A CHANGE from Julia Creek to Longreach was necessary for the newest member of the Queensland Police Service’s stock squad in order for his two children to go to high school.
Plain Clothes Snr Const David McNab grew up the son of a cop – moving from town to town including Toowoomba, Mt Isa, and Ipswich.
After leaving school to chase dairy cows in America and then Tasmania, Snr Const McNab joined the force and worked as a general duties officer, most recently in Julia Creek for five-and-a-half years.
He said his choice to join the recently-renamed Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad (SARCIS) (now Organised Crime Squad - Rural) came easily with his love of agriculture.
“It’s just getting to meet all the graziers and the borderless aspect of the job - it’s the whole of Queensland dealing with cattle which is fun and challenging, and there’s always different things to do,” Snr Const McNab said.
“I just love the bush, great people in the bush.”
After being in his new position for five weeks, Snr Const McNab will head off next week to Milmerran for a “stock investigation skills” workshop which includes horse riding skills and motorbike riding.
Being a cop runs in the family, with Snr Const McNab following in his father’s footsteps alongside his sister, also a police officer, and his brother-in-law who is a Detective Sergeant in Airlie Beach.
But he said alongside his wife Lynda and children Claire and Scotty, he has a love for the bush.
“Being out in the bush you’ve got all that freedom,” he said.
“So that was one of the reasons we left Julia Creek; so the kids could go to high school.
“There’s no high school there and they didn’t want to go back to the city.”
Snr Const McNab said he is slowly building his own cattle herd, with ten head on agistment “so far”.