Alexander Riley (1884-1970) was an Australian Aboriginal tracker from the Dubbo area and the first Aboriginal person to gain the rank of sergeant in the New South Wales Police Force.

Early years

Riley was born 26 May 1884 at

Nymagee Nymagee is a small town in the north west of New South Wales, north west of Sydney, south west of Nyngan and south of Cobar. It is in the Shire of Cobar, The State Government area of Barwon and the Federal Government area of Parkes. At the ...

, New South Wales. He was the son of a labourer, John Riley, and his wife Mary, née Calligan.

Career

After working as a stationhand, Riley joined the New South Wales Police Force as a tracker on 11 June 1911. He injured his foot in 1912 and resigned from the police force on 31 August 1914. Riley was reappointed to the NSW police force on 1 January 1918. He was promoted to sergeant on 5 August 1941. He was the first Aboriginal sergeant in the New South Wales police force. Some of his most notable cases included the capture of Roy Governor, the youngest brother of

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

Jimmy Governor Jimmy Governor (1875 – 1901) was an Indigenous Australian who was proclaimed an outlaw after committing a series of murders in 1900. His actions initiated a cycle of violence in which nine people were killed (either by Governor or his accomp ...

, at

Mendooran Mendooran (pronunciation: ''men-door-an'') is a small town adjacent to the Castlereagh River in the Warrumbungle Shire of central western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies at an altitude of 271 metres above sea level, 348 kilometres west ...

in June 1923. He found a barefoot six-year-old girl who had been lost for twenty-four hours in the mountains near Stuart Town. He was also involved in the case of the serial killer “Mad Mossy”. Riley retired on 13 July 1950 but was denied - alongside female employees and other aboriginals - a police pension (due to him being regarded as a "special part-time employee") even though he had been contributing to the pension from his salary.

Family life

Riley married Ethel Taylor at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 14 June 1924. They lived at the Talbragar Aboriginal Reserve and together they had eight children. Riley was a keen footballer and athlete. He coached in athletics at Dubbo for many years. Riley died on 29 October 1970 at

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

Awards and memorials

* King’s Police & Fire Services Medal for Distinguished Service – granted 1 January 1943 * Tracker Riley Walkway and Cycle Path along the

Macquarie River The Macquarie River - Wambuul is part of the Macquarie– Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the central highlands of New South Wales near the ...

in Dubbo named in his honour - opened June 1997 by Riley’s grand daughter, Kathy Green, and the Minister for Roads, Carl Scully * Michael Riley, his great-grandson, made a short documentary film, ''Blacktracker'', that was screened by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in September 1997.

References

External links