Corruption, massacres or town gossip? The bid to unearth secrets a rural Queensland police officer took to his grave
News Source
β’Sun, 18 Oct 2026 14:00:03 GMT
π° What Happened
Archaeologists are digging behind the old police station at Mount Larcom in central Queensland. They are looking for a stash of documents that Constable Edward Robb is said to have buried about 40 years ago. A retired officer told the Queensland police museum that Robb was ordered to burn old files and buried them instead.
The team is led by museum collections manager Katherine Figueiredo and archaeologist Caitlin D'Gluyas. On the first day, metal detectors found only false alarms. Without a clear spot to dig, the crew can only open shallow trenches and hope to get lucky.
π The Backstory
Robb was the only officer at Mount Larcom for years in the 1980s. By the end of that decade, the Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption had brought down premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Three former ministers and the police commissioner went to jail.
The town's past is layered. German settlers helped build the railway town from 1910, and some were held in internment camps during the world wars. There are also stories of violence against Aboriginal people during the frontier wars.
π― Why It Matters
Old records can answer hard questions about corruption and past violence. If these papers are found, they could change how a town tells its own story.
Archaeologists are digging behind the old police station at Mount Larcom in central Queensland. They are looking for a stash of documents that Constable Edward Robb is said to have buried about 40 years ago. A retired officer told the Queensland police museum that Robb was ordered to burn old files and buried them instead.
The team is led by museum collections manager Katherine Figueiredo and archaeologist Caitlin D'Gluyas. On the first day, metal detectors found only false alarms. Without a clear spot to dig, the crew can only open shallow trenches and hope to get lucky.
Robb was the only officer at Mount Larcom for years in the 1980s. By the end of that decade, the Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption had brought down premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Three former ministers and the police commissioner went to jail.
The town's past is layered. German settlers helped build the railway town from 1910, and some were held in internment camps during the world wars. There are also stories of violence against Aboriginal people during the frontier wars.
Old records can answer hard questions about corruption and past violence. If these papers are found, they could change how a town tells its own story.