Police Officer
Hector McLarty joined the Western Australian Police in June 1868 at the age of 17 years. In March 1870, as a police constable, he was part of John Forrest's expedition to survey a route for the first overland telegraph. The expedition plan was to start at Esperance tracing the route of John Eyre's previous crossing from Adelaide, South Australia to Esperance. They arrived at the Dempster farm in Esperance in April to replenish before commencing the successful expedition, returning from Adelaide by steamship in September 1870. Between August and November 1871 the same expedition party returned to Esperance explore pastoral land they had identified north-northeast of Esperance during the first expedition.
McLarty was promoted to Sargeant on 25 May 1874 while assigned to Perth's central police station. On 17 April 1876 McLarty led a group of 8 men, 2 pensioner guards from Perth and 6 police constables from Fremantle in pursuit of the six Fenian prisoners that had escaped from the Fremantle Prison. They boarded the Georgette in Perth steamed out of the Swan river in search of the Catalpa; unsuccessful, they returned that night to Fremantle to refuel. They recommenced the search the following day, successfully finding the Catalpa, firing a shot across at the vessel the ordered it to stop or they would sink it. Captain of the Catalpa pointed at the United States flag and indicated that they were in international waters and that such action would be an act of war. The Georgette then returned to Fremantle; in his report on the incident McLarty wrote of the frustration and humiliation of letting the Catapla sail away.
In 1883 McLarty moved to Albany while there here sent a telegraph to Esperance instructing Lance Corporal Truslove to intercept suspected bushranger James Cody, who was accused of stealing two horses. When Truslove caught Cody he refused to stop; Truslove then shot Cody. Taking him to Dempster property in Esperance for treatment, and despite the aid of a doctor giving instructions via telegraph from Albany, Cody died ten days later. At the age of 33, Hector McLarty retired from the police force on 29 February 1884.
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