[2] James Dare was also a noted show judge of dairy cattle, a strong adherent to the Salvation Army movement, a cricketer, philanthropist, and an expert marksman.

[4] In February 1917, it was announced that with seven other Australians and four New Zealanders, Captain Dare would leave for China as a member of the Pioneer Missionary Contingent.

[5] Establishing the first Salvation Army corps in Beijing,[6] the contingent members found a cold and bleak winter, an uninviting place of high walls, people everywhere and crowds, with a difficult language; then an almost unbearable heat of summer, which combined with continuous rain.

[7] Men in the streets would stare at these foreigners whose clothing collars bore the Chinese characters 'Jo Shur Jun' (救世軍; jiù shì jūn; 'Save World Army').

[8] Observing their great devotion to parents, and unfailing politeness, the Chinese people had also suffered from a recent disastrous drought; she helped to feed up to 1000 persons per week from starvation.

The military base of General Feng Yuxiang of the National People's Army allowed her to conduct meetings among Feng's troops, speak upon a platform purpose-built for her, and had thousands of Chinese soldiers sing old Salvation Army hymns Dare had learned as a child in Shoalhaven.

The cry 'Down with the foreigner' suggested they were unwelcome: Gillam and Dare showed calmness, but that night sent a message to the provincial governor.

A contingent of native police and troops surrounded the compound the next morning before escorting the pair to the railway station 3 miles (4.8 km) away, and waited until the train arrived five hours later.

[note 3] At one WCTU educational conference in April she and a Mrs Budgen were allotted the subject for a speech, 'Treatment of snake bite and shock';[15] On others, about her experiences in China.

[21] Following an inquiry by the Acting Home Secretary, in 1915 the third Commissioner William Cahill (period 1905–1916) of the Queensland Police Department rejected the idea of employing women.

At a time when people were dealing with the effects of the Great Depression, it was the sixth Commissioner, William Ryan (period 1925–1934), who sanctioned the recruitment of the first two policewomen.

[21] The public was becoming aware through the newspapers of female officers in other jurisdictions including Scotland Yard and Barcelona and Poland;[22] the annual meeting of one branch of the Queensland Women's Electoral League (QWEL) in July 1930 was emphasising the need to establish 'a force of women police in Queensland', especially as there were appointments in every other state of Australia.

[25] The Home Secretary required applicants to 'undergo severe medical and educational tests', cited their 'primary duty would be to shield girls and women from evil'.

[4][27][28] The Home Secretary and the Police Commissioner announced in late February 1931 of the intended appointments of Zara Dare of Brisbane and Ellen O'Donnell of Gympie.

[30] Actions required... After their appointment both women were trained by plain clothes male officers, working various hours.

[32] Whilst mentioned in the newspapers involved in cases of shoplifting (electric torches were quite popular; females generally stealing clothes and cosmetics; males stealing socks, ties, and silk stockings), they were also dealing with school truancy, an epidemic of juvenile crime and petty theft, and escorting prisoners to courts afar as Cherbourg and Charleville.

On Monday, 4 March 1940, Zara Dare married privately to 'a hard-headed Scotsman who has retired from business' before honeymooning in Stanthorpe.

[42] Their son, James Cockburn Wilson, together with later-Sir Frank Sharpe at Redland Bay, went on to develop the popular commercial 'Sharwil' cultivar in 1951.