Frederic Charles Urquhart (27 October 1858 – 2 December 1935) was a

Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

officer,

Queensland Police Commissioner The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

and

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

Early life

Frederic Charles Urquhart was born at

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, England on 27 October 1858. His father was an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and his uncle was a colonel in a cavalry regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He was educated at

Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is an Independent school (UK), independent co-educational day and boarding school of the public school (UK), British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham, three miles (5 ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and at

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, but left to pursue a career at sea at the age of fourteen. He obtained a second-officer certificate in the merchant navy and served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. In 1875 he migrated to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where he worked in the sugar and cattle industries. In 1878 Urquhart became a telegraph linesman at

Normanton, Queensland Normanton is an outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Normanton had a population of 1,257 people, of whom 750 (60%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander pe ...

Native Police career

In 1882, Urquhart was appointed to the paramilitary

as a cadet and was promoted quickly to the rank of second-class sub-inspector within the year. He was initially posted to the barracks near Georgetown and then to the Carl Creek camp on the Gregory River. While stationed at Carl Creek, Urquhart was ordered to go to

Burketown Burketown is an isolated outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Burketown had a population of 238 people. It is located west of Cairns and west of Normanton on the Albert Riv ...

and remove the Aboriginals residing there. He rounded them up and marched them east to the

Leichhardt River The Leichhardt River is a river in north west Queensland, Australia. Course The source of the river is in the Selwyn Range under Rifle Creek Hill and fed by Rifle Creek approximately south of the mining town Mount Isa. It runs in a generally n ...

where he threatened to shoot dead their traditional healer if he did not make it rain. In March 1884 Urquhart was transferred to the

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as ...

district to replace the Native Police officer, Marcus Beresford, who had recently been killed in the ongoing conflict with the local Indigenous population. Urquhart and his troopers were soon involved in skirmishes with the resident Kalkadoon and

Maithakari The Maikathari (Mayi-Thakurti) were an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Country The Maithakari had, according to ethnologist Norman Tindale, approximately of tribal territory extending from the Williams River and Cloncur ...

peoples. He established a barracks outside of Cloncurry at a locality on the Corella River now known as Urquhart. In July 1884 a well-known colonist, James Powell, was killed by Aboriginals in the region and Urquhart and his troopers were mobilised to conduct a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...

Alexander Kennedy Sir Alexander Blackie William Kennedy FRS, FRGS (17 March 1847 – 1 November 1928), better known simply as Alexander Kennedy, was a leading British civil and electrical engineer and academic. A member of many institutions and the recipient ...

, a pioneer Scottish pastoralist in the

Gulf Country The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It ...

district, accompanied Urquhart in his mission. Together this armed group conducted at least two large massacres of local Aboriginal people. Urquhart later wrote a poem entitled ''Powell's Revenge'' about one of the massacres. Some of the stanzas of this poem are as follows: A prospector in the area also came across Urquhart and Kennedy during their expedition. He described how they and the troopers had shot up one native camp, capturing an Aboriginal woman whom they were forcing to lead them to another Aboriginal camp. Kennedy returned to Cloncurry after four weeks out conducting summary justice, but Urquhart and his troopers patrolled the region for an additional five weeks "clearing up" any assemblage of native people they found. Urquhart became a close associate of Alexander Kennedy, who regularly accompanied him on other Native Police patrols. Kennedy later became a founding director of the

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

airline company. 1870nativepolice

While based at Cloncurry, Urquhart was involved in other massacres of Indigenous people. Probably the most well known of these was the skirmish later known as the Battle Mountain massacre. Urquhart and his troopers were following up the killing of a shepherd at the Granada

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

when they encountered a group of Kalkadoon. The Kalkadoon retreated to a rocky hill at the head of Prospector's Creek where they proceeded to pelt the Native Police with stones and spears. Urquhart was hit in the head and momentarily lost consciousness. He quickly recovered and led the Native Police in a flanking movement around the hill and proceeded to the massacre the resisting group of Kalkadoon. For decades afterwards the hill was littered with the bones of the men, women and children killed. In 1888, Urquhart was transferred to conduct Native Police operations on the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

. He was speared in the leg during a skirmish with Aboriginal people at the headwaters of the

Wenlock River The Wenlock River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range below Jacks Knob, west of Nundah homestead. The river ...

. This occurred as part of a punitive mission following the killing of colonist Edmund Watson near the

Archer River The Archer River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The headwaters of the river rise in the McIlwraith Range and it flows west, traversing tropical savanna plains and wetlands, ...

. Urquhart and his troopers patrolled extensively around the peninsula and were also assigned a vessel named the ''Albatross'' to travel around various islands in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

. In 1890, Urquhart played a major role in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked

RMS Quetta RMS ''Quetta'' was a Royal Mail Ship that was wrecked on the Far North Queensland coast of Australia on 28 February 1890. ''Quetta''s sinking killed 134 of the 292 people on board, making it one of Queensland's biggest maritime catastrophes. It ...

General police career

Urquhart was transferred to the civilian

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

service in 1891 and returned to

. He led police activities against striking workers in the area during the

1891 Australian shearers' strike The 1891 shearers' strike is one of Australia's earliest and most important industrial disputes. The dispute was primarily between Trade union, unionised and non-unionised wool workers. It resulted in the formation of large camps of striking work ...

. In 1894 he was assigned back to the

and was based at

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

. In the police vessel, the ''Albatross'', he patrolled the pearling operations in the

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...

, arresting striking workers. With John Douglas, Urquhart conducted an exploration journey around the

Embley River The Embley River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river rise on the coastal plain of the Cape York Peninsula and flow in a north westerly direction eventually discharging at Evans Landing into Alba ...

in 1895. Urquhart was promoted to inspector in 1897 and was transferred to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in order to head the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB). Soon after Urquhart was appointed to the CIB, a number of botched police investigations into high-profile murders such as the

Gatton murders The Gatton Murders, also known as the Gatton Tragedy, the Gatton Mystery and the Murphy Murders, is the name given to an unsolved triple homicide that occurred from the town of Gatton, Queensland Colony, in present-day Australia. Michael Mur ...

, led to the 1899 Royal Commission into the Queensland Police. The Commission found that Urquhart was neglectful in his duties, unsuited to the position and untrained in detective work. It recommended that Urquhart be transferred out of the CIB and a more competent person be appointed to the role as head of the investigative branch. Despite the findings of the commission, many of the recommendations were not acted upon and Urquhart remained head of the CIB for many years after the enquiry. In 1905 he was promoted to chief inspector of police. Urquhart again had a leading role in crushing striking unionists during the 1912

general strike, the first mass strike of its kind in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Urquhart mustered 2,000 police officers and special constables to attack a group of 15,000 striking workers. The officers were armed with bayoneted rifles and Urquhart threatened to use live ammunition if the marchers didn't disperse. Urquhart ordered mounted troopers to charge through the crowd. Many people were injured with two people probably being killed. Around 500 strikers were arrested.

Queensland Police Commissioner

On 1 January 1917 Urquhart was appointed as the 4th

, a position he held until 16 January 1921. Probably the most notable incident during his tenure as Commissioner was the

Red Flag riots The Red Flag riots were a series of violent demonstrations and attacks that occurred in Brisbane, Australia over the course of 1918–19.Dennis et al. 1995, p. 493. The attacks were largely undertaken by returned soldiers from the First Australi ...

that occurred in

in 1919. Police, together with armed ex-soldiers returned from WWI, fought extended street battles with unionists and Russian immigrants during these riots. Many casualties were reported with Urquhart himself being injured during the fighting. Later that same year, police operations were again focused upon when several striking workers were injured in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

after police opened fire on a group of unionists with live ammunition.

Administrator of the Northern Territory

In 1921 Urquhart was appointed

. During his period as administrator he faced several issues including the widespread non-payment of taxes by civilians and his own personal health issues. He was also successfully sued by a union official for assault. He resigned from the position in early 1926.

Poetry

Urquhart was considered a poet of some talent and published several collections of verse including ''The Legend of the Blacks'' and ''Camp Canzonettes''. Many of his writings centred around relaying his experiences of shooting

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

. For instance the poem ''Told by the Camp Fire'' has the lines:

Family and later life

Urquhart married Annetta Atkinson in 1891 and they had three children together; Miriam, Walter James and Hope Goldie Urquhart. Miriam married George Addison who was a WWI army officer and noted architect. Walter James Urquhart became the first officer to graduate from the Australian Army officer training program at the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

and he fought at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

during

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Walter remained with the army after the war but his career was hampered by charges of sexual assault of children. Frederic's youngest son, Hope Goldie Urquhart, was consistently in trouble with the law particularly in regards to driving under the influence of alcohol. In 1930, Hope was the pilot of a plane that crashed into the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

causing the death of a passenger. Hope was found guilty of flying in a dangerous manner and had his licence suspended. Frederic Urquhart retired to

in 1926. He died at St Helen's Private Hospital on 2 December 1935 and was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urquhart, Frederic 1858 births 1935 deaths Administrators of the Northern Territory Australian Anglicans English emigrants to Australia People educated at Bloxham School People from Hastings Politicians from Brisbane Royal Navy officers Commissioners of the Queensland Police