August 17, 2026
Kumbia Neighbourhood Watch – one of the longest continuously running Neighbourhood Watch groups in Queensland – celebrated its 35th anniversary on Saturday night with a special dinner.
Invited guests at Kumbia Memorial Hall included Assistant Police Commissioner Kev Guteridge and Chief Superintendent Kerry Johnson.
It was also an opportunity for Kumbia residents to meet the new Kumbia officer-in-charge, Senior Constable Cameron Knust, who joined that station last month.
Former Kumbia Neighbourhood Watch chair Morris Winter and current chair Shirley Donohue shared duties at the podium.
Morris said the group’s first meeting was held on August 14, 1991, when the late Deryck Carr was officer-in-charge at Kumbia.
There were 12 people in attendance, four of whom were present on Saturday night.
Asst Commissioner Guteridge congratulated the group on its 35th birthday.
He said Neighbourhood Watch was one of the most beneficial and critical partnerships that Queensland Police had; it had helped to bring back community trust in police after the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
Asst Commissioner Guteridge said that sadly most of the Rural Watch and Neighbourhood Watch groups across Queensland had closed because it was very hard to get people involved.
“The whole purpose of Rural Watch / Neighbourhood Watch was to get people to know their neighbours, to secure that bond and unite a community together,” Asst Commissioner Guteridge said.
He said Neighbourhood Watch provided a platform for people to unite, and when a community felt a bond, there was a drop in crime.
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