It’s a Saturday morning on Lord Howe Island and, technically, it’s Senior Constable Joel Merchant’s day off.
Today though, the remote island’s fortnightly supply ship is due in and it’s Joel’s job to check the tide height to see if it’s high enough for the vessel to enter the coral lagoon.
Down at the jetty, it’s not good news.
The tide is measuring slightly lower than what was predicted, so Joel radios the ship’s captain to let him know he will need to wait offshore overnight and try again tomorrow.
Lord Howe Island is in the Tasman Sea, 600km off Australia’s east coast. (ABC News: Sharon Gordon)
It’s typical of the unpredictability that has become part of daily life for Joel in his role as the island’s only police officer — a job which also includes being the port operations manager.
“In all policing you don’t know what to expect when you go to work, but here it’s like that on steroids. There is no typical day,” Joel says.
“I have set rosters, which is generally Monday to Friday … but it’s very rare that I have an afternoon or weekend where something doesn’t come up or I’m not doing something.”
Policing paradise
Lord Howe Island, 600 kilometres offshore from Port Macquarie, has a permanent population of about 400 residents and visitor numbers are capped at 400 at any one time.
Remote Lord Howe Island is world-heritage listed. (Supplied: Ian Hutton)
Joel started his career with the New South Wales police force at Newtown in Sydney, after graduating in 2012.
He took up the position on Lord Howe Island in February 2023.
Joel says he’s always had an interest in “small town policing” and, before his island sea change, was based at Kandos, a small town south of Mudgee in western NSW.
“I’ve always had an interest in the outdoors and I’m a bit adventurous — that’s what drew me out here,” he says.
He’s well supported by his head station in Port Macquarie but the unique isolation of his position means he needs to be able to make quick decisions on the ground.
Joel Merchant with fiancee Sonali Chand and son Harry. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
“It is testing … you get a diverse range of jobs, from boats coming in in distress, they’ve lost engines, or a crew member is sick, and you have to work out how to get them in safely,” he says.
“This job has also given me exposure to a different world of community policing and conducting different duties compared to a normal constable on the mainland.
“There’s also a lot of emergency management here, which I’ve taken a keen interest in … with hikers getting injured.
“You still get your standard policing issues as well, domestic violence jobs, alcohol-related crime.”
Joel Merchant radios tide updates to incoming boats. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Joel says his most stressful time on the job so far was when a tsunami warning was issued for Lord Howe in May 2023, after an undersea earthquake south-east of the Loyalty Islands in the French territory of New Caledonia.
“I was just sitting in the station doing a bit of paperwork when a call came from the Bureau of Meteorology saying there’s a tsunami on the way,” he says.
“Details were very limited at that time, so it was all guns blazing from there.
“We had a few people out on boats we needed to get ashore … it was pretty stressful, but the community stepped up and we got through that.”
The Island Trader drops off supplies once a fortnight. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Enforcing the law
Being the only police officer in a tight-knit community also brings challenges.
“You want to be part of the community, but you have to enforce things as well,” Joel says.
“I just put a line in the sand — I think everyone understands.
“I am friendly, I am approachable, I am part of the community, but if you do something wrong everyone has the expectation that I will take action.”
Joel Merchant says he’s become part of the community. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Fortunately, Joel says, antisocial behaviour does not appear to be an issue on the island.
“The residents are pretty good at policing themselves to an extent as well … you don’t get the same antisocial behaviour you do on the mainland,” he says.
“The locals are very respectful of each other and the environment, and of me.”
No snakes on Lord Howe Island
Joel says the challenges of solo policing are more than offset by the lifestyle benefits on the world heritage-listed island, home to towering mountains and the world’s most southern coral reef.
His fiancee, Sonali Chand, and their three-year-old son Harry are also embracing island life.
Sonali Chand says the island offers a great family lifestyle. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
“It’s pretty amazing, especially for the little one,” Joel says.
“We love the nature on the island … [and] crime is low which makes it the perfect environment.
“There’s no snakes at all, no poisonous spiders, cars only travel 25 kilometres an hour, so it’s a really safe environment and we live opposite one of the nicest beaches in the world.”
Sonali says the local community has been welcoming and they love that “everyone knows everyone” on the island.
She spends her time juggling being a mother with a variety of jobs, from waitressing, to making cakes for birthdays and weddings.
“It’s such a great opportunity for us to come here and raise our child,” Sonali says.
Joel Merchant has embraced his unique policing role. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Their son Harry is connecting with other children, after starting at the island’s first preschool, which officially opened in April 2024.
“It’s great having the preschool, so the kids can build social skills,” Sonali says.
The maximum police term for Lord Howe is five years.
Joel and Sonali say they are looking forward to their extended stay.
“It’s a beautiful place to live…we’d like to be here as long as possible,” Joel says.
Bicycles are a common sight, due to the 25kph speed limit. (ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
