William Peterswald arms police for North Territory frontier wars; brings band and greys to South Australia force
The South Australian police grey horses, being paraded at Adelaide's Jubilee Oval in 1912, were among innovations brought in by commissioner William Peterswald.
Images courtesy State Library of South Australia
William John von Peterswald, South Australian commissioner of police (1882–96), brought innovation to the force as it was given extra responsibilities despite tight funding.
Much of the extra responsibility came from South Australia controlling the Northern Territory during his era. Peterswald started a branch of the native police in the territory to settle firence and bloody disputesd between Aboriginal communities and pastoralists.
Peterswald armed the force in the early 1800s with 200 of the new Martini-Henry rifles in .455/.577 calibre and long-pattern bayonets, as used by the volunteer militia forces. Peterswald also recommended the mounted police get the large NewModel No.3 Smith & Wesson revolver in .44 calibre.
Economic distress and unemployment in the 1880s and early 1890s gave police their first experiences of handling serious industrial unrest. To improve police esprit de corps, Peterswald changed the uniforms and encouraged a police band to be formed in 1884. He also introduced the uniform grey colour for police horses on metropolitan duty. This breed, despite being unsuitable for the outback, was later extended to many rural police horses.
Peterswald, born in Jamaica where his German father managed a large plantation, had early education at Edinburgh Academy. His parents returned to Scotland when slavery was made illegal, and Peterswald went to the military academy in Edinburgh and Elizabeth College of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, where he commanded the 1st rifle company of the Channel Island militia.
The family moved to Liverpool, where his father died, and Peterswald lived on the Continent and Jersey before emigrating with his wife to South Australia on the Charlotte Jane, in 1853. He ran a dairy farm at Munno Para for seven years without success but a voluntary militia company he started and led was noted for its smartness. Having lost his money on the farm, he worked as assistant clerk of the House of Assembly in Adelaide.
In 1862, after metropolitan police inspector Richard Palmer was murdered at government house, Peterswald applied for, and won, the vacant position under commissioner Peter Egerton-Warbuton. Four years later, he was forced to resign due to his dairy farm’s insolvency. His place was filled by Thomas Bee, previously relieving officer at Adelaide’s destitute asylum.
From 1868, Peterswald was warden of the Barossa goldfields until 1873 when he returned at metropolitan police inspector (later superintendent) and Bee moved to inspector of licensed. Peterswald became acting commissioner in 1881 and commissioner the next year, succeeding George Hamilton, and served until he died in 1896.
