MEDIA STATEMENT: Crisafulli Government delivers new state of the art police station in Clermont
Published Yesterday at 03:17 PM
Minister for Police and Emergency Services
The Honourable Dan Purdie
Crisafulli Government delivers new state of the art police station in Clermont
- New Clermont Police Station replaces old station from the 1930s.
- The facility has been purpose-built to support the Clermont community’s current and future needs.
- It features more space, an attached watchhouse and a vehicle holding yard.
The Crisafulli Government has officially opened a brand new and purpose-built police station in the remote town of Clermont as part of its commitment to giving frontline officers the resources they need to do their jobs.
The state of the art station is based 380 kilometres inland from Rockhampton, and services an area of 24,000 square kilometres stretching from Emerald to Moranbah.
It replaces the old Clermont station, which was built in 1939, after the original (dating back to the 1800s) was destroyed by fire.
The new facility provides more space to better accommodate the needs of its five staff and community members and includes a separate watchhouse building with two cells and a vehicle holding yard.
Minister for Police and Emergency Service Dan Purdie said the new station was purpose built to meet the current needs of a modern police service.
“Our hardworking police dedicate their lives to protecting Queenslanders and this new facility will help make that work a little bit easier,” Minister Purdie said.
“The Crisafulli Government backs our frontline police, which is why we are giving them the resources they need to do their jobs.”
Acting Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy said the new station is better placed to support the needs of the district both now and into the future.
“The old Clermont police station was built in 1939 and has served the community well,” Acting Commissioner Chelepy said.
“This new station is purpose-built for modern day policing, with all the necessary functions to support our current and foreseeable future operations.
“It also represents a new chapter in the long, proud history of the QPS in the Clermont area.”
Burdekin MP and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Dale Last said it had been a long fight, but the people of Clermont deserved access to an appropriately equipped police station.
“The former Labor Government sat back and watched while officers in Clermont were forced to walk suspects through sensitive office areas just to get to the interview room,” Minister Last said.
“This new police station is a culmination of a long-standing commitment I’ve made to the community and to the local officers in Clermont – that the Crisafulli Government will always back them and their safety.”
Officer in Charge of Clermont Station Sergeant Steve French had served in the district since 2022 and enjoys working in the tight-knit community.
“Clermont is a town that likes to see police involved in community events, and we are often invited to participate in activities like judging local competitions and leading town parades,” Sergeant French said.
“As a team here, we focus on building good relationships with the community so that when we need to ask residents for assistance, particularly when it comes to investigating criminal matters, they are happy to help.
“We are lucky not to have a lot of crime in Clermont, so we are able to invest a significant amount of effort into community engagement and proactive activities such as school programs, driver licensing and rural patrols to some of our more isolated areas.”
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT: Nat Gradwell 0449 186 116
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Clermont is a town rich in history and was the first inland tropical settlement in Queensland.
It has a divisional population of approximately 3,900 people and has had a permanent police presence since 1863 when the town was first declared.
In the early 1800s, Clermont was the site of a major conflict during the shearers’ strike of 1891, when detachments of soldiers and police reinforcements were sent to the town to deal with striking shearers.
The first Clermont Police station was built in 1878, but after a fire destroyed parts of the building in 1933, plans were put in place for a replacement.
Interim repairs were made to keep the old station operational until the new station opened in 1939.
The new Clermont station was built closer to the centre of town and the courthouse, away from the lower areas of Clermont which were submerged during the 1916 flood that claimed the lives of at least 61 people.
Had it not been for the overnight on-duty constable, who recognised the town was at risk of flooding after prolonged heavy rainfall, many more lives would have been lost.
Clermont has had a permanent police presence since the town was declared in 1863. Here, police staff are photographed at the original Clermont Police Station in 1895.
Credit: QPS Police Museum