Presenter: Jack Sim, Author and Director Crime Tours Australia
Special guest: Paul Tully, Historical Contributor
Description:
Fifty years ago on 8 March 1973 a popular Brisbane nightclub in Fortitude Valley named The Whiskey Au Go Go was firebombed in a deliberate criminal act which resulted in the deaths of 15 people. It was at the time Australia’s worst act of mass-murder. It stunned the entire nation and the crime has haunted Brisbane for half a century. On behalf of Jack Sim and the staff at Boggo Road Gaol and Historic Australia we would like to express our deepest sympathies to those who are still grieving.
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That night, patrons and staff were not oblivious to the stories that trouble was brewing in Brisbane clubs, however they still turned up at the Whiskey to enjoy themselves. No-one would insane enough to bomb a club with patrons inside or so they thought.
Carol Green, 26, a secretary from Camp Hill, was one of many who enjoyed live music. She was planning to see one of her favourite bands with a female cousin. After getting dressed up they went out to catch the rock and roll group, “The Delltones” at the National Hotel, another well-known Brisbane nightspot, but they were late and missed the set. Carol decided to try and catch them at the Whiskey Au Go Go where they were due to play later that same night.
The Au Go Go had already drawn a bit of a crowd eager to see the Delltones. Among them were William Nolan, Wendy Drew, Brian Watson, Leslie Palethorpe and David Green. Father and son, Ernie and Des Peters too were at the club to see the band and celebrate the purchase of their first racehorse at auction from the R.N.A. show grounds. Pretty waitress, Jennifer Davies, 17, who had only been in Brisbane three months, brought them their drinks. Jennifer had moved up from Melbourne and was living at New Farm. She worked at the Whiskey three nights a week and in a restaurant during the day.
Also working at the club that night were cashier Decima Carroll, 29, and barman Peter Marcus, 23 years. In the kitchen, sampling the cuisine of the resident chef was fellow cordon bleu Paul Zoller from the National Hotel. As the Delltones took to the stage, it was clear the wait was worth it: “Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands” and other big hits from the bass vocals of Pee Wee, were crowd favourites. The atmosphere was electric. Everyone was having fun; most wanted to stay on till the early hours of the morning. They were friends, families, work colleagues, musicians and their fans all completely unaware of the impending danger they were in.
Following the Delltones was the support band, “Trinity”. Originally booked to play as the house band on the following Monday, a cancellation meant the group played the Au Go Go a full week early. This terrible twist of fate meant two of the band members, Colin Folster and Darcy Day, were doomed. Fay Will, 19, who worked for Queensland Railways refreshment rooms, was also about to die. She had stayed on to watch Trinity with her brother. At 2.05 a.m. on Thursday, 8 March, Fay’s brother decided to go home after saying his goodbyes. This was the last time he ever saw his sibling alive. Hell was about to be unleased.
At 2:08 a.m. Constable D. J. McSherrydrove past the club in his patrol car intending to return to circle the block. After McSherry’s departure, a car pulled up out the front of the Au Go Go. Who was in that car has remained the subject of conjecture for half a century. Two men wearing black clothes and balaclavas emerged from the vehicle. They unloaded two heavy drums of petrol and carried them to the entrance of the Whiskey Au Go Go; fuel spewed out as they rolled them into the foyer. Using a book of matches, one of the men ignited the fuel, which burst into flames so fierce that the men were taken aback. They fled the scene of the crime. By the time McSherry returned – 2.10am – thick smoke was pouring from the entrance of the nightclub.
McSherry got out of his vehicle focused on trying to find a way to get people out, a seemingly impossible task. Flames were already starting to lick their way around the entrance. Within thirty seconds black smoke began to pour into the main area of the club. Incredibly by 2.22 a.m. the blaze was under control. Twelve minutes after they were called by police, the fire brigade had raised hopes that there may be survivors inside. Constable McSherry and members of the fire entered the still smouldering wreckage of the charred club. Unfortunately all they found were bodies. In total fifteen fatalities were recorded, ten men and five women. The majority had died within three to four minutes from suffocation and carbon monoxide poisoning;
Within days two men – known to police – were arrested and charged. John Andrew Stuart, 33, and James Richard Finch, 29, were to become household names in Australia, as they protested their innocence from the very start. There was no doubt they were involved but 50 years later what is also clear is that they did not act alone. There were other shadowy characters behind the scene whom remain mysterious and who have never been identified or charged.
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