Commissioner Stewart with attendees of the dedication ceremony at Toowong Cemeter, Queensland Police sayy
Commissioner Ian Stewart joined officers, families, and Friends of the Queensland Police Museum (FOQPM) at Toowong Cemetery on Tuesday to mark the restoration of the graves of two fallen QPS members who died over a century ago.
The two graves were that of Constable Benjamin Ebbitt and Sergeant Thomas Heaney who died as a result of severe injuries from being assaulted on duty, in unrelated incidents, when attempting to arrest offenders.
Sergeant Heaney died in 1906 in South Brisbane from assault injuries he sustained while attempting to arrest two burglars at the Norman Hotel, Woolloongabba in 1905. Constable Ebbitt died in 1894 from assault injuries he sustained when he attempted to intervene and arrest two offenders for an assault in Croydon in 1890.
Searching for the location of Sergeant Heaney’s grave in 2015 led to the chance finding of Constable Ebbitt’s neighbouring grave and research reveals Constable Ebbitt died in Sergeant Heaney’s house, while he convalesced from his injuries.
With the assistance of death records and genealogy searches, it is believed Sergeant Heaney and Constable Ebbitt’s respective mothers were sisters, making the two late officers cousins.
Sergeant Heaney was the first Queensland Police officer to receive the Queensland Police Medal for Merit – a bravery medal introduced in 1906. Records from Sergeant Heaney’s personnel file indicates Commissioner Cahill decided to introduce this medal because of Sergeant Heaney’s bravery.
Following extensive research on the circumstances surrounding their deaths, their names were added to the QPS Honour Roll and Memorials and the National Police Memorial in Canberra in 2016.
The QPS Honours and Awards Unit hosted the grave dedication ceremony for the FOQPM who organised the restoration of Constable Ebbitt’s grave and built a grave for Sergeant Heaney who was buried in an unmarked grave.
On display during the dedication service was Sergeant Heaney’s Queensland Police Medal for Merit. This medal was located within his family and has been kindly donated to the Queensland Police Museum where it is proudly exhibited.
Also on display during the dedication service were commemorative touchstones depicting the same details of the late officer’s National Police Memorial touchstones in Canberra.
Commissioner Stewart presented Sergeant Heaney’s commemorative touchstone to attending family following the dedication service. Constable Heaney’s commemoratives touchstone will be sent to his family in County Cavan, Ireland.
"The restoration and dedication of these officers’ graves, by the Friends of the Queensland Police Museum, is a demonstration of the upmost respect to these two late officers who lost their lives as a result of providing dedicated service to the Queensland community," Commissioner Stewart said.
"Like our current day police officers, these two men served their communities with great pride and faced challenging and dangerous situations.
"These valued former officers will also continue to be honoured in years to come at the annual National Police Remembrance Day events."
The restored graves of Constable Ebbitt and Sergeant Heaney
