Police honour Kalgoorlie detectives brutally killed 100 years ago
On this day in 1926, Detective Inspector John Walsh and Detective Sergeant Alexander Pitman were shot while trying to apprehend gold thieves near Kalgoorlie. Their charred and dismembered bodies were later found at the bottom of a mine shaft.
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Police honour Kalgoorlie detectives brutally killed 100 years ago as historians search for murder sceneJBy Jarrod LucasABC GoldfieldsTopic:Police4h ago4 hours agoTue 28 Apr 2026 at 6:29amDetective Inspector John Walsh (left) and Detective Sergeant Alexander Pitman were on the trail of gold thieves when they were murdered. (Supplied: WA Police Historical Society/Facebook)abc.net.au/news/police-honour-detectives-murdered-100-years-ago/106562418Link copiedShareShare articleTwo detectives brutally murdered a century ago in Western Australia's Goldfields have been remembered as "incorruptible" and "courageous" officers who did their duty to the end. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch and WA Governor Chris Dawson led tributes at a public memorial on Tuesday for Detective Inspector John Walsh and Detective Sergeant Alexander Pitman. On this day in 1926, the detectives were shot while trying to apprehend gold thieves near Kalgoorlie.WA Governor and former police commissioner Chris Dawson lays a wreath at a memorial for the fallen officers. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas)Their charred and dismembered bodies were later found by Indigenous trackers at the bottom of a mine shaft, known as Miller's Find. Gold thieves William Coulter and Phillip Treffene were found guilty of wilful murder by a jury on September 15, 1926 and hanged at Fremantle Gaol on October 25 that year.Both men proclaimed their innocence in their final words on the gallows, while a third man who was charged, Evan Clarke, escaped the hangman's noose by turning King's evidence. Police investigating the murders of Detective Inspector John Walsh and Detective Sergeant Alexander Pitman in 1926. (Supplied: Eastern Goldfields Historical Society)Governor Dawson described the murders as "one of the worst crimes committed against police officers in all of Australia". In an era when gold stealing was rife alongside bribery and corruption, Mr Dawson said the detectives were "incorruptible, diligent, courageous … very experienced officers". Detective Sergeant Alexander Pitman and Detective Inspector John Walsh pictured in 1920. (Supplied: Eastern Goldfields Historical Society)"They knew the risks, they had been threatened, their wives and families had been sent to Perth," the former police commissioner said. "But they both went about their duty, and that duty cost them their lives. "We owe a debt to these officers and their descendants … and that debt does not expire."WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the families of the fallen officers should be proud of their "grit, determination and courage". (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas)Tuesday's 100th anniversary was formally commemorated at a public memorial site on the western outskirts of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, near the scene where the detectives' bodies were found. The memorial was rededicated in 2024 after being expanded to include storyboards detailing the history of the case. Commissioner Blanch said the fallen detectives were among 89 WA police officers who have died in the line of duty. "Grief never goes away for families," he said. Terry Walsh and Sergeant Matthew Leitch lay a wreath in honour of Inspector John Walsh. (ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas)"While it has been 100 years, the family are here to remember them and police officers are here to remember them, and we all stand on their shoulders for the legacy and sacrifice they leave behind."And we will never forget our fallen officers."The great-great grandson of Inspector Walsh is now a…
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