Constable William Brennan’s Medal
-
A medal engraved “Con. Willm BRENNAN N.Z.P for long service and good conduct” honours one of Cambridge’s earliest police officers, William Brennan. Brennan patrolled the town between 1876 to 1897.
These medals were first awarded in 1886 to members of the Provincial Police and Armed Constabulary Forces. Brennan began his career in Canterbury in 1868 was one of the earliest recipients. Insights into Brennan’s time in Cambridge are revealed through entries in the Police Charge Book — now held at the New Zealand Police Museum — and reports in the Waikato Times.
CM4424
- When: 1886
- Materials: Metal
- Measurements: 6 x 3.5cm
One memorable case unfolded just after Christmas in 1885, when the notorious Murphy family disturbed the peace in town. The sound of breaking glass and angry shouting reverberated in the still night air. The Murphys were at it again.
On 28 December 1885, Patrick Murphy had locked his wife out of their home and Maria Murphy had circled the house, smashing every window. “Seasonable compliments were exchanged through the apertures in the glass, to the great edification and entertainment of the neighbourhood,” wrote a reporter at the Waikato Times, who would have known of the Murphys from previous reports.
Constable William Brennan was called. He recommended a trial separation to Mrs Murphy. Later when she told her husband of this, he set off for the Constable’s home and punched him. The Waikato Times reported that Mr Murphy ended up in the jail cell of the lock-up with “a swollen … head [and] sore bones”.
This was just another day for Constable Brennan. He was a familiar figure around town in his blue uniform and cap, white gloves, greatcoat and strong lace-up watertight boots. A diary entry from 1880 records him patrolling the streets off and on from 9am until 11.30pm, with investigations carried on between.
He speedily dealt with cases of drunk and disorderly, larceny, assault, absent without leave, disturbances, vagrancy, obscene language, furious riding and larrikinism. The charges sound minor but this was an age when stealing a cake earned you six months in an Auckland jail.
Constable Brennan left Cambridge in 1897 when he was promoted to Sergeant at Paeroa. He was a sixty-year-old insurance agent when he died in Auckland in 1909, leaving his wife Jane and seven sons and daughters aged 13 to 29.
Read more about Brennan in Eris Parker’s The Cambridge Lot (available in the Cambridge Museum library)