Laurie Pointing

Keeping the Peace Volume II, like its predecessor, is bound to become an important resource for social historians, legal academics and indeed anyone interested in the evolution of police administration and law enforcement in Queensland. It contains another wonderful collection of intensely personal stories, providing rare insights into the sacrifices made by successive generations of Queensland police officers — men and women who served the public with dedication, courage and a strong sense of duty. In the year of the sesquicentenary of the Queensland Police Service, which was inaugurated on 1st January, 1864, the book serves as a timely reminder of the contribution that police officers make to the peace of mind and welfare of ordinary citizens.

Author Laurie Pointing himself a former Assistant Commissioner of Police, should be commended for bringing together the stories in both volumes of Keeping the Peace. In this second collection, Mr. Pointing has also included a highly informative prologue, bringing together little known facts about famous Queenslanders such as Sister Elizabeth Kenny and her two police officer brothers, the 1889 battle of Lawn Hill Station and the famous Warwick egg-throwing incident which resulted in the formation of the Commonwealth Police, now known as the AFP.