DETAILS OF DEATH

The Sergeant was the Officer in Charge of the Hillston Police Station and on 14 June 1946 was required to recover a decomposing body from the Lachlan River. A few days earlier he had been cutting wood and had sustained a cut to the back of his left thumb. It is thought that whilst handling the body the Sergeant had contracted an infection through the cut. A few days after the incident Sergeant Porter sought medical attention for severe pains in his hand. When his condition continued to deteriorate he was sent to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and following treatment resumed duty in July. The Sergeant soon developed a septic throat condition and died on 19 September 1946. The cause of death was found to have been heart failure which had eventually resulted from the original infection contracted on 14 June 1946. The Sergeant was born in 1900 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 13 February 1922. At the time of his death he was stationed at Hillston.