St John Branigan (c.1824 – 11 September 1873) was a New Zealand police commissioner. He was born in King's County,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on c.1824. He was recruited from Victoria, Australia after being ''highly recommended'' by the government there to head the Otago Police in 1861, at the start of the

Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

to control the ''gold-generated turbulence'' from an expected influx of miners from Victoria and elsewhere. Later in the 1870s, he was also responsible to the general government for ''demilitarising'' the Armed Constabulary and turning it into a civilian police force, despite opposition from some provincial governments e.g. Auckland.

References

* 1820s births 1873 deaths New Zealand police officers Irish emigrants to New Zealand (before 1923) People from County Offaly 19th-century New Zealand public servants {{NewZealand-crime-bio-stub