Police paddock is an Australian term for a plot of suburban land that has or has historically been set aside for police horses. Before the universal adoption of the motor car, police rode horses that were stabled and reared on paddocks that were adjacent to or near to police stations.[1][2][3]
Mounted police units still exist and are frequently used for crowd control at public demonstrations. Many of the old police paddocks still bear the name "police paddock."[4] Usage of the term is found in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
Police paddocks were an obvious place to play sports, and many suburban sports were played on police paddocks. Since the widespread use of horses has been abandoned, the paddocks have become redundant, and many have been turned into sports stadiums or parks. The Melbourne Cricket Ground was formerly a police paddock.
Notes
^Fels, Marie Hansen & Victoria. Historic Places Branch (1986). In The Dandenong Police Paddocks : early use as Native Police Headquarters and Aboriginal Protectorate Station, 1837-1853. The Dept, [East Melbourne, Vic.]
^Fels, Marie Hansen & Rhodes, David (1990). In The Dandenong Police Paddocks. Victoria Archaeological Survey : Dept. of Conservation and Environment, [Melbourne]
^Queensland. Surveyor-General's Office (1889). In Town of Cleveland, County of Stanley known as the Old Police Paddock & being sections 116, 116A, 116B, 117, 117A, & 117B. The Office, Brisbane
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