Today - Friday 29 September - marks National Police Remembrance Day and the occasion has not been missed in the western plains.

It's a day to honour those police officers who have died whilst serving their community and reflect on their sacrifice.

As part of this special day, NSW Police have decided to recount the stories of six police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Coonabarabran's Senior Constable John Ward is the first officer to be remembered and his story is one of dedication in a unique time of policing, back in the pre-Federation era. Senior Constable John Ward was born in 1830 and died, in the line of duty, in 1865.

In the mid 1800’s, gangs of bushrangers terrorised small communities and travellers, engaging in violent armed holdups throughout NSW. Today, the police response to such criminal activity would involve multiple resources, surveillance and planning. However, during the 1800’s it was normally left to local police to instantly respond to jobs of this nature.

Senior Constable John Ward of Coonabarabran Police (which now forms part of the Orana Mid-Western Police District) – whilst alone and isolated – would have to deal with a situation that today would be deemed as a high-risk incident.

On February 3rd 1865, Senior Constable Ward was returning from Mudgee back to Coonabarabran – a distance of 200km – on horseback after having completed a prisoner escort. Whilst travelling through Birriwa (near Dunedoo) he was approached by two sheep drovers who reported that a bushranger by the name of Sam Poo had been sighted along a track known as Barney’s Reef Road. Without hesitation Senior Constable Ward commenced a search of the nearby bushland where he located Sam Poo at his campsite.

The officer challenged Sam Poo calling upon him to surrender. In response Sam Poo opened fire where a gun battle followed that left Senior Constable Ward seriously injured as the offender made his escape.

Hearing the shots, a local farmer went to investigate and located Senior Constable Ward. He helped him to his home and arranged for a doctor to attend. However, it would not be until the following day when the doctor finally arrived to treat Senior Constable Ward. Sadly, the father of five succumbed to his injuries that afternoon and was buried in the grounds of the homestead.

A massive manhunt was launched, and Sam Poo was arrested in the district almost two weeks later following a dramatic gun battle. He showed no remorse and did not disclose what he had done with the proceeds he acquired throughout his crime spree.

Later that year Sam Poo was hanged at Bathurst Jail.

By 2013 Senior Constable Ward’s lonely and isolated grave was overgrown and largely forgotten, when a group of local police banded together to clean up the site.

After a memorial service the grave was re-dedicated. Memorials to Senior Constable Ward’s bravery can also be found in the foyer of Coonabarabran Police Station along with a local street being named after him.

Further to this, a memorial stands just off the Castlereagh Highway, Birriwa, near where he was shot. Local legend has it that the loot stolen by Sam Poo is buried somewhere near Barney Reefs Road, where it is just waiting to be found.

Senior Constable Ward's story is just one of the many in the history of the NSW Police Force and it is fitting that a day is put aside to reflect on their sacrifices.