83-year-old Woman with a walking stick fined for 'crossing the road too slowly'

The Advertiser
Oct. 06, 2005

AN 83-year-old Queensland woman with a walking stick was fined for "crossing the road too slowly", her friend said today.

Police recently issued a $30 fine to aged pensioner Pat Gallen for not crossing a road "in the most direct route" in the small township of Malanda, near Cairns in far north Queensland.

Friend Fay Millist, 66, said an uproar in the shocked town ensued, forcing embarrassed police to tear up the ticket and write an apology to the puzzled pensioner.

"She didn't know whether to laugh or cry," Mrs Millist said of Mrs Gallen, who had just purchased her weekly groceries when she walked into trouble with the law.

"She is quite a resilient lady who has her wits about her – she had a fall the night before and jarred the bottom of her spine.

"Everyone thought the whole thing was so wrong in the first place for someone of that age."

But the woman at the centre of the absurdity, Mrs Gallen, said she had been "looking forward to fighting it in court".

"We even had a busload of grey nomads ready to go down and protest out the front of the courthouse," Mrs Gallen said to the Cairns Post yesterday.

"But the matter has been resolved, the police have apologised, everyone has had a laugh and now we can forget about it."

Mareeba District Inspector Rolf Straatemeier said to the Cairns Post: "Taking into account all the circumstances of the case and the public interest it was decided to have the ticket withdrawn".

Mrs Millist said she had written a tongue-and-cheek poem about the incident, warning all oldies to "learn from the lesson" and walk "faster and straight".

"It also says that perhaps the police should stand in front of a mirror and take a good look – because one of these days you're going to get old too," she said.

A police spokeswoman said it was not clear if any disciplinary action would be taken against the officers involved, who were passing through the town when they booked Ms Gallen.