Wieambilla murders: Thousands of police gather to farewell constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold
Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow have been emotionally farewelled by thousands of police colleagues in Brisbane, after their ‘evil’ ambush killing.
Young police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were bright, courageous and adored – and murdered in the line of duty.
The two colleagues and friends were on Wednesday farewelled by thousands of uniformed and plainclothes police officers, as well as Anthony Albanese and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, at a moving public memorial with full police honours at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Amid the memorial’s ceremony and solemnity, the small details shone.
Rachel’s beloved cattle dog Archibald sat in the front row of mourners, with her mum Judy and her sister Samantha.
Across the aisle, Matthew’s parents Terry and Sue were flanked by the 26-year-old’s younger siblings by mere minutes, Hayley and James.
The charming and charismatic Matthew knew he wanted to be a cop from the time he was 14. He grinned his way through high school, excelling at volleyball and cricket, using his cheeky smile to dodge trouble, even during parent-teacher interviews.
“He was also a protector, a leader, and a big brother to all those who knew him,” close family friend Senior Sergeant Laura Harriss said.
“He was a big man, with an even bigger heart, so filled with love for everyone around him.”
On finishing high school, Matthew wrote to his parents: “Thank you for everything. I may be gone some day, soon perhaps, but just know that I will never leave you. I will cherish each moment we’ve had together in my heart.”
Sergeant Harriss said Matthew had found his “true passion and purpose” in his job as a police officer, graduating from the academy at Oxley in March 2020.
“Matt, you deserved so much more from the public you lived to protect,” she said.
Matthew and Rachel, 29, were shot dead in an ambush at a remote property at Wieambilla, 290km west of Brisbane, on Monday last week. Police are investigating whether they and two other young officers, Randall Kirk and Keely Brough, were lured there as part of a missing person’s inquiry into former NSW school principal Nathaniel Train. Train, his brother Gareth Train, and his brother’s wife Stacey Train fatally shot both Matthew and Rachel, wounded Constable Kirk, set a bushfire to try to smoke out Constable Brough, and murdered neighbour Alan Dare, 58.
The three Trains were later killed by police in a shootout.
Senior Constable Melissa Gibson, a friend and colleague of Rachel’s, told the mourners she was so proud of the courage Rachel “displayed in your final moments and for being the fighter you are”.
“I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most,” Constable Gibson said.
“That is something that will forever haunt me.”
As a child, Rachel was a superstar swimmer, so dedicated to her 5am training sessions that when she broke her arm she insisted on a waterproof cast to keep up the early morning practices.
She worked at the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, before joining the police academy in Townsville as a recruit in January last year.
There she found her people, “intake 44” – the young men and women who this week travelled from all over the state to say goodbye, including the constables who drove 26 hours, or 2217km, from Coen on Cape York to Brisbane. One of her fellow recruits, Constable Freddy Hartigan, said his mate Rach “was stuck with us for 24 hours a day for six months until she marched out with incredible pride as a sworn police officer in June 2021”.
Keen, sporty and “fierce in a wrestle”, Rachel organised group runs for her comrades who were struggling with their fitness, and study sessions for anyone who needed them.
“For every drop of sweat Rach put in for herself, she genuinely would put 10 in for the team … everything was done in such a genuine and loving way,” Constable Hartigan said.
He said Rachel wanted to work in child protection and youth justice, but added he could see her one day achieving the same rank as Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll, who he said had supported Rachel’s grieving family with “beauty and vulnerability”.
“Rach … you were the police officer that the world now so loudly demands,” he said. “A copper who deals in fairness, respect and love. A copper who truly listens, a copper who deeply cares.”
Rachel had been serving at the Tara police station only since July, while Matthew transferred there in April last year. Both had swiftly become much-loved members of the small Western Downs community, which is known for its rich farming land, coal-seam gas, and a smattering of people who want to live “off the grid”.
Both Rachel and Matthew were posthumously awarded the National Police Service Medal, the National Medal, the Queensland Police Service Medal, and the Queensland Police Valour Medal.
Police chaplain Jeffrey Baills said it was right that, after serving and dying alongside each other, Rachel and Matthew were farewelled together.
He urged police across the state and the nation to do what was essential – grieve – and to ask for help if they needed it.
“We have had a major attack on the police in Queensland,” he said. “But we will not be broken. We will stand shoulder to shoulder in our honour guard after this service.
“We will tomorrow turn up to our shift, and stand shoulder to shoulder again … to keep Queensland safe. While we grieve today, we will not be broken.”
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