Nathaniel Train previously worked as the principal of Innisfail East State School – one of Australia's most disadvantaged schools, which has punched above its weight academically.
Mystery surrounds how a respected school principal who went missing last year became involved in the horrific police shooting that stunned the nation.
On Monday afternoon, two young police officers were gunned down at a remote property in Wieambilla in Queensland, Australia’s western Darling Downs region, with a further two officers narrowly escaping with their lives.
An innocent neighbour — since identified as Alan Dare — was also killed in the attack, while Special Operations police later shot dead three more people in a gunfight following a manhunt for multiple suspects.
On Tuesday morning it was confirmed that Nathaniel Train, 46, had been killed along with his brother Gareth, who owned the property with his partner Stacey.
The identity of the third person killed in the gunfight has not yet been officially released by authorities, but sources told AAP the third victim was Stacey Train.
Four police officers had attended the isolated property at 251 Wains Rd on Monday afternoon to carry out “routine missing person inquiries” at the request of New South Wales Police, after Nathaniel Train was reported missing to officers from Central North Police District on Sunday, December 4 when he could not be contacted by family or friends, with police and relatives holding “serious concerns for Nathaniel’s welfare”.
He was last seen in Dubbo in NSW on December 16, 2021. However, he remained in contact with his family until Sunday, October 9, 2022.
As the full extent of the horror that unfolded at the rural property on Monday evening emerged, attention is now turning to how it all went so wrong for Nathaniel, who was previously seen as a pillar of his community.
The NSW Department of Education has since confirmed that Nathaniel Train was a former employee, telling The Guardian he had not been working at an NSW school since August 2021 and that he officially left the department’s employment in March this year.
It is understood he most recently worked as a principal at Walgett Community College Primary School.
In 2003, the town’s preschool, primary and high schools were restructured into the Walgett Community College, and in 2021, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on the serious issues within the wider campus, revealing serious staff shortages and rampant violence within the school.
NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham confirmed he spoke with Train earlier this year after he sent an email outlining concerns he had to the education department.
In the March 7, 2022 email, the then-school principal reportedly outlined a number of hypothetical scenarios which Train apparently believed needed to be addressed by the department.
Latham referenced Train when posing a question in state parliament to Education Minister Sarah Mitchell about the state of Walgett school this year.
Latham has now confirmed that he visited the school after Train informed him that he was “very unhappy” with the situation at Walgett Community College Primary School.
“Because of Nathan, I went up to the school,” Latham told The Daily Telegraph.
“The news this morning is a shock and a tragedy. It’s a confusing situation.”
Police have declared an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) in relation to an ongoing incident at Wieambilla.https://t.co/nh7v08kLs0 pic.twitter.com/MU4LvjGdth
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) December 12, 2022
He said his dealings with the man had “no context at all in relation” to what happened on Monday at the Queensland property.
“All I can tell you is he left the teaching service in NSW, and mid-year he was talking to me,” Latham said.
“He had a feeling of disappointment and frustration with the education department that had left him feeling bruised and drained, I would say.”
Train also previously served as principal of Yorkeys Knob State School, with a 2017 Cairns Post article about a school fundraiser describing him as a “mild-mannered school leader”.
In a NSW Police appeal for information on his whereabouts posted on social media just days ago, one person commented that he was their children’s ex-principal at Yorkeys Knob State School in Queensland’s far north.
“Oh no! Hope he is OK, good bloke,” another responded.
“Yeah, he was,” another agreed.
Train worked at the school as recently as 2019, when it came in at number 25 in a ranking of Queensland’s best Naplan results for the year, recording the best primary school results in the Australian Far North.
At the time, Train told the Cairns Post that “supportive parents, dedicated teachers and support staff” were key to the school’s success.
“We have a consistent delivery of teaching programs, a quality learning environment that focuses on every student being given the opportunity to be a successful learner and students that commit themselves wholeheartedly to their learning opportunities,” he told the publication.
“Our strategy continues to be for each student to strive to be the best they can be. Naplan is an opportunity to learn, and provides all schools in Australia with point-in-time assessment. It is useful to everyone in education that is looking for continual improvement.
“The students, parents and teachers should be proud of their ongoing success. Naplan is reflective of what happens every day at Yorkeys Knob State School.”
Nathaniel Train was also previously the principal of Innisfail East State School — yet another disadvantaged primary school that achieved outstanding academic results during his tenure.
Dubbo police are believed to have lodged the request for assistance with their Queensland colleagues, with insiders telling the Telegraph one of Train’s relatives was known to have an intense distrust of police.
Meanwhile, the young police officers executed in the ambush have been identified as Constable Rachel McCrow, 26, and Constable Matthew Arnold, 29.