MovieChat Forums > Water Rats (1996) Discussion > Hawker's promotion to Ch. Insp?

Hawker's promotion to Ch. Insp?

posted 12 years ago by clewis100
6 replies | jump to latest

I'd never seriously thought about this before, but having recently watched the first series again, I'm curious to know whether Hawker's promotion from Senior Sergeant to Chief Inspector was a true reflection on what could happen in NSW Police force? It all seems a bit strange - especially when you consider that his junior officer Sgt. Blakemore also applied for the same post? Can officers skip a couple of ranks in Australia? In the UK, I'm pretty certain that a Sergeant would have to have passed his/her Inspector's exam before being promoted to that rank, an Insp. would have needed to pass a Ch. Insp exam before being promoted to that rank etc.

[–] Intriguer 12 years ago

No I don't think that jumping ranks like that is possible in the NSW police, or any police in Australia probably! Albeit it is only one rank that Hawker skipped. I guess this only happened because of Bill Young's departure, which I think, was unexpected from the producers/writers point of view (as I assume he would have been contracted for the first 26 episodes, like all the main cast).

[–] clewis100 12 years ago

Bill Young's departure has always baffled me too. His character was so short lived, that I wonder why they even bothered having him in the first place! (though I did like what little I saw of Webb).

[–] Intriguer 12 years ago

On the season one DVDs, Peter Mochrie says in the commentary that Bill Young really wanted a personal storyline for his character, only to leave not long afterwards! Perhaps he got offered a role on something else.

[–] clewis100 12 years ago

Interesting. Unfortunately, because I live in the UK, I don't have access to the DVDs and therefore have to manage with my (very poor quality) home-made copies! Would be interested to hear the commentaries. I do have a region free DVD player so will have to see if I can get hold of them via ebay or something!

[–] Intriguer 12 years ago

Season one DVDs can be hard to find these days, but yeah, Ebay would probably be the best option.

I've also just found this too: http://au.ioffer.com/i/water-rats-complete-aussie-dvd-series-1-2-3-4-5 -6-488179974

[–] willjohn 11 years ago

As a former NSW Policeman I can tell you that it is not uncommon. A Sergeant can be promoted to Chief Inspector if he is the best applicant for the job. Senior Sergeant is a rank usually skipped over and whether the duty Officers are Inspectors or Chief Inspectors depends on the staff numbers.