Alexander Douglas Douglas (7 February 1843– 5 February 1914) was a naval officer, an inspector in theNative Police and a chief inspector of police inQueensland.
Douglas was born on 7 February 1843 at St Helier, Channel Islands, son of Alexander Douglas Douglas, formerly Mackenzie, an army officer, and his wife Ann, née Rouse. He was the grandson ofSir Kenneth Mackenzie, who was a colonel in the58th Foot and was created a baronet 30 Sep 1831 and assumed by Royal Licence 31 Oct 1831 the name and arms of Douglas of Glenbervie.
In 1857, he joined the Royal Navy as acadet on HMSIllustrious and then served on HMSDiadem. In 1859 he joined HMSCentaur to fight in theSecond Opium War serving in the Tientsin campaign of theBattle of the Taku Forts. Douglas then joinedHMS Encounter and was based mostly atYokohama. In 1862, theTaiping rebellion had advanced inChina and the trading port ofShanghai was threatened. HMSEncounter was ordered into the area and Douglas was involved in the bombardment and assault onNingbo.Encounter afterwards returned to Yokohama and played a minor role during thebombardment of Kagoshima. Douglas saw no future pathways of promotion and left the navy in 1865, migrating toAustralia.[1]
Douglas arrived inRockhampton in late 1865 and took up a job as ateamster and station-hand at Nulabin pastoral station nearDuaringa. After drought destroyed his livelihood, Douglas then became adrover for a time before using his navy connections to again change careers.
Douglas joined the paramilitaryQueensland Native Police in 1872 on the recommendation of ActingQueensland Police Commissioner Thomas Barron, who served in the military with Douglas during the Opium Wars. Douglas was trained as a cadet in this force by the notoriously brutal officer, Frederick Wheeler, and his first posting was at theMarlborough barracks in central coastal Queensland.
Douglas was appointed Acting Sub-Inspector atMarlborough, north ofRockhampton, in early 1873. A correspondent for the Northern Argus wrote that Douglas should give "salutary lessons" to the localAboriginal people.[2] It was reported that Douglas and his Aboriginal troopers killed several Aboriginals atCalliope.[3] An enquiry was held at Prospect Hotel in Calliope headed by other police officers. Evidence was submitted that Douglas shot an Aboriginal man when he tried to escape. Douglas was exonerated of charges of wantonly destroying life.[4] In 1873 Douglas led a large patrol through The Peninsula station nearShoalwater Bay and around the adjacent islands.[5] Later in 1873, Douglas' entire detachment of troopers deserted with allegations of floggings and cruel treatment by Douglas being the reason.[6]
In early 1874, Douglas was transferred north to theCooktown region where he and his troopers patrolled thePalmer River, Normanby andHodgkinson goldfields. He blazed the Hell's Gate trail from the Palmer goldfields to Cooktown[7] and led several extrajudicial "dispersals" of Aboriginals.[8] In late 1874, after the killing of the Stroh family travelling to the Palmer River, Douglas led severe reprisals against Aboriginals in the area.[9] Newspaper articles reported that "the blacks...died the death they so richly deserved and...we may hope that hisSniders will reach a few more of them."[10] A journalist in Cooktown at the time recalled how Douglas' troopers would make notches on the stocks of their rifles for every person they killed in the "nigger raids". One had 25 notches of which nine were added in a week.[11] In 1875 Douglas completed further "dispersals" near both theNormanby River and theLaura River, and in 1876 he "had a long run after blacks" near theMitchell River.[12]
In September 1876, Douglas led a group fromThornborough on the Hodgkinson goldfield to construct a trail to the coast atTrinity Bay. This he achieved with anotherNative Police officer inRobert Arthur Johnstone blazing a trail from the other direction, the two groups meeting to complete the track at the top of the range.[13] This trail was given the name Douglas' Track and opened the way for the founding of a port in Trinity Bay which, later that year, was namedCairns. Douglas remained in the Cairns area, patrolling the district up to theMossman River, until 1879 when he was replaced by sub-Inspector Carr.
After a brief posting at the Native Police barracks inBlackall in western Queensland, and also a period working for the general police inBrisbane, Douglas was back in northern Queensland in 1882. He was assigned to the Native Police unit atHerberton from where he blazed another trail to the coast, this time toMourilyan Harbour. When in charge of Mourilyan Native Police camp, he usedSS Vigilant,[14] a small steamship, to patrol the coast. While in this position, he was criticised in the colonial press for both wasting government funds[15] and severe cruelty to the troopers under his charge. He was given the title "Black Douglas" for his "continued barbarity to the niggers".[16] In 1883, he was ordered back to Brisbane and was soon leading native troopers in the capture of escapedblackbirdedKanaka labourers.[17]
In 1884, Douglas was appointed to the normal police force and posted toTownsville where he was promoted to Inspector. In 1885, during the 'Russian scare', because of his naval experience, he was appointed commander of HMS Otter,[18] a wooden paddle packet.
In 1886, after a brief period atRoma, Douglas was sent toGeorgetown and placed in charge of theGulf district.[19] In this role, he was in charge of both the general and the Native Police located in the district which stretched fromMount Surprise toCamooweal. He often led thegold escort from the Etheridge goldfields which consisted of up to 13 armed native troopers guarding the transport with 56 horses. He was later responsible for the largest gold escort recorded in Queensland. Douglas was also involved in the resolution of high-profile crimes, such as theNormanton race riots of 1888[20] and the liquidation of the Aboriginal outlaw, Joe Flick, in 1889. Flick had shot dead Native Police officer Alfred Wavell and injured the famous colonistFrank Hann atLawn Hill pastoral station.[21]
In 1891, Douglas was in charge of the police force involved in the breaking up theshearers' strike atBarcaldine, arresting and transporting the leading unionists.[22] With thefrontier wars against Aboriginals in Queensland coming to an end, and British colonial government policy switching to control rather thanNative Police dispersion, Douglas' opinion on native matters was sought after. In a precursor to theAboriginal Protection Act of 1897, Douglas advocated tight police command over the remaining Indigenous population with compulsory permission required for travel, employment and food rations.[23]
In 1893, he was transferred and placed in charge of theMaranoa Region and five years later was promoted to chief inspector of theQueensland Police in the northern regions.[24] In 1900, Douglas was transferred toBrisbane to be the chief inspector for the Queensland Police[25] and while in this position, Douglas took on the role of ActingQueensland Police Commissioner on four occasions.[26]
Douglas retired from the Queensland Police in 1905, when he returned to England.
He died on 5 February 1914, near Portsmouth.
He was a widower when, on 19 April 1884, he married Lucie Street. They had no children. She died on 13 May 1905.[27] The following year he married, as his third wife, Susan Williams.
