The Night Dragon
Page 29
Through their faith in You and their labours, they prospered and were the forebears of many succeeding generations. Please grant them, and those descendants who have gone to join them, Eternal Repose.
We beseech You, in Your great mercy, to extend a Guiding Hand to we, the living descendants of James and Johanna, and future generations, so that we may avoid the evils and temptations of this World to enjoy the reward of Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God.
~
Author’s Note and Acknowledgements
On 8 March 2018, about 150 people gathered outside the site of the former Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub at the corner of St Pauls Terrace and Amelia Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley to mark the 45th anniversary of the fire that killed 15 people all those years ago. It was a ceremony held in light rain, and present were Indigenous elders, government and council dignitaries, representatives of police, fire and ambulance services, former prison warders, family and friends of the victims, and a handful of men and women who survived that horrific night. Speeches and remembrances were offered around the brass plaque that remains embedded in the footpath outside the former club building. The circular plaque gives a short account of the tragedy. The unbroken perimeter of the circle is made up of the names of the 15 victims. It was a moving and emotional ceremony. For Kath Potter, this was the first time she’d been back to the entrance of the one-time club in Amelia Street. She recreated what happened that night, and she described what she saw, as if it had happened yesterday. Other survivors, like Donna Phillips and Hunter Nichol, were generous with their memories, despite the enormous trauma and health problems they suffered, and continue to suffer, from that night.
Throughout the research for The Night Dragon, it felt like there was an overriding collective will from those affected by the Whiskey tragedy, and many other Queenslanders, that the truth might finally be extracted. The full truth, after almost half a century, may never be known, but what was as equally evident as the goodwill around this project was a sense too that there were forces present that didn’t want sunlight brought to the Whiskey mass murder. That remains the case.
I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude to the likes of Donna, Kath, Hunter, Bevan Child, the Carroll family, the Palethorpe family, and all the families of the victims who were so generous in offering their recollections to me. Those 15 men and women who were lost will never be forgotten.
This book wouldn’t exist except for the work of Queensland police detectives Virginia Gray, Mick Dowie and their colleagues. Their work in successfully solving the McCulkin cold case murders was without peer, and that in turn opened some windows on the Whiskey firebombing story. Thank you also to Keith Smith, David McSherry and Kingsley Fancourt.
Several men and women offered information on condition of anonymity. I thank you all for your enormous courage and trust. I have valued our friendship over the years and will continue to do so.
Thank you to Barbara McCulkin’s brother, Graham Ogden, and his family, for being so kind and welcoming. And to Barbara’s daughter, Jocelyn.
Thank you to my vibrant team of advisers, critics, friends, family, journalists, editors, sounding boards, former police and scratching posts who came on this journey, including: Nigel Powell; Jim Slade; Ian Alcorn; Hedley Thomas; Des Houghton; Christopher Dore; Trent Dalton; Lachlan Haywood; Sue McVay; Susan Johnson; John Shakespeare and family; Archie Butterfly; Ron and Karen Condon; Marsha and Phil Pope, and family; Gillian Morris and Geof Hawke; Gary Morris, Jo Gaha, and family; Mike Ahern; Sir Malcolm McMillan; Alex Mitchell and Judith White; and to the memory of the late Tony Reeves.
I would like to pay special tribute to writer Tom Clark for his invaluable assistance during research for this book. Several books were referenced, or directly quoted, throughout these pages, and I would like to thank the authors and publishers for permission to reproduce extracts in The Night Dragon:
The Prince and the Premier: Story of Perce Galea, Bob Askin and the Others who Gave Organised Crime its start in Australia by David Hickie, Harper Collins, 1985
‘“Real Gone Town”: Popular Music and Youth Culture in 1960s Brisbane’ by Raymond Evans in The 1960s in Australia: People, Power and Politics, edited by Shirleene Robinson and Julie Ustinoff, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012
Sydney Noir: The Golden Years by Michael Duffy and Nick Hordern, New South Publishing, 2017
The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century by Geoff Plunkett, Big Sky Publishing, 2018
Unbelievably, my odyssey of true crime books began more than nine years ago when I approached Madonna Duffy, publisher at the University of Queensland Press, with an idea for a volume on historic crime and corruption in the Sunshine State. Thank you, Madonna, and the team at UQP, for coming along for the ride which seemingly has no end. Thank you for your faith and expertise, your professionalism and your personal attention to detail. I also owe almost everything to my wonderful editor, Jacqueline Blanchard, whose magic and skill is on every single page.
Finally, as ever, I offer all my love to my beautiful family; my darling wife Katie Kate, and our children, Finnigan, Bridie Rose and Oliver.
THREE CROOKED KINGS
Matthew Condon
Three Crooked Kings is the shocking true story of Queensland and how a society was shaped by almost half a century of corruption. At its core is Terence Murray Lewis, deposed and jailed former police commissioner. From his entry into the force in 1949, Lewis rose through the ranks, becoming part of the so-called Rat Pack with detectives Glendon Patrick Hallahan and Tony Murphy under the guiding influence of Commissioner Frank Bischof.
The next four decades make for a searing tale of cops and killings, bagmen and blackmail, and sin and sleaze that exposes a police underworld which operated from Queensland and into New South Wales. This gripping book exposes the final pieces of the puzzle, unearths new evidence on cold cases, and explores the pivotal role that whistleblower Shirley Brifman, prostitute and brothel owner, played until her sudden death.
Based on extensive and unprecedented access to Terry Lewis and his personal papers, as well as hundreds of interviews with key players and conspirators, Three Crooked Kings is the first of three explosive books. Awarded journalist and novelist Matthew Condon has crafted the definitive account of an era that changed a state and is still reverberating to this day.
‘Hailed as the most explosive book of 2013 – a riveting epic and unrelenting tour-de-force which will shock a nation. And it’s all true.’ —The Chronicle
ISBN 978 0 7022 3891 8
JACKS AND JOKERS
Matthew Condon
Continuing on from the bestselling Three Crooked Kings, Jacks and Jokers opens in 1976. Terry Lewis, exiled in western Queensland, is soon to be controversially appointed Police Commissioner. As for the other two original Crooked Kings, Tony Murphy is set to ruthlessly take control of the workings of ‘The Joke’, while Glen Hallahan, retired from the force, begins to show a keen interest in the emerging illicit drug trade. Meanwhile, ex-cop and ‘Bagman’ Jack Herbert collects the payments and efficiently takes police graft to a whole new level.
The Joke heralds an era of hard drugs, illegal gambling and prostitution, and leaves in its wake a string of unsolved murders and a trail of dirty money. With the highest levels of police and government turning a blind eye, the careers of honest police officers and the lives of innocent civilians are threatened and often lost as corruption escalates out of control.
Revealing more incredible facts and previously untold stories, award-winning journalist and novelist Matthew Condon once again exposes the shocking behaviour outside the law by the law. Jacks and Jokers is the gripping second instalment of the rise – and spectacular fall – of one man, an entire state and generations of corruption.
‘Jacks and Jokers sprawls and appals in equal measure. Condon’s true crime series is not just a compelling read: i
t is compulsory.’—Australian Book Review
ISBN 978 0 7022 4996 9
ALL FALL DOWN
Matthew Condon
The gripping finale to Three Crooked Kings and Jacks and Jokers brings to a close Matthew Condon’s best-selling true-crime trilogy.
In 1983, the soon-to-be-knighted Police Commissioner Terry Lewis continues to turn a blind eye to the operation of The Joke, a highly organised system of graft payments from illegal gambling, prostitution and illicit drugs. As the tentacles of this fraudulent vice network spread, the fabric holding together the police, judiciary and political system starts to unravel. All Fall Down offers an unprecedented insight into the Fitzgerald Inquiry and Lewis’s subsequent years in prison, and explores the real story behind the dramatic exit of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Drawing from interviews with key players who have, until now, been afraid to speak publicly, All Fall Down celebrates the bravery of those unsung heroes who risked everything to expose the truth.
This epic trilogy provides the definitive account of an unforgettable period in Queensland’s history. The devastating consequences of those decades of corruption still reverberate today.
‘This is an excellent trilogy but, unfortunately for Lewis, it does not end with the dark knight rising.’—Weekend Australian
‘All Fall Down is an exquisite finale to Matthew Condon’s epic analysis of crime and corruption in Queensland.’—Sydney Morning Herald
ISBN 978 0 7022 5353 9
LITTLE FISH ARE SWEET
Matthew Condon
‘We had a meeting and agreed that we would pay [Terry] Lewis. I paid [Tony] Murphy, who was then a sergeant and senior to me, on a monthly basis and extra for Lewis. I recall meeting Lewis on a number of occasions in company with Tony Murphy. I recall conversation getting around to payments of money with Murphy and Lewis. Lewis thanked me on several occasions and said, ‘Little fish are sweet’. — Evidence of Jack ‘The Bagman’ Herbert to the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, 31August 1988, Brisbane, Queensland.
Little Fish Are Sweet is Matthew Condon’s extraordinary personal account of writing the Three Crooked Kings trilogy. When Condon first interviewed disgraced former police commissioner Terry Lewis, he had no idea that it would be the start of a turbulent six-year journey. As hundreds of people came forward to share their powerful and sometimes shocking stories, decades of crime and corruption were revealed in a new light.
Risking threats and intimidation, Condon tirelessly pursued his investigations into a web of cold murder cases and past conspiracies. What he discovered is much more sinister than anyone could have imagined.
‘Now we owe a new debt to Condon for reminding us of our obligations as journalists and the consequences of ignoring them.’—Walkley Magazine
ISBN 978 0 7022 5410 9
First published 2019 by University of Queensland Press
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Copyright © Matthew Condon 2019
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ISBN 978 0 7022 6020 9 (pbk)
ISBN 978 0 7022 6154 1 (pdf)
ISBN 978 0 7022 6155 8 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7022 6156 5 (kindle)