{"id":696839,"date":"2026-05-27T01:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696839\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T01:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:25:13","slug":"honouring-australias-first-first-nations-police-officer-this-reconciliation-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/696839\/","title":{"rendered":"Honouring Australia\u2019s first First Nations police officer this Reconciliation Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Australia marks National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June), the Queensland Police Service (QPS) acknowledges the contributions and legacy of the nation\u2019s first First Nations police officer, Dr Colin Dillon AM APM.<\/p>\n

A proud Kombumerri man of the Yugambeh Nation, Colin made history when he joined the QPS at just 20 years old in 1965.<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/a><\/p>\n

Now 81-years-old and looking back on his career, he said he didn\u2019t realise when he first started in the Service that he was breaking new ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was genuinely surprised,\u201d Colin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt never occurred to me that there wouldn\u2019t be other people of my race among the police.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can remember on the first parade \u2013 we all had to line up, and I took a glimpse to my left and right, and the ranks behind me, and I thought there\u2019s nobody else like me. It was unnerving.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he joined the Service, it was just two years before the 1967 referendum, which recognised First Nation Australians in the census, and 10 years before the ratification of the Racial Discrimination Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pretty lonely road to travel initially, and there were a few years where I was by myself, and I was facing racism from all levels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had wanted to be a police officer all my life, and I didn\u2019t know if I would be able to go the distance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there was something inside me that made me stick the course and go all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colin spent nearly four decades in uniform, in which time he rose to the rank of a commissioned officer, retiring as an inspector in 2001.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time with the Service, Colin spoke proudly of the growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander police officers and the role he played paving the way for other First Nations people.<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been such wonderful progress, and it is so wonderful to see so many First Nations people in uniform,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to think that the journey I\u2019ve travelled, from constable to inspector, is a path other First Nations people can look towards, and know it is something they can do too.<\/p>\n

They play a vital role across the Service, supporting community safety both through frontline work, as well as crucial cultural liaison and administration efforts.<\/p>\n

As National Reconciliation Week commences, First Nations Division Executive Director Alan Dewis reflects on the contributions of Colin, and the First Nations officers who followed in his steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cColin\u2019s legacy is one of courage and conviction,\u201d Mr Dewis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis service not only transformed policing in Australia but also paved the way for hundreds of other First Nations individuals to be welcomed into the Service and support their community with pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s National Reconciliation Week theme, \u2018All In\u2019, invites all Australians to commit to reconciliation through meaningful action every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cColin\u2019s service exemplifies this commitment, standing as a powerful reminder that progress is driven by courage and a willingness to challenge injustice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank Colin for his dedicated service and honour his contributions to shaping modern policing while working towards a shared future of reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Australia marks National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June), the Queensland Police Service (QPS) acknowledges the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-696839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}