Robyn Wuth
The bagpipes sounded, roads were blocked and applause echoed off the buildings as one of the nation’s most senior officers walked out of police headquarters for the last time.
It was a bittersweet moment as Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski cut short his stellar career to focus on his family and his health.
Almost a year after a devastating cancer diagnosis, the deadly disease has ravaged the man who was once the picture of robust health.
The 66-year-old will never be cured, but his policing legacy will live on.
Brisbane’s police headquarters was crowded with friends, co-workers and admirers all wanting to bid farewell to “Golly”.
His last steps out of the building lacked the bounding enthusiasm of youth – the tread was heavy, more of a shuffle, but his head was held high.
It has been a stellar career for a man who has soared far higher than he could have dreamed as a fresh-faced recruit, with his modest ambition to one day become a detective sergeant.
“Everything else has been an accident,” he said when he announced his retirement earlier in February.
“And to be really honest, that was probably my favourite part of my career, was when I was out there locking up perpetrators and looking after victims.”
It was as the stoic face of Queensland’s COVID frontline that Gollschewski gained wider recognition on a national stage.
He took over as commissioner in 2024 amid a youth crime crisis, tasked with repairing the damage from a scathing commission of inquiry that revealed a “failure of leadership” over a culture of racism and sexism.
Gollschewski recently broke the news of his exit to Police Minister Dan Purdie over a coffee, advising him he would be fast-tracking the end of his term, originally set for 2029.
Purdie – himself a former officer – found it humbling handing Gollschewski back to his family, saying Queensland owed him a debt “we could probably never repay”.
“There’s nothing that Golly hasn’t done for this state,” he said.
“Whether it’s being a detective out in the regions, the years he spent managing disasters as the state disaster co-ordinator or when he was a deputy commissioner leading the response to COVID.
“But more recently, we know the work that he was able to do as the commissioner to turn the police service around on the back of the 100-day review while battling cancer, is really remarkable.”
Brett Pointing, who will take over as interim commissioner for 12 months, joined the loyal Queensland deputies to form a guard of honour as Gollschewski took his final steps in uniform.
By midnight, Pointing will officially be Queensland’s new top cop, but the Friday farewell was for Golly.
He shook every hand he could reach, shared a laugh and a smile, waving goodbye before performing his last official duty – a final salute with Deputy Cheryl Scanlon.
He was ushered into a waiting vehicle as the door closed on a glorious 46-year career.
AAP