John Keith Avery, (7 August 1927 – 19 May 2018) was the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of the

New South Wales Police The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

from 1984 to 1991.

Commissioner of New South Wales Police

John Keith Avery was the 17th leader of the organisation and the 10th person known under the title of Commissioner of Police. Avery was one of the longest serving and more popular Commissioners of Police to serve the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. One of the first Police Commissioners to have a tertiary education, Avery held a master's degree from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

and a Diploma in Criminology. He was awarded the

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

Australian Police Medal The Australian Police Medal (APM) is awarded for distinguished service by a member of an Australian police force. The APM was introduced in 1986, and replaced the Imperial Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry and Queen's Police Medal for Distinguis ...

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

and National Medal. Avery retired with his wife to

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

Legacy

The library at the New South Wales Police College at

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

is named in his honour. The former headquarters of the New South Wales Police in

College Street, Sydney College Street is a major street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. From north to south, it runs from east of Queens Square and St James station to start at the junction of the Prince Albert, St Marys ...

was also named in his honour, named the Avery Building until the headquarters moved to a new building in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, John 1927 births 2018 deaths Commissioners of the New South Wales Police Officers of the Order of Australia People from New South Wales Recipients of the Centenary Medal Recipients of the Australian Police Medal