Private Patrick MoynihanPrint Page

The memorial commemorates former Police Constable Patrick Moynihan and features a framed photo and ephemera with information relating to Patrick. On the 25 April 1915, 26-year-old Private Moynihan became the first Australian police officer to die at Gallipoli when he was killed-in-action by Turkish small-arms fire.

Patrick James Moynihan was born on 19th August 1888, son of Mr and Mrs Patrick Moynihan of Wallangarra Queensland. Prior to joining the Police Force on the 20th February 1913 Patrick was employed as a shunter with Queensland Railways at Wallangarra.

On completion of training Patrick Moynihan was sworn in as a Constable on the 4 July 1913 and stationed at Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Following the outbreak of World War One, Constable Moynihan, as did many other police officers of the day, volunteered for war service and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces on the 17 October 1914.

Private Moynihan, Service Number 1130, following initial training was attached to the 9th Battalion AIF. On the 22 December 1914 Private Moynihan boarded His Majesty's Australian Transport (H.M.A.T) A.32 "Themistocles" at Melbourne and sailed to Egypt for deployment to France. His division was ordered to land at Gallipoli on the 24 April 1915.

It is reported that he had died on the Turkish side of the front line after he and other members of his company, who had advanced under intense fire from the Turks, were forced into a fighting withdrawal. As the Australian troops withdrew to their own lines Private Moynihan was said to have been shot in the head. Continued fire from the Turks did not allow his colleagues to recover his body or his identification disc. 

Private Moynihan was officially reported as 'Missing in Action' on the 25 April 1915. On the 5 June 1916 following a Defence Force enquiry it was declared the he was 'Killed in Action, 25 April 1915". 

The North Rockhampton police station yesterday unveiled its memorial to the first Queensland police officer killed in the First World War. The officer, Private Patrick James Moynihan, was stationed in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley before he gained leave to join the war. He was just 26 years old. On April 25, 1915, he became the first of 30 Queensland police officers killed in active service during the First World War.

Officer-in-charge at North Rockhampton police, Senior Sergeant Ben Carroll, said they wanted to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Anzacs after reading the classic poem, "The Anzac on the Wall". He said they had researched police officers who had been killed in the First World War and found the story of Mr Moynihan. "We thought it was prudent, especially in the 100 years, that we commemorate not only him but also all those officers that served and were killed in the First World War, and then on," he said.
The Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 21 April 2015. 

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