Alexander Nicholson (police officer)

Alexander Nicholson
9th Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police
In office
8 February 1922 – 10 August 1925
MonarchGeorge V
GovernorGeorge Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke
Preceded byJohn Gellibrand
Succeeded bySir Thomas Blamey
Personal details
Born
Alexander Nicholson

c1863
Died(1928-03-08)8 March 1928
Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
OccupationPolice officer

Alexander Nicholson was an Australian police officer and Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police from 1922 to 1925.[1] Nicholson was Chief Commissioner at the time of the 1923 Victorian police strike.[2]

As a constable, Nicholson received a special stripe for valour for his role in an incident at a pub in Lake Wendouree, a suburb of Ballarat, in 1898. Armed only with a truncheon, Nicholson attempted to arrest a drunk armed with a revolver who had taken over the bar. Nicholson was shot at three times in the course of the arrest; all three bullets passed through his coat and one grazed his thumb.[3]

  1. ^ Harkness, Alistair; Baker, David (2 November 2011). "Overland's legacy should be independence for police chiefs". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Ltd. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  2. ^ Adams, Michael (16 December 2018). "When an Australian city went mad: The unprecedented chaos that engulfed Melbourne for three days". News.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  3. ^ Sara, Sally (30 October 2016). "Mr Sara shot a policeman: The true story of a pub shooting, a police mutiny, and Melbourne's 1923 riots". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 December 2018.