The world - or at least Antipodean portions of it covered by The Beaudesert Times, The Age Melbourne, The Sydney Morning Herald, Western Australia's The South-Western News, South Australia's Border Watch and anywhere in between - awoke on the morning of July 8 1910, to the news that Beaudesert's Constable Dowling had been shot.
The disconcerting events of the previous Wednesday night had occurred just as Beaudesert locals had settled in to watch Australian silent film company West's Picture's latest cinematic masterpiece at the Technical Hall in William Street.
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Across the street in the Bank of Australasia, branch accountant Mr L.A. Collins, who was nothing if not imbued with a strong worth ethic, was startled by a noise at the back door of the premises.
Picking up his revolver from the counter on which he left it each night, he approached the manager, S.H. Skipper's office.
"Hands up! Not a sound, or I'll drop you!"
A would-be assailant, with coat drawn high and felt hat drawn low, was barely visible outside the window.
Instinctively Mr Collins raised his arms.
Collins was aware of a light at the back door and considered the likelihood that he may have been in a serious spot of bother.
"Hand over that revolver, not a sound."
"Keep the barrel pointed up in the air!".
It was at this point that our plucky accountant decided that the pen is not always mightier than the sword.
He slowly lowered his right arm in apparent compliance, then he turned his hand downwards and fired at the window, simultaneously falling to the left.
Jumping up, Collins yelled for help as he fired another shot out the window towards the dark figure, high-tailing it down the lane.
Help did indeed come quickly in the form of unarmed and courageous Mr E.E. Henley, Secretary of the School of Arts.
Handing Henley his revolver, Collins went forth to search the building leaving Mr Henley to stand guard.
Sighting a silent figure in the darkness slowly approaching from the front door, Henley fired.
Unfortunately, the figure was Constable Vincent Dowling, a young police officer of twenty-eight years and eighteen months on the force.
Constable Dowling, too, had boldly entered the affray sans weapon, which was, no doubt, fortunate for Mr Henley.
The bullet struck Constable Dowling in the left breast.
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Thankfully and despite Henley being an accidentally brilliant shot, had the intruder been the bad guy and not a member of the constabulary, the bullet had been stopped by a police-issue 15cm x 9.5cm, fabric-covered cardboard notebook in the pocket of Constable Dowling's tunic.
Nursing little more than a flesh wound, Constable Dowling with Sergeant McKeering, who had been summoned to assist, made a thorough search of the bank.
The would-be crims had long made a break for it but had left a gaping hole at the Bank of Australasia's back door through which they had evidently planned to gain entry.
Constable Vincent Dowling was subsequently awarded the Police Medal for Merit for courageous conduct and served a total of thirty-three years on the force.
Upon his retirement in 1941, thirty-six years before his death at the age of ninety-six, he was still the proud owner of the punctured notebook which had saved his life.
