Behind the Badge: Mark Hesse

Editorial and photography: Lane Mihaljevic

Mark Hesse

Rank: Senior Sergeant

Age: 57

Graduated: 1982

Station: Kinglake, Marysville, Eildon, Alexandra and Yea.

Why did you join Victoria Police?

I grew up with exposure to policing because my father, Ces, was a detective sergeant. He finished up his career with the force at the South Melbourne Criminal Investigation Branch.

At the age of 18, I headed off to the Victoria Police Academy. I knew that it was secure employment with a chance to genuinely make a difference to the community.

The shift work appealed to me, with days off during the week when the general public are at work, giving me time to spend in the bush.

Tell us about your career.

I commenced my career as a trainee at the old Broadmeadows Police Station on the corner of Widford and Freda Street in 1982.

They talk about policing being a front row seat to the greatest show on earth — and the Broadmeadows show was just that. I loved it, there was never a dull moment running from job to job with some tremendous police officers.

Heroin was the main problem at the time, and I see similarities with the drug ice today. It is the drugs that drive the crime.

I also worked the Ash Wednesday Bushfires. Little did I know at the time, bushfires would shape my career later in life.

I ended up with an ongoing position at Broadmeadows and stayed for four years, moving to the new station in 1984 where it remains today.

I thought about a change to the Crime Investigation Unit, as it was a natural progression in busy stations at the time, but I always wanted to work in the bush.

Although I had grown up in Melbourne, my mother came from the family farm between Buxton and Marysville, so I spent a great deal of my childhood there.

In 1986 it was very difficult to secure a position in the country, but I ended up transferring to Seymour, arriving on Melbourne Cup Day.

I married nearby at Avenel and my wife and I still live on the outskirts of Seymour at Puckapunyal today. Our three children grew up in Seymour and we now have five grandchildren.

The area has been very good to us.

I was promoted to sergeant in 2002 at Craigieburn, travelling 85km to work for nearly three years.

At the end of 2004, I transferred to Kilmore as a sergeant and spent six years there.

I formed part of the first response to the Black Saturday Bushfires at Kilmore East in 2009. We also lost my grandparents’ farm during this time.

The devastation to communities across our part of Victoria was extreme and the way these people have rebuilt their lives is a credit to their character and resilience.

Sen Sgt Mark Hesse reflects on 11 years of policing in the Murrindindi Shire and the devastation of the Black Saturday Bushfires.

Tell us about your current role.

My position is cluster manager and Municipal Emergency Response Coordinator (MERC) for the Murrindindi Shire.

There are five non-24-hour stations in this area — Kinglake, Marysville, Eildon, Alexandra and Yea.

My current position was created as a result of the Black Saturday Bushfires and I was promoted to senior sergeant in January 2010.

I’m not someone that spends a great deal of time in the office. Instead, I spend most of my time in a 'hands-on' role, attending to missing person searches, logging protests, accidents and all manners of emergency events.

Can you name a highlight of your time with Victoria Police?

Two years ago, we had a ceremony at Marysville to celebrate the return of the original Australian flag that was flown at the police station during the Black Saturday Bushfires.

The flag was badly damaged as a result of the fire and then kept for 10 years at the Victoria Police Museum.

It was returned to Marysville and is now on display in the foyer of the police station. The ceremony was very impressive, with a guest appearance by the former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton.

You’ve worked in the Murrindindi Shire for 11 years, what has made you stay?

My position suits me, and I thoroughly enjoy working in the bush with partner agencies.

Whether we are locating a lost person, diffusing a logging protest or clearing a road during a storm, I feel productive and can see results that matter.

I have met some extraordinary people working across Murrindindi. They are a resourceful lot who get the job done with little or no back-up.