Mounted Police at the Hume River

The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser

9 January 1839

Hume River, 26th December.

The mounted police party, in charge of Sergeant Rose, at the Hume River, are already proving themselves useful, having taken six runaways and a woman; but the nearest bench (Yass) being 200 miles from the Hume, they have to march the prisoners the whole of that distance, keeping them nearly a month from their district. This cannot be remedied until a few policemen are stationed at Gundagai, to whom prisoners might be given in charge and escorted to Yass.

It is confidently expected that Major Nunn has recommended a party to be stationed on the Murrumbidgee, as he has lately seen the necessity of it, not only from the population on the banks of the Murrumbidgee and Tumut Rivers and surrounding country, but to keep up an unbroken chain of communication between the police stations; as it is evident, so much time being necessarily consumed escorting prisoners from and about the Hume, the intention of government in sending the police to this quarter cannot be carried into effect, as nearly one half their time they will be away on escorts.

The Commissariat ought also to look so the provision part for the soldiers and prisoners to and from Yass. You will be glad to hear the crops have turned out, in most cases, far better than was expected.

Correspondent - Australian.