EARLY POLICING IN ; THE IRISH INFLUENCE

Policing in New Zealand can be traced back to 1840 with the arrival from New South Wales, Australia of Lieutenant Governor (RN) accompanied by six (troopers). Policing in New South Wales had existed in various forms since the foundation of the colony in 1788. Initially it had been policed by Royal Marines (reluctantly on their part) but a cohesive Force as we would know it today did not come into existence until March 1862.

Governor Hobson had directions from London to colonise the territory on behalf of the crown. Early Policing arrangements were to be along similar lines to the U.K. and British Colonial Police Forces in particular the Constabulary of Ireland and the New South Wales Police their nearest neighbour. Many of its first officers had seen prior service in either Ireland or Australia. The early force was part Police and part . When Governor Hobson arrived in New Zealand in 1840 he empowered Police Magistrates to appoint Policemen.

Later that same year Benjamin Woods along with his family arrived at The Bay of Islands (northern part of the ). Woods was born in County Offaly, then known as Kings County in 1788, the fifth of six children. His father Jonathan Woods was a shopkeeper. In 1816 he joined Sir Robert Peel’s newly formed Peace Preservation Force and rose to the rank of Head in The Constabulary of Ireland which had been created in 1836.

Shortly after his arrival Woods was offered the position of Chief Officer for that region by the recently appointed Chief Police Magistrate for N.Z Willoughby Shortland. Woods began recruiting Constables in Kororareka (now known as Russell). Although he was responsible to the Police Magistrate at the Bay of Islands, Woods was in effect the head of Police in the region and by late 1840 had established a Police Barracks at Kororareka. In December he was chosen by Governor Hobson to become the first Chief Constable at , which was to be the new capital. However the new Police Magistrate at the Bay of Islands, Thomas Beckham, had this appointment rescinded, so Woods remained in the north of the island.

From the Police Force’s beginnings in 1840 through the next forty years, policing arrangements varied around N.Z. with some provinces recruiting their own local Police Force. In February 1847 Woods, then Chief Constable at Kororareka was enrolled, on the new Governor George Grey’s instructions, as a Sergeant Major in the new Auckland Armed Police Force created under the Constabulary Force Ordinance of 1846. This Act described the Police Force as a “Sufficient number of fit and able men who would serve as an armed force for preserving the peace (this must have sounded familiar to Woods) and preventing robberies and other felonies and apprehending offenders against the peace” The Force was also deployed during the land wars of that year. From 1848 until 1853 the Auckland Armed Police Force was one of the two main detachments of the Armed Police Force of New Ulster. Armed Police were stationed at Auckland, Howick, , the Bay of Islands and Mangonui. The services carried out by these men included the carriage of mail a useful way of gathering intelligence and providing security for those on the delivery routes.

In 1853 Woods retired from the Police Force having completed over thirty years service in Ireland and New Zealand. Before joining the Police he had served as a soldier. At the time of his retirement he was the most important Police Officer In northern New Zealand. He returned to Auckland to become bailiff at the Resident Magistrates Court, retiring from that position in 1859. He died at Auckland on 6 November 1867 and was buried in the Grafton Cemetery. In 1986, during the centennial celebrations ( formed in 1886) Police and some of his descendants unveiled a memorial to him there.

John Cullen was born in County Leitrim in 1850, the son of Patrick Cullen a farm labourer. On May 1869, 19yr. Old Cullen joined The Royal Irish Constabulary (Force No. 35626) and in August that year was posted to Donegal. In 1872 Sub- Constable Cullen was earning just 14 shillings per week and considerable discontent existed amongst the men over low pay prompting many to migrate to America, Australia and New Zealand where a disciplined R.I.C background was much valued and respected. In May 1874 less than five years after arriving in Donegal he was granted special permission by his County to marry a local woman. A Constable was not normally given permission to marry until he had at least seven years service. This was a good indication of the high standing he was held in by his superiors. It also meant leaving Donegal for a county where neither he nor his new wife had relatives and seeking accommodation at their own expense. On the 24th of April Cullen resigned from the R.I.C. giving reason for resignation, “A desire to seek his fortune in New Zealand” On the passage to New Zealand on board the vessel Camperdown he was appointed by the Ship’s Master as Constable to police the passengers.

On the 20 July 1876 Cullen joined the New Zealand Armed Constabulary. The Armed Constabulary was raised in 1867 and became the first NZ national Police Force. The Constabulary was still Para-military with troopers Constables and other officers serving in the New Zealand Land Wars. Many died in the fighting, as did Maori who fought the colonisation. Paradoxically, many members of the Armed Constabulary were Maori.

In January 1877 Cullen was posted to Blenheim and was sufficiently well thought of by his superiors that on 1 July 1877 he was promoted to Sergeant with less than two years service in N.Z. He steadily moved through the N.C.O classes serving in , Timaru, , Napier and Wanganui. In 1886 The New Zealand Police Force was formed, This was New Zealand’s first national civil Police Force which was unarmed, except in grave emergencies and this minimum force approach prevails today.

On the 20 September 1897 Cullen was promoted to the position of Inspector (3rd Class) and had gained the reputation as a strict disciplinarian. In 1898 he was posted to the most important district of Auckland, Waikato, the Bay of Islands and other northern areas; he was confirmed in permanent charge in December. By 1911 following his continued rise through the ranks he was tipped as a contender for the role of Commissioner and on the 17 April 1912 Cullen was appointed Commissioner of The New Zealand Police Force. He was the first Commissioner to rise from within the ranks of the force. This established a principle that every officer entering the Police College potentially “carries the Commissioners ” This principle still applies to this day.

With the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18) many additional duties were taken on by Police who had fewer experienced men. These included supervising enemy aliens, enforcing emergency regulations, keeping observation on dissidents and possible spies and dealing with pacifist/socialist opposition to the war. Cullen ensured that the quality of Policing did not suffer. On the 23 November 1916 he retired from the Police Force aged 66. He had completed almost 47 years of Police service. Upon retirement he was appointed to the Imperial Service Order and in August 1917 became the first New Zealander to be awarded the King’s Police Medal. Cullen died at Auckland on the 26 October 1939 aged 89 years.

The 1958 Police Act removed the word “force” and the service is now known as The New Zealand Police which is said to reflect its philosophy of “minimum force policing by consent” The New Zealand Police is now organised into four regions each headed by an Assistant Commissioner. They control sixteen districts each headed by a .

REFERENCES:

Kamaya Yates NZ Police Museum Manager, R.S. Hill, Policing the Colonial Frontier & The Iron Hand in the Velvet Glove, and S. Young D.N.Z.B. Czar Cullen M.Derby

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