Police officers pay tribute to Gordon Davie who is remembered as a respected detective

A key figure in the Russell St bombing investigation who was known for his people skills and unassuming manner as a detective has died.

Detective Gordon Davie escorting a suspect after the Russell St bombing.

Victoria Police detective Gordon Davie, a key figure in the landmark Russell St bombing investigation, has died.

Mr Davie was widely respected for his work on the taskforce which ran a painstaking complex inquiry after the fatal explosion outside police headquarters in March, 1986.

The blast killed Constable Angela Taylor, 21, and injured many more.

Career criminal Stan Taylor and the younger Craig Minogue were to be convicted and sentenced to long jail terms as a result of an investigation built from the ground up with few early leads.

Taskforce investigator Bernie Rankin said Mr Davie came to policing after working on the Snowy River Project and had people skills and life experience which could not be gleaned from any manual.

Mr Davie was a key figure in the Russell St bombing investigation.

Russell St bombing victim Constable Angela Taylor.

His understated assets were crucial as the inquiry unfolded.

“He’d sit and talk for hours before you got down to what you were there to discuss. It didn’t matter who they were or where they were from,” Mr Rankin said.

“Gordon got some people (witnesses) on board at the trial who were very reluctant. A couple of them gave critical evidence.”

Mr Davie served for 18 years, starting at the old Victoria Dock station before transferring to the major crime squad and the arson squad and the bombing taskforce.

He also instructed at the Victoria Police Academy.

Mr Davie served Victoria Police for 18 years.

Mr Rankin said that earlier in his career, Mr Davie worked undercover to infiltrate the Ananda Marga sect while attached to the Special Branch, which worked on counter-terror investigations.

Ananda Marga was later entangled in the fatal Sydney Hilton bombing of 1979.

Detective acting Supt Andrew Stamper of Victoria Police said Davie was known for his skill in the interview room where his unassuming manner would connect with those he was talking to.

“He spoke softly but he had gravitas about him when he did speak,” he said.

When he finished in the force, Mr Davie moved into the world of television where he advised, wrote and produced.

Davie’s experience was credited with giving rare authenticity to the gritty ABC crime drama series Phoenix and Janus.

He also co-wrote the acclaimed 1998 film The Interview, which centred on the tense interaction between an accused criminal played by Hugo Weaving and Tony Martin’s detective character.