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29-April-2021
29-April-2021

Photographs supplied by Stephen Warren

The plaque commemorates the Police Camel Units which patrolled the interior of Australia in the 18th century and the bicentenary of European settlers in Australia 1788-1988. 

From 30th September 1987 to 1st January 1988, members of the South Australian and Northern Territory Police Force undertook a camel expedition from Darwin to Adelaide as a joint contribution to Australia's Bicentenary. 

First used for patrol duties by the SA police in 1881, the policing role of camels expanded in the ’40s amid calls for greater defence of the north-west, but Central Australia’s Finke Police District was still reputedly the world’s largest beat. Spanning the remote space between Mount Dare station, Alice Springs and Mount Gosse in West Australia – passing Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), Uluru/Ayers Rock and Lake Amadeus – it dipped over the border into South Australia, where officers acted as Special Constables.

Location

Address:Elder & Wonoka Terraces, Hawker, 5434
State:SA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -31.886604
Long: 138.420377
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:Government
Sub-Theme:State

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Thursday 10th December, 1987
Front Inscription

                      Australia
                    1788 - 1988

This plaque was erected to commemorate 
the Police Camel Units who patrolled the 
      Australian Interior Last Century.
The Australian Bicentennial Police Overland Camel 
Expedition from Darwin to Adelaide was Carried out by 
S. A. and N. T. Police units as a tribute to the 
tenacity and endurance of their forebears.
             Unveiled by 
Robert Clyne, Expediton Leader 
    10th December, 1987

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au