Rodney Stevens
When Yamba resident Eric Thompson fulfilled his life-long ambition of becoming a police officer, he became great mates with the 14 others he graduated with to become Australian Capital Territory Police probationary constables, a friendship that still ensures today.
Last Tuesday, November 21, the 60th anniversary of the day they all joined, the remaining survivors, Graham Taylor, Jim Allen, Peter Stolz, John Frankin and Bob Balfour gathered at Mr Thompson’s Yamba home to reminisce about their days in the police force while sharing some delicious meals and enjoy a relaxing cruise along the Clarence River.
The men, who came from as far away as Albury, Bundaberg, the ACT, and the Gold Coast were presented with specially made 60th anniversary commemorative medals and other mementos by local police, who also helped cut a custom-made cake decorated in police colours, with police badges and a police car mounted on top.
In 1979, the Australian Capital Territory Police became the Australian Federal Police, Mr Thompson said, which was a combination of the ACT Police and the Commonwealth Police.
When he joined in 1963, Mr Thompson was the youngest member of the ACT Police at 19-years-old, and he lived in the Victorian Police Barracks for four months while training at the Victorian Police Academy, before he became a probationary constable and went into traffic and water policing.
He fondly recalled being in the highway patrol, driving a now highly sought after Ford Falcon GT, when they were the fastest production car on the road.
“In our day there was no calling off a chase, or no speed you had to slow down at, you kept going till you got them,” he said.
“In those days, no one got away from our GT Falcons, no one.”
Of the other alumni, Mr Thompson said some people went into forensics, some to the accident squad, some in the CIB Criminal Investigation Branch, with Graham Taylor serving 38 years in both the ACT and Federal Police, and Jim Allen going on to be Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner with a total of 34 years’ service.