List of Ninety-Seven ‘Special Constables’ Sworn at Hay During the 1984 Shearers’ Strike

Dramatic incidents at the Hay railway station during the 1894 shearers’ strike prompted pre-emptive action by local magistrates. At a special meeting, the magistrates decided that “in apprehension of a riot”, one hundred ‘special constables’ should be sworn in to assist the police in “the preservation of the peace and for the protection of the inhabitants [of Hay]”. Summonses “in pursuance of Statute 19 Victoria No. 24” were issued and a total of ninety-seven ‘specials’ were sworn in on 29 and 30 August 1894. The names of those who briefly served as ‘special constables’ at Hay are listed below (as published in the Riverine Grazier, 31 August 1894).