Madge Connor

Madge Irene Connor (c. 1874 – 12 October 1952) was an Irish-born Australian police officer, who was the first woman to become a member of Victoria Police, and the first policewoman in Victoria,[1] when she was appointed as a police agent in October 1917.

Madge Connor
Madge Connor (circa 1899)
Born
Madge Irene McCarthy

1874 (1874)
Waterford, Ireland
Died(1952-10-12)12 October 1952
Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Resting placeBoroondara General Cemetery
NationalityBritish
Other namesMadge O'Connor
OccupationPolice officer
Years active1917–1929
EmployerVictoria Police
Known forFirst female police officer in Victoria

Early life

Connor was born in Waterford, Ireland around 1874 (although numerous versions of her name and date of birth exist, the Australian Dictionary of Biography says she was "possibly" born on 14 November 1874). Her father, John McCarthy, was a mariner, and Connor stated that after he was lost at sea when she was aged 2, she lived with family in England, then emigrated to the United States, and later to New Zealand. At the age of 16, she met and married Edward Connor (O'Connor), an English-born labourer, with the couple eloping to Melbourne, Australia.[2]

Police career

Connor's husband Edward died suddenly in 1916, and Connor came to the attention of Victoria Police when his death was registered. Later that year, she began working for the police force, investigating illegal gambling and residing undercover in a boarding house to gather evidence against a notorious criminal. In 1917, after a campaign by women's groups to appoint women as police members, Connor was the first of two women to be appointed 'police agents', essentially a type of special constable with half the salary and no powers of arrest, uniform or weapon.[2]

Connor led a group of female agents and watch-house matrons, and advocated for the appointment of women to Victoria Police, which occurred on 12 November 1924 when she and three other female police agents were officially sworn in as police officers, with equal pay and arrest powers.[2]

Due to a quirk of police regulations, Connor lost her senior status in the force and was considered a junior officer. She was forced to retire on 14 November 1929, and was ineligible for a police pension as she had not served the requisite fifteen years as a sworn officer, so she utilised her detective skills as a private investigator.

Connor died on 12 October 1952 at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne,[3] and was buried at Boroondara General Cemetery in Kew. In August 2017, Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton unveiled a plaque at the cemetery commemorating her role as a pioneer of women in policing,[4] and in November that year, a statue of Connor was unveiled at the Victoria Police Academy.[5]

References
  1. "The Women Who Chase Criminals". The Australian Women's Weekly. I (36). Australia. 10 February 1934. p. 15. Retrieved 31 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Woolley, Colleen. "'Connor, Madge Irene (1874–1952)'". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 31 August 2018 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  3. "Policewoman Pioneer Dies". The Age (30, 408). Victoria, Australia. 14 October 1952. p. 13. Retrieved 31 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Victoria's First Policewoman Honoured". Premier of Victoria. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. "New Statue A Tribute To Victoria's Champion Policewomen". Premier of Victoria. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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