Sacrifice of fallen Ballarat officers acknowledged

"The main focus will be the burdens that police go through because they often encounter a lot of trauma," Ballarat police chaplain Michael O'Brien said.

"They turn up to work not knowing what the day is going to look like.

"The (Pentland Hills) bus crash, for example - that was devastating for the families involved, but police are the ones who directly see the consequences.

"While we talk about PTSD in the military, it's also something that police, firefighters and paramedics experience as well."

Father O'Brien said 12 active members of the police force had died of various causes over the past 12 months.

"Police are putting their lives on the line for us," he said.

"What they're doing is on behalf of the community to keep us safe and to make sure the community functions in a healthy way.

"If we don't properly support them then they can't do their job."

Among their thoughts and prayers on Thursday will be Maryborough Senior Constable Maurice Moore, who was shot in the face and back with his own revolver in the early hours of September 27, 1986.

He had been investigating two men pushing what was believed to be a stolen car in Brougham Street.

Today, the Urgent Care Centre at Maryborough's hospital is named in his honour.

He is one of about 150 names on the Victoria Police Honour Roll - starting with Constable Matthew Tomkin who was shot by an escaped convict in 1837, 14 years before the colony of Victoria was declared.

Another name on the roll is Corporal William Harvey, who was shot at the Buninyong Police Camp by another trooper in 1852.

The Blue Ribbon Foundation said little was known about the incident, except the shooter objected to his personal boxes being searched.

In 1858 Senior Constable Edward Barnett was shot in the chest while trying to arrest an armed robber in Carisbrook.

Anger over the death of the constable - and the offender - caused a meeting of 1500 miners to riot, assaulting multiple people and destroying buildings.

In 1887 Constable William Clarke was taking a drunk prisoner to the Ballarat East lock-up when he was kicked in the groin and back, rupturing his liver and causing injuries that later proved fatal.

The Blue Ribbon Foundation is still seeking further details on his case.

In 1941 First Constable George Willis rescued eight-year-old Graeme Dowling from a disused Ballarat mine.

The boy had landed - unconscious - onto a ledge 14 metres down the 92m shaft.

Willis suffered years of respiratory illness as a result of the rescue and died in 1949.

In 1995, Senior Detective Douglas Mathers was a passenger in an unmarked police car on Broomfield Road near Creswick when a van in the opposite lane swerved into his path, causing a fatal head-on collision.

Thursday's National Day of Remembrance falls on 'Michaelmas' - the feast day of St Michael, the patron saint of police and military officers.

The Ballarat police chaplain will lead the service from 11am at St Peter's Anglican Church at 1307 Sturt Street.

Police and members of the public will have an opportunity to leave donations for the Blue Ribbon Foundation.

A Melbourne parade starts at Princes Bridge from 10am before a service at the police memorial in Kings Domain.

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