Have you ever heard about an event involving a Kerryman, an egg, and the hat of an Australian Prime Minister? It’s likely you haven’t because though it made headlines in Australia, it has never really received its deserving attention here. This legendary story is about the Warwick Egg Incident that occurred in November 1917, leading to the formation of what we now call the Australian Federal Police force.
In truth, there were two men from Kerry involved, the Brosnan brothers – Paddy and Bart, from Castleisland. During their residence near Warwick, Queensland, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes visited Warwick railway station amidst the ongoing first World War, advocating for a referendum on conscription – a highly controversial subject due to the defeat of a previous referendum.
Present in the crowd that turned up to listen to Hughes were the Brosnans, who had wisely come with their pockets filled with eggs. Paddy was ordered by the police to relinquish his eggs after they were discovered. He gave up three but concealed at least one more.
Everything was going well for Hughes until an egg, expertly thrown by Paddy, knocked off his hat. This is a part of history, commemorated by The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, which reveals that Paddy had a close call.
According to a committee on their website, Hughes, who was known for his volatile nature, was highly infuriated. As the museum’s Campbell Rhodes notes, Hughes headed straight for the crowd, reaching for the gun he usually carried within his coat. Luckily for the Brosnan brothers, he had forgotten it on the train.
Enraged, Hughes instructed Warwick police to apprehend the Brosnans under Commonwealth law. The officer in charge, Sgt Henry Kenny, of Irish heritage, respectfully declined to arrest the brothers, pointing out that they hadn’t violated any state law in Queensland. There’s a possibility that he may be related to the former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who is renowned for being a law-abiding man who never neglected lighting on his bike.
In an event recounted by Peter Spearritt in his book, an intriguing detail emerged where the prime minister was instigated to leap into the crowd after receiving a rude gesture from Paddy. Reportedly, the prime minister’s fans later surrounded Bart and delivered a few blows, and subsequently, Paddy was penalised 10 shillings for causing turmoil.
With the prime minister visibly irate, he hastily departed Warwick and continued his train trip, sending a telegram aboard to the Police Commissioner of Queensland complaining about Sgt Kenny’s refusal to arrest the two men.
It wasn’t long before Billy Hughes initiated the creation of the Commonwealth Police Force – later renamed the Australian Federal Police force in 1979. As Campbell Rhodes deduced, the symbolic egg on Hughes’ face was the trigger that precipitated the move.
More embarrassment awaited Hughes when he was defeated in the second conscription referendum by an even larger majority merely a month following his encounter with the men from Kerry. The incident drew extensive media attention, with the Sydney Morning Herald portraying the Brosnans as ‘pair of wild brothers of Irish descent’. Ergo, according to one of the Brosnans’ cousin Hanorah’s granddaughter, Julie Conway, the incident encapsulates broad themes: discrimination towards the Irish, class distinctions, conscription, and federal law versus state law.
Conway, penning an email from Australia, mentions that the Brosnan name carried a certain stigma after the occurrence. Some Brosnans attempted to distance themselves from the incident, including her own grandmother. However, many Brosnans today are likely to embrace the connection, she reveals.
As for Paddy Brosnan’s future, the history curator Sean Brosnahan, who is responsible for a dedicated Brosnan site, dug up an interview with him featured in The Age newspaper of Melbourne in 1952. Aged 77 then and retired from his job as a horse trainer, Paddy expressed his plan to send the widow Mary a telegram of condolence upon learning of Billy Hughes’ passing. He fondly referred to Billy, narrating his encounter with the politician at the Warwick railway station, and said, “I nailed him square with the egg…he didn’t pause,” with a tone of admiration.
Billy Hughes Park, the modest green expanse situated adjacent to Warwick train station, received its designation commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the infamous egg-throwing episode. The former prime minister’s memory persistently intertwined with the Kerry men, thanks to the neighbouring street, known as Brosnan Crescent.