Dimboola Police had an interesting find recently, during a clean-up of an old storage area at the police station. They found the station's original Charge Book, dating back to 1880, and a Forage Book dating back to 1939.
The Charge Book provides an excellent snapshot of early law enforcement in the Dimboola area and, considering its age, is in remarkably good condition.
The Forage Book contains receipts for horse food provided to the police horses that were housed in stables which used to be in what is now the rear yard of the residence next door to the station.
Dimboola Station Commander, Acting Senior Sergeant Darren Sadler, said that they realised very quickly that they'd stumbled upon a "gem".
"When we started looking through the old Charge Book, we instantly realised we had found something of historical significance. A phone call to the Victoria Police Museum confirmed we had a located a bit of a gem."
On Monday the 15th of May, Acting Senior Sergeant Sadler, Leading Senior Constable Neil Zippel and Leading Senior Constable Cal Myers officially handed over the items to the Curator of the Victoria Police Museum in Melbourne, where they will eventually go on public display.
Pictured above: Leading Senior Constable Zippel, Acting Senior Sergeant Sadler, and Leading Senior Constable Myers. Photo contributed.
The Charge Book is now of an age where it can be publicly shared. Each page has been photographed, and plans are now in progress to share the contents with the local community.
|
