Constable Richard Roots Print Page 
Constable Richard Roots was sworn into the Queensland Police Force on April 7, 1896 having come from Kirchheim near Ipswich. Initially transferred to Cooktown Station he then moved to Mein Police Camp before moving to Coen on May 29, 1897.
He performed usual town foot patrols, controlling drunken prospectors and miners, attending registration of mining claims and inspection of mining activities.
On the morning of September 25, 1897 he was carrying out an inspection of the workings of the Long Tunnel Mine near Coen township. Shot firing had occurred in the mine earlier that morning, but accompanied by a mine employee who had assured him all was safe, a rock fall occurred and both the Constable and employee were trapped under 4-5 tons of rock.
The Constable died instantly and the employee had serious injuries. Constable Root’s body was extricated and he was found to have a broken neck, broken leg and fractured ankle. Constable Roots was buried in Coen Cemetery that evening, far from his home of Kirchheim.
Gone but never forgotten is a message that lies deep with retired Queensland Police Service Inspector Jock MacDonald.
True to that message, Jock recently travelled to Coen to install two memorial plaques for two fallen police officers at the front of Coen Police Station. Whilst in Coen, Jock reinstalled the renovated headstone of Constable Herring who died at 27-years-old in 1903 from Dengue fever.
Jock has close ties with the Coen area having served as a Constable at Coen Police Station in the early 1960s then returning on numerous occasions as a relieving Sergeant and then later as the Cape Inspector.
In his own words, Jock formed a “nostalgic affection” with the cape and through his research went on to write the book titled Policing ‘The Coen’ which documented the history of policing in this area between 1885 and 2011.
He initially served two years there, performing police pack-horse patrols to a number of missions and cattle stations on Cape York, before returning to Brisbane. He soon found the big city was not to his liking and, after twelve months, returned to Coen for a second term, where he resumed general police duties, this time utilising a Willys Jeep 4WD which had then been allocated to Coen.
During his research Jock became aware of two former serving police constables who passed away in Coen during the early pioneering days of Cape York Peninsula. Jock said it has been a privilege to arrange for the supply of two memorial plaques to commemorate the two officers. “Their plaques now sit proudly at the front entrance of the Coen Police Station,” he said.
The Express, 16 October 2019.
Location
| Address: | Shephard Street, Coen Police Station, Coen, 4871 |
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| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -13.945511 Long: 143.198531 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Tragedy |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 25-September-1897 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 25-September-1897 |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | October-2019 |
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