A New Era

An important piece of technology in the 1950’s was the Bundy clock, a variation of which was used by patrolmen. Carrying the clock, they would use a chained key that was secured in various locations around a security site, to “clock-in” and show the time and date they had actually been at that site.

The management of SNP was now into the third generation of the Roche family. The company had by now a wide variety of security services including mobile patrols covering the whole of Sydney, gatekeepers and a service to supervise and check company security staff, armed escorts, specialists to handle machinery, and an industrial investigation service to stop pilfering, shoplifting and industrial espionage.

Fast expansion meant that new premises were purchased at Elva Street, Strathfield. This new facility included not only the base station for the patrolmen, but an administration office and a service centre including an underground petrol tank to supply all company vehicles. To expand beyond the greater Sydney metro area, an office was rented in Broadmeadow, a suburb of Newcastle, in October 1958.

Next: Competition (1960′s)