Deirdre Elaine Mckinley... Sunbury Policewomen

Senior Sergeant ‘Wild Bill’ O’Donoghue was not happy. But, the chauvinistic ‘Officer in Charge’ of the Sunbury ‘Uniform Branch’ had been rarely happy since Senior Sergeant Monica Draper had arrived on secondment. ‘The Black Widow’ as she was more commonly known, was to be his ‘Sub Charge’ for a time. ‘Wild Bill’ however, was confident he could deal with Monica, for she was after all, just another ‘cunt’ in a policewoman’s uniform, as far as he was concerned. He would eventually rid himself of her, as he would both Constable Maggie Doyle and ‘Probationary’ Constable Deirdre ‘Dash’ McKinley too. The career policeman regarded the recent 1978 Equal Opportunities Act as a legal aberration – he loathed policewomen, but that was not why he was so angry as he returned to his office.

Lady Caroline Clarkson had been elected Mayoress of Sunbury. And, ‘Wild Bill’ O’Donoghue had just attended yet another in a series of Victoria Police ‘Community Conferences’ with the Shire of Bulla Council Executive. ‘The Black Widow’ had been there too. So, he’d been both outnumbered and out manoeuvred by Monica and the aristocratic Lady Mayoress of Sunbury.

He’d considered resigning in protest. But, didn’t want to retire quite yet. Nor did he wish to give Lady Caroline Clarkson or Senior Sergeant Monica Draper the satisfaction of knowing that he’d failed – he was still the ‘Officer in Charge’ and would remain so, despite everything that had occurred, Nevertheless, he had returned to another problem. Sergeant Marcus Jacobs and ‘Acting’ sergeant Nick Schultz had been waiting with more bad news – Superintendent Clive Adamson and Inspector Russell Falcon-Price had telephoned whilst ‘Wild Bill’ had been battling wits with ‘The Black Widow’ and Lady Mayoress.

There had been an outcry in the media. But, there had been little done by the conservative National Liberal Coalition Government on the ongoing shortage of accommodation in ‘Fairlie’ Women’s Prison – the Sunbury Police Station was to be used for ‘Remand Prisoners’ and regulations stipulated that the ‘Uniform Branch’ needed more policewomen. That meant, that Senior Constable Rochelle De la Rue and ‘Acting’ Sergeant Belinda Preston would also be seconded to Sunbury, to assist Constable Maggie Doyle and ‘Probationary’ Constable Deirdre ‘Dash’ McKinley – ‘Wild Bill’ O’Donoghue’s inability to handle his own staff shortage now meant that he had more ‘cunts’ to deal with, and he was less than impressed with that thought...