BY ROBYN PARKES
The life of a constable is never easy, and this can be said of Augustus Falconbridge.
On becoming a constable in 1909 he served at Wellington, and around the end of 1910 transferred to Nelson. After eight years on the beat in Nelson, he took charge of the Richmond police station.
His reputation proceeded him, being known as a very capable man in discharging his duties, was a keen athlete and promoted efforts for patriotic purposes.
In 1918, he was kept busy with run-of-the-mill offences, attending court cases and being present at inquests. The events he attended in the first year of his post in Richmond included finding a ‘mental patient’ who had escaped and was known to be wandering in Aniseed Valley, and a wilful damage case of a door that was damaged, also in Aniseed Valley.
In June, the problem of four ‘delinquent youth resulted in arrest and being charged with wilfully destroying two steers and one heifer at a total value of £12, being the property of Walther Lusty. Constable Falconbridge examined both the animals and each lad at the scene and later was called to give evidence. In September, he attended a deliberate fire at a sawmill in Aniseed Valley, resulting in £75 of damage. October saw him attend a fire at Hope which destroyed a barn with the culprits being three boys from the Stoke Training Farm who had been placed with a farmer to learn the trade. After leaving Sunday School, they set fire to straw in the barn resulting in a £200 loss for Albert Max.
Shortly after, Falconbridge oversaw a case at Glenhope where the eldest son of a settler was caught stealing food. A hearing of the case took place resulting in the father being charged with not having control of his children and the family were placed under supervision for a period of six months.
At the end of a full and busy year, Falconbridge became ill during the influenza epidemic and was hospitalised until he recovered.
The new year (1919) began with a spate of robberies in Richmond. On 17 January, three boys 10, 12 and 13 years old from the Stoke Training Farm escaped and broke into Mr J. Hardey’s grocery store and the Railway Station at Richmond, ransacking both buildings and stealing money and other items. They then went to Nelson where they broke into more businesses but were caught and returned to the farm. Around a fortnight later they again left the farm and broke back into Mr Hardey’s store, stealing cigarettes, stamps, chocolate and money. Falconbridge instigated a search and posted watchers in various places, successfully catching the young offenders.
Drownings, cases of speeding (at a speed greater than 12 miles per hour), failing to use a vehicle’s horn at an intersection, being drunk in charge of a horse, drunkenness and obscene language and various other cases of dangerous driving monopolised the months of 1919.
Falconbridge resigned from the police in the latter months of 1922, having spent around 17 years in the force. Sadly, in May 1923 he was himself caught up in an offence after being found drunk in charge of a lorry, causing damage to a door, stealing bottles of alcohol and fighting, all at Foxhill Hotel. He was convicted and given a fine of £10.
