In July, 1908, I again proceeded north, having been instructed to take charge of the Port Augusta police station. My first impression on approaching the port by train was of a town having undergone a siege, and been shelled by the enemy. One could see the ruins of houses half-buried in sand, and others with just the chimneys projecting.

The old and prosperous days when teams upon teams of bullocks were to be seen drawing their heavy loads of wheat and wool, and bringing them to the port was a thing of the past for the iron horse was now bringing it all by rail.

Although there were a number of hotels at the port, a good number in the suburbs had been closed. There was nothing to warrant their being kept open, the population and trade having decreased considerably.

A fair amount of shipping was done. Some large sailing ships were also to be seen at times in the port, among them being a few foreigners, such as French, Italian, and Germans. The sailors, when under the influence of liquor, were a source of trouble to the police and residents, for they would in variably use their knives in a row, as they do not seem to understand the British way of settling their quarrels with their fists.

A Maltese Runs Amok.

One day several of the townsmen came running into the station in a great state of mind, and reported that a Maltese sailor was outside of Cowan's hotel with a razor which he was slashing at everybody and anybody, and that he appeared to have gone mad, and was running amok. I at once proceeded there with the constables available at the station. At the hotel I saw on the footpath a large and excited crowd of men, among whom was the Maltese sailor, who was being held down by half a dozen or more. It appears that when the Maltese was in the act of attacking one of them with his razor, some one had rushed in and struck him a heavy blow with a piece of wood on an arm, and caused him to drop his razor, when it was at once picked up. It was fortunate that this man had acted in this courageous manner, for it is more than probable that murder would have been committed by this sailor.

Upon my going to him, and raising him off the ground with the help of willing hands, he fought and kicked, and behaved like a madman. Our attempts to make him wait were of no avail. Having had previous experience with this kind of gentleman, I was not taking any undue risks, for although they would not use their fists, they are adepts with their feet when not flashing their knives. I then did to him what the military police do to refractory and drunken prisoners, and what is commonly known in the army as the frogs' march. I had him turned on his stomach, and instructed the men to take each a hold of one arm and his legs, and carried him in this manner to the station, for in no other way would he go. Next day, when brought before the Court he was very quiet and humble, for the drink and fight had all gone out of him.

A Serious Stabbing Affair.

Another serious stabbing case occurred on board a French ship, which was lying alongside the wharf at Port Augusta. I received a report one early morning that a murder had been committed on board, and that the murderer had cleared off in the direction of the swamps towards the head of the gulf, and was brandishing a large knife.

On going on board I found a great number of persons assembled there, and was met by the captain, who could speak little English. From him I ascertained that the chief officer had that morning had an altercation with the cook, and that he had been stabbed by him in several places about the body, and that he (the captain), hearing the disturbance, had come on deck with his revolver. The cook jumped on to the wharf, and had cleared off.

I asked the captain where was the mate, and if he were alive, as I had been informed that he had been killed. He informed me that be was still alive, and in his berth, but whether he would recover from his wounds he could not say. The place where the row and stabbing had taken place, appeared like a shambles, with blood stains all over the deck leading to the mate's berth. On entering there I found the chief officer lying down in a partly conscious state, his clothing saturated with blood.

The local medical officer (Dr. Riddell), who had been informed in the meantime, appeared on the scene. He examined the mate, and after having given the necessary attention to his wounds, ordered his removal at once to the hospital. I said to the doctor, 'This is a bad job. Do you think it will prove fatal?' He replied 'Yes, it is pretty bad, but I think I will pull him through; it will be a long and anxious case.'

I then got a trap, and left with volunteers in pursuit of the would-be murderer. After some time had elapsed we came up with him. He was as fine a specimen of a man as I had ever seen.

All's Well That Ends Well.

He was a Mulatto, and stood over 6 ft. high, of splendid physique, and well built, a native of Mauritius. He stood at bay like a stag, awaiting the onslaught with a large knife clenched in his right hand. His eyes were large, wide open and appeared bloodshot. I brushed up my French, which I had learnt at school, but had almost forgotten, and said calmly and quietly to him 'A bas le couteau. Je suis en officer de police.' (Down with the knife. I am a police officer.) The poor fellow, on hearing me speak French to him as I did, relaxed the attitude he had taken, and seemed greatly relieved that no harm was going to be done to him. I asked him for the knife, which he at once handed over to me. I made him understand in imperfect French that he was to get in the trap, and come with me. He did so without the slightest hesitation. I then took him to the station, and placed him in the cell.

I made a thorough enquiry as to the cause of the stabbing, and received great assistance in doing so from the late Rev. F. W. Wilkinson (Anglican clergyman), who also knew a little French. I interviewed a number of sailors, who were present and eye witnesses at the time of the stabbing. From them I ascertained that the chief officer was a bit of a bully, not only with the men, but also had been in the habit of finding fault with the cook, and that he had struck him that morning because he complained that the cook had not had the coffee ready in time for the cabin. The cook had then stabbed the mate with a knife, which he had been using to peel potatoes. The captain, on being interviewed, informed me that he had no complaints to make against the cook, and with a shrug of his shoulders, said perhaps the chief officer had been what you call "A little hasty." The crew all spoke well of the cook.

I am pleased to relate that the chief mate, no doubt through skilled medical treatment and good nursing he received, thoroughly recovered from his wounds. The cook, who had remained in custody on the ship being ready to sail, was re leased, and the charge against him with drawn. The captain was willing to take him on board again. The chief officer raised no objections. So ended what might have been a case of murder.

Masonic Activities.

While at Port Augusta, the members of the Masonic Flinders Lodge did me the honour of electing me as their Worshipful Master. The following is a copy of the installation which appeared in The Port Augusta Dispatch on July 14, 1911:—

The ceremony of installation of W. M. Bro. C. Le Lievre, P.S.W., was performed on Friday last, by the Deputy Grand Master, R.W. Bro. C. R. J. Glover, assisted by Grand Lodge officers. At the conclusion of the ceremony at the Masonic Hall, the brethren then adjourned, and marched in procession in their regalia to the town hall. Among those present were Bros. Rev. F. W. Wilkinson, and A. H. Nutting, in their academic robes. The R.W. D.G.M., and his officers were then received by the W.M., and the visitors by Mesdames Le Leivre and Newton. Dancing commenced at 9 o'clock. The scene was a gay and brilliant one, and the gathering of Masons the largest known for many years. The hall was decorated with bunting, and the supper table beautifully adorned with roses, carnations, and asparagus.

On the Move Again.

At Port Augusta I was also appointed Inspector of Hotels for the Far Northern division. After having been at the port for 18 months Commissioner Madley deemed it advisable that I should go to Quorn and take charge there, as it would be more central for me to carry out my various duties. I felt a certain amount of regret at my departure from Port Augusta, for while there I had made many friends, and now look back with pleasant memories as having spent some of the happiest time I have had while in the service. Duty called, however, and it was for me to obey.

On my departure for Quorn the Mayor (Mr. A. E. Carrig), at the meeting of the corporation, referred in complimentary terms to the manner in which I had carried out my duty while in charge of the police there, and instructed the Town Clerk to forward me a letter to that effect. In The Port Augusta Dispatch, on July 15. 1910, appeared the following:—

The Mayor, in addressing the numbers of the corporation, said he regretted Cpl. Le Lievre was not present that evening. He had hoped they would have had an opportunity of saying farewell to him before his departure to Quorn. During his 18 months' stay in Port Augusta the corporal had done his duty faithfully, and proved himself an efficient officer. In social circles the Corporal and Mrs. Le Lievre and their daughters had been an acquisition to the town. Dr. Riddell said Cpl. Le Lievre had asked him to apologise for his absence. The corporal had always carried out his duty fearlessly, and when the occasion called for it had acted with great bravery. He was leaving them just as they were beginning to know him. He asked the Mayor to instruct the Town Clerk to draft a letter of appreciation and to forward this to the corporal with the good wishes of the meeting and of Port Augusta generally.

The letter which I received from the municipal authorities was as follows:—

Corporation of Port Augusta,
Town Council Office,
July 19, 1910.
To Cpl. C. Le Lievre, Quorn—
Dear Sir —
I have the honour, by the direction of his Worship the Mayor (Mr. A. E. Carrig), to convey to you his regret that you were not able to be present at the meeting arranged to bid you farewell on the 11th inst. His Worship, however, conveyed to the meeting your regret that you were unable to attend, and ex pressed to those assembled the council's and his appreciation of your work done during your stay of 18 months in charge of the police station here, proving as it did your zealous diligence as an officer of our excellent police force. The meeting supported his Worship in his remarks, and it was resolved that I should write you expressing the meetings confirmation of the same. It was also resolved that Mrs. and Misses Le Lievre be joined in the vote of appreciation for their work in social circles in the town. The writer, also Dr. Riddell and health officer, desires personally to express their good wishes for future success and regret at losing from the ranks of their friends your good self.
— I am sir, your obedient servant
(sgd.), James Holdsworth, Town Clerk.

A Bushman and His Lost 'Matilda.'

On taking charge of Quorn I received my promotion, as sergeant, after 33 years' service. I found Quorn a very thriving town, well laid out, with numerous stores and four well-conducted hotels, all doing a good business. Being a railway town and the junction to Adelaide and the far north, a fair percentage of the travelling public is always going to and fro.

Among them are bushmen, who, after having been a considerable time on the outback stations, come down to Quorn to have a good spree, as they call it, and spend their cheque. And it is not to be wondered at, for many of them lead solitary lives with little or no social intercourse with their fellow-men. My experience of the genuine bushman is that he is generous to a fault, and lavish in the spending of his money with whomsoever he might find to assist him in doing so, for he courts company.

One of these had been arrested, having been found by my subordinate in a helplessly drunken condition. On the following morning, after appearing before Court and paying the customary fine, he reported to me the loss of his swag, but his memory could not serve him as to where he had last had possession of it. He thought he had it with him at Hawker when he boarded the train, but he was not quite sure, as he had been drinking all the way down the line and bad been in Quorn a couple of days before he missed it.

I took him over to the railway station, and asked the stationmaster if he had a swag answering the description of the lost one, for it frequently occurs that swags are left in the train by absent minded bushmen, who, being in that happy frame of mind after having paid their train fare, pay no further heed to their belongings, but leave the railway officials to take care of them.

While looking over various swags which were at the station, and for which no owners had been found, a railway porter came in, and on being informed of the lost swag remarked that an old bundle — he could hardly call it a swag — had come in a passenger train from Hawker a few days previously, and had been lying about on the platform. As no one had claimed it he had that morning picked it up, as it was wet and muddy, and hung it up to dry on one of the lamp posts on the platform. He took us over to where it was.

The owner, seeing it, exclaimed, 'Hullo, Matilda, my beauty; is that where you are? I thought I had lost you.' On its being taken down and handed over to him he quietly undid the straps, and, to our astonishment, pulled out from some old clothes a roll of bank notes, which he counted— £84 in all. He in no way seemed elated over it, but made up the swag after he had placed the roll of notes into his pocket and threw it over his shoulders. Turning to the porter and myself, he said, 'What say if we go and have a drink?' Needless to say it was declined with thanks. He then walked away quite happy with his 'Matilda' on his back towards the nearest hotel to find some boon companions who would help him to spend his money. And this is the way that numbers of these bushmen spend their hard earnings!

An Amateur Female Housebreaker.

Another case reported to me was that of a house having been broken into. The complainant, a blustering fellow, came to the station and reported that his wife had informed him that during her temporary absence from her home on the previous afternoon she had found on her return that the house had been broken into, that banknotes amounting to £25 had been stolen from a chest of drawers in her bedroom, and that the room and chest of drawers had been thoroughly ransacked, and the articles strewn all over the room.

When I ask him why he had not reported the matter before, he informed me that he had been away from home for a few days, and that on his return that morning his wife had informed him that she had left the room in the same state as she had found it, so that he might show it to the police. He further informed me that he was determined to have the burglar arrested if he had in doing so to apply to the Commissioner of Police for half a dozen detectives from Adelaide. I saw that he had been celebrating the occasion by taking too much that was good for him, as he was excited. I told him he was at perfect liberty to apply for the detectives, but that in the meantime I would go and investigate the matter. I therefore proceeded with him and my junior officer to his house.

Wife's Betting Losses.

On entering the bedroom the wife went to great pains to show me where she had left the money. I found the bed and bedding turned over and the contents of the chest of drawers strewn on the floor. She informed me that she had locked up the house and left everything secure when she had left the previous afternoon. She showed me one of the windows of the bedroom, and said that she was certain the burglar must have got in the house that way, and particularly called my attention to indents in the framework of the window, where the burglar had prized back the catch by which it was fastened, and which she had found open on her return. I examined it, and found that my surmise was correct!

I then requested both her and her husband to leave the room. After they had done so, I told the constable who was with me, to close the door. I told him to have a good look at the indents made on the window frame, and tell me if he saw anything remarkable about them. After having looked at them for some time he turned around to, me, smiled, and said, 'Yes, by jove, sergeant, the burglar made those indents from the inside of the room. I said to him, 'You have hit the nail right on the head.' And so the case of house breaking and the robbery of £25 was solved.

My junior informed me that he had seen the complainant's wife, who was well known to him, at the races, which had been held two days previously, and had seen her putting a £5 note in the totalizator on a certain horse, which had lost. Shortly before the last race he had asked her what luck she had had, and was informed by her 'rotten,' and that the horses she had been told to back as 'dead certs' ran nowhere. 'Then,' I said, 'that accounts for where the stolen money has gone.'

I told him to open the door, and bring the man and his wife in. When they were in the room I said to the husband, 'Yes, without a doubt this is a clear case of housebreaking, and the one who did it, also stole the money. Now are you prepared to take out a warrant for the arrest of the offender, whoever it may be, and prosecute?' He replied that he was prepared to take out a dozen warrants if necessary, and that he would prosecute the — fellow all right.'

I said, 'Very well, now just leave the room for a few minutes with Constable — , as I want to get a little further information from your wife .' He seemed to resent having to go out of the room, and wanted to know why he could not remain with his wife. I replied, 'For the simple reason that you cannot give me the information that I want from your wife.'

After he had left with the constable, I said to his wife, 'Now Mrs. — , you have heard what your husband has said, that he will take out a warrant for the arrest of the person who broke into his house and stole that money. By the-by, you were at the races, and I understand you lost a good deal of money betting?' She flared up at once and said, 'What has that to do with you what I do with my money?' 'In this case, Mrs. — , it has a good deal.'

Afraid to Tell Her Husband.

I saw at once that she was not at ease, for her guilty conscience was no doubt troubling her. I said, ''You are a clever woman, but in this case you have been outwitted. You lost your husband's money at the races, and made up this house-breaking story to account for the loss of it, but you were not clever enough, for you did those indents at the window, and undid the catch from the inside.' She most indignantly denied it, and said, 'How dare you say such a thing?'

'Well,' I said, 'Mrs. — , 'I am going to give you five minutes, and if by that time you do not tell the truth, I am going to arrest you.' I then took out my watch, and walked towards the door. She then said, 'Don't go, sergeant, I'll tell you the truth.' She then told me that she had lost the money betting at the races. She had been told of some 'dead certs,' but the horses she had backed had all lost, and she was afraid to tell her husband.

''Well,' I said. 'You will have to tell your husband, or I must.' Woman's relief came to her at once, for she commenced crying, and said. 'Must I tell him, for if I do he will kill me?' 'Oh,' I said, 'No, he won't. I will see that he does not.'

I then called her husband into the room, and told him that his wife wanted to speak to him, and that I would leave them alone together. Should he want to see me after I would be at the police station. I wished him good morning, and departed with my junior. Thus ended this housebreaking case. These are some of the trumped-up cases which the police have to investigate in the course of their various duties.