Water Rats - the old days

Frank and Rachel made a formidable detective duo, fighting the crime on and around Sydney Harbour. They had a wonderful relationship which was always fun to watch and inspired many classic Water Rats quotes. Many hearts were broken when Frank sailed into the sunset and again when Rachel drew her last breath.

Goldie Detective Senior Constable Rachel "Goldie" Goldstein was smart, tough and always in control. She could cut you to pieces with one withering glance or melt your heart with a simple smile.

Her life was never a bed of roses and over four years we grew with her, cried with her and laughed with her. When we first met her she was a young detective, continually having to go head-to-head with her bastard-ex Jonathon, who had custody of their son. Jonathon always told Rachel she was a bad mother and he did everything he could to stop her seeing David at all. However although she was devoted to her job, she was only more so to David and she saw him whenever she could.

Early on in the show Rachel fell in love again and was engaged to John 'Knocker' Harrison. The smooth-talking, handsome, Homicide detective seemed all a girl could want, but he brought only short-lived happiness to Goldie's life. It was slowly revealed that Knocker was a corrupt copper and in a tragic scene of self-defence Rachel had to shoot her fiancé.

We saw Rachel go through other relationships, but in the end she was married to her job. Many people believe that Rachel was in love with her partner Frank all those years and others believe that she loved her second partner Jack. Whatever feelings were hidden beneath the surface, Rachel was always a professional at work.

She solved crimes all over Sydney Harbour and often suffered emotional turmoil and physical pain because of her job. In one of the most emotional storylines ever to grace our screens, Goldie was stabbed in the abdomen with a shard of glass - murdered in the line of duty. Members of the fictional Sydney Water Police were shattered, as were fans around the world.

Frank

Frank Detective Senior Constable Francis James Holloway was a laid-back, honest copper with a strong sense of justice.

Frank grew up on the wharves, where the Water Police are the enemy. However he joined the cops and loved it, even though his family turned against him - even more so when younger brother Kevin followed him into the job. Frank was devastated and blamed himself when Kevin was found dead, presumed to have committed suicide. When the truth was discovered, it didn't help, it hurt even more. Kevin had been murdered by Knocker Harrison - Kevin's partner, Rachel's fiancé and Frank's best mate.

Frank had two divorces to his name - Doreen, the childhood sweetheart and Liz, the hot-shot lawyer he had helped put through law school - so just like Rachel, he was married to his job. He loved it and was good at it, even though the brass didn't always approve of his techniques.

Frank's love and admiration for Goldie were often obvious and although he made a few attempts to take their relationship further, the professional relationship and friendship that they shared was beautiful and always wonderful to watch.

However with the death of an old friend, a young foolish dream of sailing to Venezuela came back to haunt him. Suddenly Frank felt as though he didn't know where his life was going, or whether his work was making any difference. Tears flowed both on screen and in lounge rooms when Frank sailed towards the sunset in 'Footloose', never to be seen again.

Frank + Rachel

Life goes on, but to many people Rachel and Frank were Water Rats. So with a boat sailing into the distance and a casket lowered into the ground, the heart and soul of Water Rats were taken away.