Senior Constable Frank Holloway was portrayed by Colin Friels. He appeared in the series between 1996 and 1999. He was one of the two original main characters. Colin Friels left the show due to cancer, and as a result, Frank sailed off to Venezuela and was never heard from or seen again.
Senior Constable Rachel Goldstein was portrayed by Catherine McClements. She appeared in the series between 1996 and 1999. She and Frank Holloway were the two original main characters in the series and shared a close bond. However she and Jack Christey had a fling in series three, and were together in series four but she was soon stabbed and never got the chance to tell him she loved him, except for an entry in her diary. After she was killed off from the series in 1999, ratings began to decline and the series was cancelled two years later.
Senior Constable Jack Christey was portrayed by Steve Bisley. Jack was in the series from 1999 to 2001, and was a recurring character in 1998. He fell in love with Rachel in series four. In season five he found out that he was father to Sophie Ferguson who came to the Water Police looking for him. In the Water Rats series finale, Jack was shot and although unknown, he probably died as Steve Bisley was leaving the series if it continued for another season.
Michael Reilly
Senior Constable Michael Reilly was portrayed by Aaron Pedersen. Otherwise known as Mick, he appeared in the series between 1999 and 2001. His storylines mostly involved his flings with other characters namely Alex St Clare, Suzie Abromovich and Emma Woods.
Alex St. Clare
Senior Constable Alex St. Clare appeared between 2000 and 2001, and was portrayed by Dee Smart. She came into the series to replace Rachel Goldstein and stayed until the series ended. She began working at the water police after she broke too many rules in undercover work. In the episode 'And the winner is...', Alex was shot. A scene of her showed her moving her hand away from her abdomen and it then being covered in blood.
Supporting characters
Jeff Hawker">Jeff Hawker(TV Character)">Jeff Hawker
Jeff Hawker, portrayed by Peter Bensley was one of the only three characters to appear in the show from start to finish. In series one he was a Senior Sergeant and then, after winning an appeal, became Chief Inspector for the rest of the series after Clarke Webb left in 1996. He had two children, Rick and Erin, with his wife Gail, whom he divorced in series four.
Eva Minton
Eva Minton was portrayed by Mouche Phillips. She appeared in the series from 2000 to 2001. During season five, she met and fell in love with Senior Constable Gavin Sykes whom she married and had a child with in season six.
Clarke Webb
Clarke Webb, portrayed by Bill Young was the Chief Inspector in series one. But he left the Water Police when it was found that he impeded a murder investigation as he did not want his affair with another woman to become known.
Tommy Tavita
Senior Constable Tommy Tavita, portrayed by Jay Laga'aia, was on the show from series one to five. He went on long service leave and was never seen after. Tommy was partnered with Gavin Sykes and Fiona Cassidy from series one to two, and Gavin and Tayler Johnson from series two to four. He was replaced by Matthew Quinn in early series five.
Gavin Sykes
Senior Constable Gavin Sykes was portrayed by Brett Partridge. He appeared in the series from 1996 to 2001. During season five, he met and fell in love with Eva whom he married and had a child with in season six. In the episode 'And the winner is...', he was shot at the same time as Alex. He was shown at the end of the episode undergoing CPR from Michael Reilly.
Helen Blakemore
Helen Blakemore was portrayed by Toni Scanlan. She was one of three original characters to appear in the series from when it started in 1996 to when it ended in 2001. The only character on the show who was gay, Helen had only a few relationships throughout the series, none of which lasted very long. In the third series, she was promoted to the rank of Senior Sergeant. It was also revealed that she was an aunt to one of the junior constables at the Water Police, Tayler Johnson.
Dave McCall
Dave McCall was portrayed by Scott Burgess, and was a Senior Sergeant and a diver with the Water Police. He was seen in the show from series one to four. In series six, everyone found out that he was found dead on his toilet from a heart attack.
Terry Watson
Senior Constable Terry Watson was portrayed by Aaron Jeffery, a diver. He was seen on the show from series one to two. In series two, he was stabbed but he came back in series three as a guest star for two episodes.
Fiona Cassidy
Senior Constable Fiona Cassidy was portrayed by Sophie Heathcote and was seen in series one and the first few episodes of series two. She lost confidence in herself after she was unable to resuscitate a baby, and resigned. She was replaced by Constable Tayler Johnson.
Tayler Johnson
Constable Tayler Johnson was portrayed by Raelee Hill from series two to four. She was partnered with Gavin Sykes and Tommy Tavita on the Nemesis. In series three she was shot and almost died. In the final episode of series four, Tayler left the Water Police to join Polair.
Emma Woods
Emma Woods, portrayed by Allison Cratchley was one of the divers in the series. She was a recurring character from series three to five, and was a main character in series six. She had a brief fling with Michael Reilly, but it ended by the end of the series. In the series six episode 'True Blue' she revealed she had been the victim of sexual harassment at work.
Matthew Quinn
Senior Constable Matthew Quinn was portrayed by Diarmid Heidenreich and worked with Gavin Sykes on board the Nemesis. He replaced Tommy Tavita, and was on the show from series five to six.
Lance Rorke
Senior Sergeant Lance Rorke was a diver from series five to six. He replaced Dave McCall. In the first episode of series six, he gets crushed by a shipping container and dies.
Donna Janevski
Constable Donna Janevski, portrayed by Rebecca Smart, was on the show from series five to six, in the latter she was a main character. She replaced Tayler Johnson and worked at the front desk.
Recurring Characters
David Goldstein
David Goldstein, portrayed by Treffyn Koreshoff, was the young son of Rachel Goldstein and her lawyer ex-husband Jonathon. He appeared on the show as a recurring character from series one to four. In series four, David was kidnapped by his friend's father, and due to some clever thinking, survived a bomb blast along with his friend.
Colin "Chopper" Lewis
Chopper was portrayed by Anthony Martin from series two to six, and was a recurring character throughout his time on show. His nickname was chopper as he was a pathologist who performed autopsies.
John "Knocker" Harrison
Senior Sergeant John 'Knocker' Harrison was portrayed by Peter Mochrie and seen on the show in most episodes of series one. He was a homicide detective, who had a relationship with Rachel. But things were not all as they seemed with Knocker, who was caught in his own deadly web at the end of series one.
Kevin Holloway
Senior Constable Kevin Holloway was Frank's youngest brother and partner to John Harrison at Homicide, who appeared in a number of episodes in series one. A good-looking man, Kevin was a bit of ladies man, and had a one-night stand with Rachel. He found out that his partner was corrupt and was murdered.
Tony Brady
Inspector Tony Brady was portrayed by Richard Healy and appeared on the show as a recurring character in series one and two. He worked for Internal Affairs, and was one of the first people to know that John Harrison was corrupt. He tried a number of times to bring down Frank, but was unsuccessful.
John Walton was portrayed by stuntman John Walton from series two to four. He was a diver, and was often either called by his last name or Johnny.
Sophie Ferguson
Sophie Ferguson, portrayed by Brooke Satchwell, was Jack's 18-year-old daughter who arrived at the Water Police looking for her father in series five. In series six, she began working at the Water Police on training.
Michael Jeffries
Michael Jeffries was portrayed by John Adam in season two. He was a shopkeeper who met Rachel at the Cutter Bar, and the pair began dating. Rachel told him she was a wine taster upon meeting him, but he soon found out she was a detective. Michael proposed to her in the season two final, but she didn't think she could get married again.
Sam Bailey
Sam Bailey, portrayed by Kelly Dale, was a diver who briefly replaced Terry Watson in season two. He was shattered, when, during a diving competition, a fellow diver died. But Dave helped him to get through his grief and shock.
