St John Branigan
St John Branigan (c.1824 – 11 September 1873) was a New Zealand police commissioner. He was born in King's County, Ireland on c.1824.[1]
He was recruited from Victoria, Australia after being highly recommended by the government there to head the Otago Police in 1861, at the start of the Otago Gold Rush to control the gold-generated turbulence from an expected influx of miners from Victoria and elsewhere.[2]
Later in the 1870s, he was also responsible to the general government for demilitarising the Armed Constabulary and turning it into a civilian police force, despite opposition from some provincial governments e.g. Auckland.[3]
References
- Hill, Richard S. (1986). Policing the Colonial Frontier (Part Two). Wellington: Government Printer. ISBN 0-477-01348-1.
- ^ Hill, Richard S. "St John Branigan". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Hill 1986, pp. 541, 542.
- ^ Hill 1986, p. 940.
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