Alexander Tolmer
Alexander Tolmer (1815—1890) was the man in charge of the South Australian police force.[1] Born in England to French parents, he studied to be a teacher of languages. He joined the army and saw action in Portugal from 1826—1833 during the civil war.[2] Tolmer moved to South Australia in 1836, where Governor George Gawler thought his background in the cavalry would make him the right person to set up a group of mounted police.[1]
In 1852 Tolmer became the police commissioner. He led a group of police from South Australia to the Victorian gold fields and escorted a load of gold back to Adelaide.[1]
In 1856 after a number of small arguments with his offices, Tolmer was removed as commissioner.[2] He tried farming, but this was unsuccessful. He tried to lead an exploring group to cross Australia from south to north, but this also failed before it left Adelaide. He became a ranger for crown lands in 1862 and retired in 1885. He died at Mitcham, South Australia, on 7 March 1890.
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mayo, J. (1976). "Tolmer, Alexander (1815 - 1890) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online". adb.online.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Alexander Tolmer, gold escorts". southaustralianhistory.com.au. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.