SHE MAY be the most senior serving policewoman currently in the NSW Police Force, but Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb still had some tips to pick up when she caught up with trailblazing centenarian Yvonne Tupman.
Mrs Tupman, who turned 100 last month, was one of the state's first female police officers, donning the uniform 75 years ago in 1945.
Assistant Commissioner Webb visited the Mrs Tupman at her home for coffee and cake to congratulate her on turning 100 and to hear about the pioneering route she carved as one of the first policewomen in the state.
'It's not lost of me the sacrifices and challenges that my predecessors, like Mrs Tupman endured in the past, in building the foundations for policewomen today," said Assistant Commissioner Webb, who earlier this year became the state's first female Traffic and Highway Commander.
Born in Orange in 1920, Mrs Tupman (nee Robertson) was 25-years-old and fresh out of the army when she joined.
Along with her female colleagues, Mrs Tupman wasn't allowed to ride in the police cars or to be involved in more serious police work.
The one duty the women were allowed to perform - directing traffic - sparked great controversy because it was thought the female officers would distract motorists and cause accidents.
She along with just two other policewomen were the first female officers in the state to be tasked with controlling traffic on Sydney's busy streets, sometimes having to deal with drivers who were reluctant to take instruction from women in uniforms.
Other duties assigned to the first policewomen included attending schools to warn children about speaking to strangers and escorting children to court for various reasons.
"Women were never included in murder (cases), unless they took you along and you took notes (for the male officers)," she told the Central Western Daily.
Stationed first at Newtown in Sydney's inner-west, Mrs Tupman then returned to the Central West to work at Bathurst station.
It was around this time that she met and hit it off with fellow officer, Harry Tupman. When the two were married, Mrs Tupman was forced to resign from the police force. Mr Tupman went on to become a celebrated detective.
"They didn't want to once you got married," she explained. "I had my daughters, that was the most important thing in my life".
Joining the NSW Police Force in 1987, Assistant Commissioner Webb began her career at Castle Hill Police Station. She served as chair of the 100 years of Women in Policing Committee and was integral in its commemoration celebrations in 2015.
