From Fawkner to Cyprus – Ernie Tyrell’s Peacekeeping Journey
From breaking up brawls in Melbourne to defusing tensions and dodging bullets in Cyprus, Ernie Tyrrell’s journey from a raw recruit police officer to an experienced peacekeeper is a testament to his dedication and bravery.
Mallee born and raised Ernie Tyrrell’s early experiences of confronting situations began when he was a “brand new constable, raw as” at the police station in the Melbourne suburb of Fawkner.
Having graduated from the Victoria Police Academy in March 1968, Ernie found himself in the deep end on his first day, when he asked who he’d be working with.
“The boss said, ‘On your own’,” recalled Ernie. “Some of the things you had to do on your own, brawls on your own, domestics on your own; you did everything on your own in those days.”
A few years later, having joined the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, Ernie found himself frequently drawing from his experiences as a police officer, especially when defusing tense situations between factions of Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Conflict in Cyprus
Accounts of life and deployment in Cyprus by other peacekeepers piqued Ernie’s interest and prompted him to join the peacekeeping force.
When Ernie arrived in Cyprus in 1973 as part of the 10th Contingent, he described the political situation as the government being “divided between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots depending on population sizes, but after a while the Turkish Cypriots were getting a bad deal, so they pulled out altogether.”
With Greek Cypriots in government, Ernie explained, “the Turkish Cypriots were getting a rough deal, so the United Nations got involved.”
In 1964, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) replaced existing peacekeepers posted to Cyprus, deployed to prevent a recurrence of fighting, which included patrolling the ‘Green Line’ separating Turkish-controlled Cyprus in the north and the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus in the south.
Ernie’s first posting in November 1973 was at Paphos as a Patrol Officer.
“The town was divided between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, so we had to patrol the Green Line every day, in the morning 9am and again at 5pm, to make sure there was peace between [each] side of the street.”
Ernie said the local population were largely good to the peacekeepers.
“A lot of them had relatives in Australia or knew people living in Australia, so they were all good to us. They loved that the UN was involved, because it helped their economy.”
Ernie was made temporary Station Commander in the small town of Polis for two weeks. Then in May 1974, he was appointed the Impress Officer at the United Nations Headquarters in Limassol, where he was responsible for supervising all local staff and purchasing the necessary provisions for the 18 police personnel stationed there.
In July 1974, a military coup that aimed to unite Cyprus with mainland Greece led to a Turkish invasion on the north coast of Cyprus.
Ernie recalled it was a “difficult time and all personnel at Limassol were confined to barracks.”
However, as Impress Officer, Ernie was still required to leave barracks to find food for personnel.
Us Australians were the only unarmed group there. It became a bit of an issue when the Turks landed and blew hell out of the joint, and I mean it was fierce fighting.
ERNIE TYRELL
“The Australian Government offered us 38 Brownings (sidearms) if we wanted them, and we said what’s the use of them, they didn’t have any power in them.
“I said everyone on the island knows the Australians are unarmed; that’s our safety point. I clearly believe that the safest thing was that we didn’t have firearms.”
Occupational hazards
Few Australians realise the imminent danger that peacekeepers often face.
Ernie recalls several frightening experiences during his tour. In one instance, while on patrol with an inspector after the reports of Turkish women and children being raped, two men they intercepted were both armed – one holding a grenade with the pin removed, the other holding a rifle at the inspector’s chest.
On another mission in August, Ernie was part of a patrol that initially included British personnel searching for a reported mass grave site near the Troodos Mountains, where it was believed a bus load of Turkish men were lined up against a cliff face and executed by members of the Greek paramilitary group EOKA-B.
Down to just Ernie’s three-man patrol, the massacre site was located and the ground was littered with spent shells with bullet holes in the cliff face.
The presence of the Australians had caused a visible commotion in the nearby Greek village where the Greek National Guard (GNG) had gathered. It was getting dark, and Ernie’s patrol had been advised to remain in their location, despite the sergeant in charge of the GNG refusing to guarantee their safety.
Around their vehicle, Ernie could hear movement coming from the nearby woods before a sudden burst of automatic gun fire came from the area.
I had no doubt that the volley of fire was directed towards and over our vehicle.
ERNIE TYRELL
Ernie said he felt like they were “rabbits caught in a spotlight”, where “one false move would probably cause the GNG to shoot directly at all three of us”.
“We were ordered to stay put so the GNG had no cause to open fire on us,” explained Ernie, but they were eventually ordered out of the area.
The following day, Ernie joined a UN commander in a helicopter flight back to the execution site to check if it had been disturbed overnight. Because of air traffic regulations, they were forced to fly less than 100 feet above ground.
“We lifted off in a little three-seater bell-type helicopter that had no doors,” said Ernie. “We were pleased when we got confirmation that the Army ferrets [tanks] had breached the GNG roadblock and were in position to give us ground support if required.”
Ernie’s mission in Cyprus ended in November 1974.
He returned to Australia, and Victoria Police, in 1975, working in Melbourne before transferring to Mildura as the Officer in Charge of local detectives in 1987. He retired in 2004.
Australian peacekeeping
UNFICYP remains in Cyprus today as one of the longest-running peacekeeping missions. Only 36 Australian peacekeepers served on Cyprus at any one time. Three Australian police officers lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations in Cyprus.
Australian peacekeepers and peacekeeping missions have made significant contributions to its wartime history, but Ernie believes most Australians don’t truly understand the role of peacekeepers or appreciate their service.
Australia’s peacekeepers and their experiences are as much a part of Australia’s wartime history as
“Apart from the two World Wars, the rest of it is insignificant to most people.”
Ernie said that on reflection, the second half of his tour in Cyprus was quite distressing because of the coup and (his) first exposure to the atrocities of conflict.
“I have utmost respect for all of the United Nations personnel with whom I was involved, and I am proud of the valuable contribution made by my unit.”
Read more about Australia’s contribution to global peacekeeping.
Author
Lisa Cooper
Dr Lisa Cooper is a historian and writer whose work focuses on Australia's wartime history. Lisa's career began when conversations with her late grandfather, a veteran of the 39th Australian Infantry Battalion in the Second World War, and her late father, a veteran of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment in the Vietnam War, about their wartime experiences inspired Lisa to begin writing in 2007. Lisa graduated with a PhD in 2023 with her thesis examining the role of Australia's war graves units in the Second World War. Lisa has been a writer with RSL Victoria since 2014 and enjoys sharing stories on veteran experiences of war, both historic and contemporary, stories about Australia’s homefront during wartime, and on events from Australia's military history.