
Alexander Tolmer (1815 – 7 March 1890) was a
South Australian police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
officer and
Police Commissioner
A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...
. He was educated at
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
,
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
,
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
and
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding N ...
. He migrated to South Australia in 1840 where he was made sub-inspector by
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
George Gawler
Colonel George Gawler (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841.
Biography Early life
Gawler, born on 21 July 1795, was t ...
.
In August 1840, Tolmer was part of the
punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...
to the
Coorong after Aborigines
massacred 25 shipwreck survivors from the ship ''Maria'', which had been travelling from Port Adelaide to Hobart. He was involved in the 1842 search for
Charles Christian Dutton and droving party, believed to have been similarly attacked on their way from
Port Lincoln
Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...
to Adelaide, but no trace of the party was ever found. Police Inspector Alexander Tolmer was among the original residents of the newly established village of
Norwood, South Australia
Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality.
The Parade, Adelaide, The Parad ...
, in 1847.
After several stints of acting in the position, Tolmer was appointed Commissioner of Police on 3 January 1852
[ 25 years later Tolmer was still bitter.] replacing
George Dashwood. He was instrumental in creating the
Gold Escort route between
Mount Alexander
Mount Alexander is a mountain located approximately 125 km north-west of Melbourne, near the town of Harcourt. It rises 350 metres above the surrounding area to a level of 744 metres above sea level. Being a prominent local landmark, ...
near
Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a town in west central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 123 kilometres (76 miles) northwest by road ...
, and
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
in the 1850s (the first arrived in Adelaide on 20 March 1852 with around 600 lb (270 kg) of gold, the second, with 1,620 lb (735 kg) on 4 May 1852; it also carried mail between diggers and their Adelaide families) and also helped to establish the town of
Bordertown.
He began acting erratically, as though jealous of his position, and determined to show up his subordinates. A case in point was that of
Corporal Balls, whom Tolmer accused of not having, as ordered, posted a certain General Order in the messroom. Balls remonstrated that he had indeed done as he was told, and
Inspector Alford (for whom
J. W. Bull had the greatest respect) backed him up. Tolmer gave Balls five minutes to back down, which he refused to do for sake of falsifying himself and making a liar of Alford. Balls was summarily dismissed and Alford promptly resigned.
Senior Inspector
C. W. Stuart (c. 1811–1891) was suspended in September 1853.
In November 1853, following an inquiry into police morale and efficiency, Tolmer was demoted to Chief Inspector (he ascribed the blame to Stuart, his temporary replacement while on Gold Escort duty), and six months later was sidelined to the Public Service.
[
In December 1853 a board of enquiry ratified Stuart's suspension, and furthermore relieved Tolmer of command of the force, offering it to T. S. O'Halloran and, surprisingly, reinstated Tolmer as Chief Inspector. These moves followed the confessions of W. B. Orde, Tolmer's chief clerk, that he had been complicit in Tolmer's machinations against his subordinates.
Superintendent Tolmer was sacked by Police Commissioner Warburton in 1856. A well-attended meeting at Green's Exchange in March 1856 sent a letter of protest to Governor MacDonnell.
In 1882 he published his book ''Reminiscences of an Adventurous and Chequered Career at Home and at the Antipodes''. The book is in two volumes (both available at the ]Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
). It has been described, by the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', as "an engaging and egotistical work".[Tolmer, Alexander (1815–1890)]
, ''Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
''.
Despite Alexander Tolmer's alleged character flaws and involvement in various disputes, there cannot be much doubt that his initiative and determination in relation to the implementation of the overland Gold Escort helped save South Australia from an economic crisis at a most vulnerable time in the colony's development. This feat alone earned him the respect and appreciation of many South Australians. He was energetic in his pursuit of law and order in the young colony over a long period and as Police Commissioner implemented significant reform and innovation to the service. He has been recognised with a plaque in the Jubilee 150 Walkway on the footpath of North Terrace, Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
.
Tolmer died in 1890 and was buried at the Mitcham
Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...
Cemetery in an Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
service. A son, Alexander H. D. Tolmer, was a drover, explorer, and manager of Arkaba Station.
References
Sources
*
*
Tolmer, Alexander (1815–1890)
, ''Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolmer, Alexander
1815 births
1890 deaths
16th The Queen's Lancers officers
Australian Anglicans
Commissioners of the South Australia Police
Settlers of South Australia
Australian people of French descent
19th-century Australian public servants