Constable John Francis Power & Constable Patrick William Cahill Print Page

The headstone was erected in memory of Constable John Francis Power and Constable Patrick William Cahill who were murdered in the line of duty in 1867.  The men's bodies were relocated from the murder site and are now buried side by side in South Rockhampton Cemetery. A memorial stone was also unveiled at the site where the men were murdered at Bedford Weir near Blackwater. 

Senior Constable Donna Gilliland was responsible for initiating the memorials along with erecting a tourist information sign at Blackwater Weir.  

In November 1867 an escort left Rockhampton by horse back comprising of three men, Constable John Francis Power (25yrs), Patrick William Cahill (27) and Gold Commissioner Thomas John Griffin (about 35yrs). They were transporting £4000 to Clermont.

Griffin had offered to join the escort on the pretence that the constables were young and inexperienced and they would need his assistance.  Griffin’s real plan was to ride as far as Mackenzie River, steal the money and make it look like bush rangers had attacked the escort. 

In the early morning of November 5 the party reached the banks of the Mackenzie River crossing and set up camp near a spot where Bedford Weir is today. Throughout the day and early evening the two constables and Griffin frequented a nearby bush pub. It was alleged during Griffin’s trial that he poisoned the two officer’s drinks that night and in the early hours of November 6 he shot them. Griffin then rode back to Rockhampton burying most of the £4000 on the journey. 

The bodies of the two officers were later found in a decomposed state. Native police wrapped the bodies in paperbark and buried them on the banks of the Mackenzie River. It was not long before Griffin was suspected of the murders. The suspicion was revealed when Griffin passed bank notes in Rockhampton and the serial numbers matched those stolen from the gold escort. The bodies of the two officers were later relocated for burial at the Rockhampton Cemetery. Griffin was sentenced and hung at the Rockhampton jail on 1st June 1868.

The tale of Constables Patrick Cahill and John Power, who were murdered by Gold Commissioner Thomas Griffin in 1867, would never be lost thanks to Childers Senior Constable Donna Gilliland's efforts. Snr Const Gilliland pushed to have memorial stones put up at Blackwater Weir and the Rockhampton Cemetery for the officers, who were murdered on the banks of the MacKenzie River.

Snr Const Gilliland said she was prompted to have headstones put up for the officers because members of the public kept asking if Cahill and Power were buried at an unmarked site in Blackwater. They are believed to be buried at Rockhampton Cemetery.

A headstone for the officers was unveiled yesterday at Rockhampton Cemetery. The memorials were built with the help of Queensland Police and the Rockhampton Regional Council.
The Courier Mail, (Qld), 17 July 2013. 

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