 January 1864, OPGG, 1864, pp 71-72)
Chinese - Proclamation: "the Police are strictly enjoined to keep a protective watch over the Chinese population in their respective districts, and in case of their being made aware of any injury having been illegally inflicted on any of the Chinese Population, to lose no time in bringing the perpetrators thereof to justice." (29 January 1868, OPGG, 1868, p. 39)
Weights and measures - authorised copies of standard weights and measures to be kept at Central police Station, Dunedin, and at main station of other Police Districts (OPGG, 1869, p. 76)
Immigration - Police were the only persons authorised to receive passage money, outside the Government Buildings, Dunedin (Notice by Immigration Agent, 12 April 1870, OPGG, 1870, p. 174)
Employment - Police stations keep register of employment vacancies (as notified by employers) and are to give information to any men seeking employment ([17 October 1871], OPGG, 1871, p. 408)
Show Author Note
Date disestablished: Not researched (after 1876)
Location
Main station: Tuapeka (1863-1867), Lawrence (1867-1876)
The Tuapeka District comprised
...all that area bounded towards the north by the Ranges between Mount Benger and Lammerlaw, towards the east by the ...Police Districts of Dunedin and Tomairiro, towards the south by Dull Burn, Waitahuna, and Clutha Rivers, and towards the Clutha Rivers, and towards the west by Black Cleugh Burn, and the Ranges running from Papanui Ranges to Mount Benger.
[Proclamation of Police Districts under Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (16 November 1863, OPGG, 1863, Vol. VI, p. 491]
For the period to 1876 (when provincial government was abolished - the subsequent period is not being documented at this stage), this District had the following stations:
Tuapeka c.1863-1867
Lawrence 1867-
Waipori
Havelock 1876-
Roxburgh 1876-
Switzers 1868-
Tapanui 1869-
Waitahuna 1865-1875
Teviot 1866-1871
Wetherstones c.1863-1869
Tokomairiro 1866
Blue Spur 1866
East Taieri 1866
Glenore 1866
Monroe's c.1863-1865
Lower Waitahuna c.1863-1864
Upper Waitahuna c.1863-1864
(Those with an opening date of 1863 may have existed before then, but that is the first year in which details of stations are given in the Police Report in the Appendix to the Otago Votes and Proceedings).
Responsible Minister
Provincial Secretary 1863-1868
Provincial Secretary and Treasurer 1868-1870
Provincial Treasurer 1870-1871
Provincial Secretary and Treasurer and Secretary for Lands 1871-1874
Provincial Secretary and Secretary for Lands and Works 1874-1875
Provincial Secretary and Secretary for Lands and Railways 1875-1876
Notes
This agency documentation has been prepared as part of a project on the archives of the Otago Provincial Government. It therefore concentrates almost exclusively on the provincial period (1853-1876). It has been assumed however, that the agency continued to exist after 1876, but with a different controlling organisation.
The documentation has been prepared almost exclusively from the annual returns for the Police Department, in the AOV&P, 1863-1876. Returns for some years are not printed, however, which may mean there are some minor errors in the documentation, e.g. exact dates of stations, or the possible omission of stations that existed only in a year for which the return was not printed. Years for which no returns are given are 1867, 1872, and 1873.
Official publications:
Otago Provincial Government Gazette, 1853-1876
Otago Provincial Council. Ordinances, 1854-1876
Otago Provincial Council. Votes and Proceedings, 1854-1876
New Zealand Statutes, 1854-1876
Secondary Sources:
R.S. Hill, Policing the Colonial Frontier, Part II (Wellington, 1986)
Show Other Mandates
- Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension and Amendment Ordinance 1863 (No. 129)
- Immigration - Police were the only persons authorised to receive passage money, outside the Government Buildings, Dunedin (Notice by Immigration Agent, 12 April 1870, OPGG, 1870, p. 174)
- Chinese - Proclamation: (29 January 1868, OPGG, 1868, p. 39)
- Town Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1856 (No. 16)
- Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 (No. 27)
- Diseased cattle - regulations for the destruction of diseased cattle, and for preventing the spread of pleuro-pneumonia (18 January 1864,OPGG, 1864, pp 25-26)
- Common Lodging-Houses Ordinance 1862 (No. 105)
- Licensing Ordinance 1864 (No. 162)
- Licensed Auctioneers Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 18969 (No. 283)
- Otago Roads Ordinance 1865 (No. 190)
- Sheep Ordinance 1867 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 266)
- Turnpikes Ordinance 1866 (No. 232)
- Electric Telegraphs' Ordinance 1862 (No. 111)
- Lake Steam Navigation Ordinance 1863 (No. 130)
- Town and Country Police Ordinance 1862 (No. 103)
- Otago Provincial Government. Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary Force of Otago, New Zealand (Dunedin 1865)
- Pawnbrokers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 113)
- Licensed Hawkers Ordinance 1864 (No. 170)
- Thistle Prevention Ordinance 1862 (No. 93)
- Justices of the Peace Act 1866
- Vagrant Ordinance 1861 (No. 62)
- Goat Nuisance Ordinance 1868 (No. 273)
- Kerosine and Parafine (sic) Oils Ordinance 1863 (No. 131)
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (No. 65)
- Gold Fields Provincial Management Ordinance 1867 (No. 245)
- Sheep Ordinance 1856 (No. 12)
- Cattle Ordinance 1864 (No. 169)
- Assaults on Constables Act 1873
- Quarantine - constables authorised to detain persons evading quarantine (Quarantine Regulations, 12 January 1864, OPGG, 1864, pp 71-72)
- Municipal Corporations Act 1867
- Bakers and Millers Act 1871
- Registration of dogs - penalty (between 20s. and £5) for each dog unregistered, from 1 July 1855; constabulary force officers instructed to require exhibition of registration tickets (OPGG, Vol. I, 1854, p. 81)
- Bush Fires Ordinance 1864 (No. 166)
- Impounding Ordinance 1872 (No. 365)
- Protection of Animals Act 1867
- Impounding Ordinance 1862 (No. 112)
- Dog Registration - police stations within Waikouaiti District appointed as places for dog registration - Waikouaiti, Oamaru (OPGG, 1863, p. 570)
- Pig and Poultry Nuisance Ordinance 1864 (No. 165)
- Trigonometrical Station Ordinance 1861 (No. 48)
- Militia Act 1865
- Cattle Ordinance 1864 Amendment Ordinance 1869 (No. 364)
- Police Regulations Ordinance 1862 Amendment Ordinance 1864 (No. 141)
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1862 (No. 78)
- Licensing Ordinance 1865 (No. 207)
- Bread Ordinance 1863 (No. 117)
- Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1864 (No. 170)
- Licensing Act 1873 Amendment Act 1874
- Common Lodging-Houses' Ordinance 1862 (No. 105)
- Weights and measures - authorised copies of standard weights and measures to be kept at Central Police Station, Dunedin, and at main station of other Police Districts (OPGG, 1869, p. 76)
- Contagious Diseases Act 1868
- Otago Roads Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1872 (No. 364)
- Licensed Theatres Ordinance 1870 (No. 310)
- Victoria Government, Manual of Police Regulations for the Guidance of the Constabulary of Victoria (Melbourne, 1856)
- Police Regulation Ordinance 1862 (No. 100)
- Cattle Trespass Ordinance 1858 Amendment Ordinance 1868 (No. 272)
- Rules, Order and Regulations…for the Government of Members of the Police Force of Otago ([April 1866], Supplement, OPGG, 1866, pp 89-108)
- Fencing Ordinance 1867 (No. 246)
- Licensing Ordinance 1861 (No. 56)
- Dog Nuisance Ordinance 1862 (No. 85)
- Licensing Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 302)
- Town and Country Police Ordinance Extension Ordinance 1865 (No. 214)
- Fire Inspectors Act 1870
- Medical Practitioners' Ordinance 1864 (No. 183)
- Armed Constabulary Act 1867
- Constabulary Force Ordinance Amendment Act 1868
- Sheep Ordinances Amendment Ordinance 1870 (No. 303)
- Licensed Theatres' Ordinance 1862 (No. 108)
- Provincial Constabulary Act 1865
- Appointments - numerous (named) members of Police as Registrars of Cattle and Sheep, Registrars of Brands, Gaolers (e.g., OPGG, 1863, p. 464; OPGG, 1868, p. 112; OPGG, 1873, p. 329)
- Employment - Police stations keep register of employment vacancies (as notified by employers) and are to give information to any men seeking employment ([17 October 1871], OPGG, 1871, p. 408)
- Distress Ordinance 1863 (No. 121)
- Licensed Carriages' Ordinance 1862 (No. 102)
- Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 109)
- American Blight Prevention Ordinance 1861 (No. 50)
- Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance 1862 (No. 99)
Show 71 items
- 🏢 Police Department, Dunstan District, Dunstan and Clyde (1875 ‑ )
- 🏢 Police Department, Dunstan District, Dunstan and Clyde (1865 ‑ )
- 🏢 Police Department, Tokomairiro District, Tokomairiro (1866 ‑ )
- 🏢 Police Department, Dunedin District (1863 ‑ )
- 🏢 Police Department, Dunedin District (1863 ‑ )
- 🏢 New Zealand Police, National Headquarters (1863 ‑ )
- 🏢 Blue Spur Police Station (1864 ‑ 1877)
- 🏛 Province of Otago (1863 ‑ 1876)