In 1910, three police officers lodged a petition for improved wages and it was this action which proved the catalyst for the decision to create a representative organisation for the State’s police.
During the second half of 1911, officers continued their fight for better wages by sending a petition to the Commissioner of Police in August. The Commissioner did not agree with the claim and did not forward it to the Colonial Secretary.
The Commissioner then left for the north west of Western Australia and while away there had been a change of State Government. He offered the officers the opportunity to present their request to the new Colonial Secretary John Drew.
On November 3, 1911, a group of officers, representing the constables and non-commissioned officers of the police force, presented a further petition and met with Mr Drew.
Following the meeting, in January 1912 a constitution for the first police association in Western Australia was prepared and Mr Drew gave authority for the association in February. This decision to allow members of Western Australia Police to form an association, arguably the first Police Union in the world.
The founding Members then organised the first conference which took place at the Police Barracks Library in Perth on July 3, 1912.
The elected councillors of the newly constituted Western Australian Police Association had just five months to prepare for the conference. Delegates from the Metropolitan, Fremantle, Goldfields, South-West, Western, Swan and Albany District Branches attended the first one-day conference.
The founding President, Sergeant Michael Moore, was unable to stand for re-election and Corporal S A Fox was elected the new President and served the Association for a further four years.
Corporal S A Fox was elected the new President and served the Association for a further four years.
In 1926, the Western Australian Police Association became the Western Australian Police Union of Workers after it was registered in the Court of Arbitration of Western Australia as an Industrial Trade Union.
On February 1, 1927 an application was filed in the Court of Arbitration for the first registered Police Award and after a hearing on February 27, the first Police Award was registered. In June of the same year, the Union appointed its first full time General Secretary, George Gaunt.
Names & Dates of Past Presidents
Presidents
| President Name | Year |
|---|---|
| M Moore | 1912 |
| S A Fox | 1912-16 |
| J S Simpson | 1917 |
| G V Purdue | 1918-19 |
| J H McDonald | 1920-21 |
| G V Purdue | 1922-24 |
| J H McDonald | 1925 |
| N McCowan | 1926-30 |
| M L F Robinson | 1931 |
| S Campbell | 1932-36 |
| W Harvey | 1937-39 |
| H McLernon | 1940 |
| R Alexander | 1940-42 |
| R M larsen | 1942-45 |
| A J Croker | 1946-48 |
| A O Fiebig | 1948-51 |
| A J Croker | 1951-53 |
| A McCooper | 1954 |
| H F Isles | 1955-57 |
| R H Sims | 1958-61 |
| H F Isles | 1962-64 |
| B J Clarke | 1964-68 |
| H L Taylor | 1968-70 |
| C L Sullivan | 1970-73 |
| P G Rollo | 1974-75 |
| A F S Hutchings | 1975-82 |
| E W Couzens | 1982-86 |
| K Chadbourne | 1986-90 |
| M Brennan | 1990-95 |
| M J Dean | 1996-09 |
| R L Armstrong | 2009-12 |
| G B Tilbury | 2012-18 |
| H S Arnott | 2018- 21 |
| M Kelly | 2021-23 |
| P Gale | 2023-Present |
Secretaries
| Secretary Name | Year |
|---|---|
| P C O’Dowd | 1911-12 |
| A H Tillotson | 1912-16 |
| V Houstan | 1916-18 |
| J S Simpson | 1918-23 |
| J H McDonald | 1924 |
| G T Nelson | 1924-27 |
| G Gaunt | 1927-38 |
| D S Carlton | 1938-42 |
| W J Halliday | 1942-55 |
| J C Pereira | 1956-71 |
| I T Fraser | 1971-85 |
| P J E Stingemore | 1986-94 |
| R G Stirling | 1994-96 |
| K See | 1996-11 |
| C M Vitler | 2011-13 |
| P Hunt | 2013-23 |
| P McGee | 2023-24 |
Life Members
| J C Pereira |
| J Foley |
| E W Couzens |
| R G Crowe |
| R Hamilton |
| T Rippon |
| K Chadbourne |
| M J Brennan |
| M J Riley |
| R Moore |
| A J Weaver |
| D J Hayden |
| M J Dean |
| R L Armstrong |
| C Laurent |
| M Lockhart |
| J Groves |
| D J Lampard |
| P Potthoff H Russell |
| C Vitler |