DETAILS OF DEATH

About 9.30pm on 15 October 1977 Senior Constable Gilfeather was driving a Police car behind another vehicle in Southern Cross Drive Waterloo. Near the intersection of O’Dea Avenue another vehicle made a right turn against the traffic lights in front of the two vehicles. Both vehicles took evasive action skidded on the wet road and collided with each other. The Police car then hit a telegraph pole. Senior Constable Gilfeather sustained extensive head and internal injuries and died a short time later. Constable 1st Class McKenzie was also injured however he later recovered. The Constable was born in 1946 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 12 December 1966. At the time of his death he was attached to the No. 21 Special Squad CIB.

DETAILS OF DEATH

Lance Corporal Eugene Nugent A.I.F. number 1723 25th Australian Infantry Battalion. Killed in action on Friday 15 October 1915 at the Dardanelles Gallipoli. He is buried at the Embarkation Pier Cemetery Chailak Dere Gallipoli Peninsula.

DETAILS OF DEATH

At 9 p.m. 15 October 1888 Courtney commenced night shift beat patrol at Kensington. He was last seen alive at 11.45 p.m. at the Flemington Police Station when he telephoned the Carlton Police Station with an enquiry. At 5 a.m. the next morning a signal man found him lying dead on the railway track at Kensington Railway Station. His watch had stopped at 1.53 a.m. which was apparently the time of his death. A later inquest found he had been accidentally killed when struck by a passing train.

DETAILS OF DEATH

Corporal Nixon was the first police officer in South Australia to die as a result of being viciously assaulted in the execution of his duty.

On 15 October 1861, Corporal Nixon tragically died from horrendous injuries received in September 1855, when he was brutally attacked by a prisoner that he was escorting.  Left by the roadside to die by the fleeing felon, Corporal Nixon was miraculously found by a passerby and transported to Adelaide for treatment.  After an extended time, Corporal Nixon partially recovered from the injuries and returned to police duty.

The offender was later apprehended and found guilty of the attempted murder of Corporal Nixon and sentenced to death.  The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Although Corporal Nixon never fully recovered from the injuries, in May 1861, he was appointed the Officer in Charge of the Port Elliot police station, where sadly , five months later he died.  His death was fully attributed to the injuries sustained during the 1855 brutal attack.

Corporal Nixon was highly regarded and respected, his death came as a great shock and was felt deeply within the community.  Aged 27 years and survived by his wife, he was buried at the Currency Creek Cemetery.  His funeral was said to be the largest ever seen in the district.