MORNINGTON police and members of the community paid their respects to fallen colleagues on Tuesday 26 September when they took part in the second annual Angela Taylor memorial walk in Mornington.
The walk, which raises money for the Blue Ribbon Foundation, commemorates the life of Constable Angela Taylor who was killed on 27 March 1986 when a car bomb exploded outside the Russell Street police complex in Melbourne.
The 21-year-old Taylor, who was walking across the street, took the full force of the explosion and almost four weeks later died in hospital.
She had only recently joined Victoria Police and was already seen as a rising star who topped her academy class. She suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body after passing within one metre of the fireball as the bomb exploded.
Taylor was the first female police officer murdered in Australia. She is remembered by colleagues as having a strong commitment to helping others in the community, like police and emergency services who continue to demonstrate those values.
She was posthumously awarded the National Police Service Medal on the 30th anniversary of the bombing, in 2016.
An Angela Taylor Memorial walk/run is also held every year in Melbourne in honour of Taylor and all Victoria Police members who have lost their lives serving and protecting the community.
The Mornington walk, led by local police officers, started at the Angela Taylor Rose at Mornington Police Station at 7am and finished at the Angela Taylor Rose at the Mornington Botanical Gardens on Dunns Road.
The 4.5 km walk took about one hour, and participants were treated to a barbecue breakfast at Mornington Police Station at the finish.
First published in the Mornington News – 3 October 2023
