The Military, the Police and the Government Camp, Castlemaine 1851-1870
Author: Dr Bob Marmion
The Castlemaine Society Inc (CASSOC) committee is privileged to have assisted with bringing into print, Dr Bob Marmion’s report on the early military and policing history of the Government Camp Castlemaine. This story until now, has been known only to a few. Dr Marmion follows the evolution of the military and policing forces on the Government Camp. Perceived as corrupt and heavy handed, prone to meting out disproportional punishment, the police and military established a more positive footing with the community following Eureka. Ironically, as the imperial troops were withdrawn from the Victorian goldfields, the local citizens developed the Volunteer movement, based at the Camp Reserve, modeled on the exiting military system. The Volunteers became an essential force in Castlemaine, adding stability to the nascent society, in the period before Australia formed its own army.
Purchase a Copy: $30
To buy your copy of this new report, please contact:
Email: gold.camp.castlemaine@gmail.com (John Lewis and Alice Matthiesson)
This book can also be purchased at;
The Castlemaine Visitor Information Centre, (The Market Building) 44 Mostyn St Castlemaine. phone 54711795
Stoneman’s Bookroom, 101 Mostyn St, Castlemaine, phone 54705134
Biography
Dr Bob Marmion has had a lifelong interest in Australian military and police history, particularly the colonial era of the 19th century through to1945. He was a member of the Victoria Police for 15 years serving in both uniform and the Criminal Investigative Branch as a detective.
When he left the police force, Bob studied at university as a mature age student before eventually completing a PhD in Victorian military history at the University of Melbourne. In recent years he co-ordinated the Victorian Defences Project 1803-1945 which was a multi-disciplinary team of historians, archaelogists, engineers, mapping experts and members of the public as they recorded Victoria’s military history.
Bob has been a member of the Professional Historians Association of Victoria since 2008.
Bob lived in central Victoria for many years and it was here that he become interested in goldfields history. Much of his research centred on the Volunteer movement and how it impacted on the development of goldfields society.
He now lives on the Bellarine Peninsula with his wife Sylvia.