Australia's Sordid Past: 5 Trivia Quiz

Answer: A photograph published in the local newspaper.

Sorensen used to live at the apartment block that was located on Campbell Parade in Sydney. On 21st June 1968 he set fire to the lift well and the flames quickly spread throughout the building. A photographer for the Daily Mirror newspaper, John Gasparotto, arrived at the scene and took a number of photographs. One of those photographs ended up on the front page of the Daily Mirror and depicted a woman being carried out.

In the background of that photo was Sorensen, with a smile on his face. Two informants made contact with a reporter from the Daily Mirror and passed on information that the killer was in the photo on the front page.

It seemed that Sorensen was responsible for other fires and had managed to avoid suspicion from the police, but the informants were aware of his past.

The information was passed to the police and they swooped. Sorensen was convicted and sentenced to life. He became known as "The Smiling Arsonist".

Answer: The Riot Squad (similar to SWAT) finally breeched the house and opened fire, with the 3 officers shooting Mellish a record 37 times

The action started when the police were forced to retreat when Mellish discharged a firearm. The area was cordoned off while Mellish barricaded himself inside, along with his girlfriend (Beryl Muddle), a baby and numerous weapons including a shotgun, a rifle and hand grenades. The police commissioner at the time was Norm Allen who decided to get involved. Various events took place during the siege that seem more like something from a comedy movie than a real life drama. (Ironically, it was later made into a film called 'Mr Reliable' starring Colin Friels). Some of those events included:
- Family members entered the house, and left during the siege to deliver food.
-The police commissioner made several visits inside the house to negotiate and even became a hostage at one stage.
-Mellish demanded a machine gun. This was refused, but agreed to be supplied with an Armalite assault rifle instead (along with 200 rounds of ammunition). The police accommodated the request.
-The police commissioner became a witness (and best man) for the marriage between Mellish and Beryl Muddle that took place inside the house.
-Mellish made regular calls to the local talkback radio station and spoke on air with his demands.

In the end Mellish stated that he would surrender if he was allowed to attend the army barracks and apply to sign up to serve in Vietnam. The police commissioner agreed, and also agreed that Mellish would not be prosecuted for the siege. He surrendered on 9th July without incident. Mellish applied, and was rejected, for military service, but instead got a consolation prize: a holiday at the Morisset psychiatric hospital.

Answer: Made a hoax bomb threat involving a Qantas aircraft, netting a $500,000 ransom

"Mr Brown" aka Peter Pasquale Macari was sitting in a hotel room one night watching a movie called, 'Doomsday Flight' when the cogs began turning in his head. It was almost like an aircraft version of the movie 'speed' (that was released many years later) ... If the plane flies under a certain altitude, it would blow up. With his brain still ticking over, the plan was formulated.
Qantas flight 755 became the target and the Commonwealth Police in Sydney received a call from "Mr Brown" demanding a $500,000 ransom for information on the bomb's location or the plane would be blown up. If the plane dropped below 6,500 metres the bomb would detonate automatically. To prove it wasn't a hoax, he had left another bomb inside a Sydney airport terminal and gave police the location of it. The bomb was found to be active and equipped with a altitude activator. "Mr Brown" clearly meant business. The ransom was delivered as the Qantas flight kept circling Sydney Airport unable to descend due to the altitude activator and rapidly running out of fuel. As soon as "Mr Brown" had the ransom money another call was made to the police stating, "You can relax, there is no bomb aboard the plane ... You can land her safely".

A massive manhunt followed and Macari was soon captured because an accomplice 'dobbed him in' (Aussie slang for snitching). A fair proportion of the money was spent, $138 000 was recovered, and a cool quarter of a million remained unaccounted for. Macari copped 15 years in jail for his crime as "Mr Brown".

Answer: She was Perth's biggest brothel madam with a lot of 'dirty secrets'

Shirley Finn was shot four times in the head and left in her car in the Royal Perth Golf Club on 23 June, 1975. She was the 'Queen of Vice' in Perth and was linked to a lot of underworld figures, along with top ranking police officials.

Her killer (or killers) were never identified and there have been rumours abound that the police were either involved in her death, or covered up the details of the killer. It remains a mystery.

Answer: The Great Bookie Robbery

The 'Great Bookie Robbery' took place in Melbourne, Victoria in 1976. Six people armed with what appeared to be sub-machine guns stormed into 'The Victoria Club' and executed the perfect robbery. The robbers left with an amount of cash estimated to be between $1.4 million to $15 million. (The true figure was never established). The crime played out like a movie script and left police with no clues.

Only one man, Norman Lee, has been charged with the crime, but he was later acquitted. To this day not one person has been convicted of the crime and the cash was not recovered. Norman Lee's lawyer provided some information about the heist following the death of Lee.

Read about it here:
http://www.crimenet.org/show_unsolved.phtml?id=28

Answer: Donald Mackay

Donald Mackay vanished on the night of 15 July, 1977. He was the owner of a furniture business in the town of Griffith, New South Wales and a prominent anti-drugs campaigner. The only clues left behind were bloodstains, bullet casings and drag marks.
I could tell you what happened, but this time I won't. The whole story plays out in the TV mini-series, 'Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities'. What I can tell you is that every person mentioned in the answer boxes are characters in the series. It is a great story. So if you get the chance, watch it.

Answer: True

Paul Steven Haigh is responsible for the deaths of seven people, six of them outside jail and one while in custody. His most horrendous crime was in 1979 when he allowed a friend to rape his girlfriend, Lisa Brearley, at knife point. He then viciously stabbed her 157 times.

His previous victims were people that were capable of identifying him in various crimes, such as armed hold-ups. They were killed just because they were potential witnesses. The list included accomplices to crimes and their associates (one was a 9 year old child).

Answer: Nobody: it remains a mystery

The case has never been solved. Trudie was last seen on the night of 25 June 1978 after attempting to hitch a ride home. She was last seen getting into a Holden panel van. Prior to Trudie's disappearance eight other girls had been grabbed whilst hitch-hiking and raped at gunpoint but there has been no connection made to Trudie's disappearance. It has been suggested that convicted rapist, Neville Tween, committed the offences but nothing has been proven. 32 years after the event a former neighbour (of the same age), Carolyn Drake, came forward and made claims that she and her boyfriend had picked up Trudie that night and had driven her home. The mystery may never been solved.

More details here:
http://www.australianmissingpersonsregister.com/TrudieAdams.htm

Answer: The Magnetic Drill Gang

The 'Magnetic Drill Gang' were a group of thieves that were suspected of committing at least 14 other raids on banks and not leaving a clue behind. Using an electromagnetic drill they would drill into a safe and then crack it from there. The bank robbery was the largest in Australian history and has never been solved.

Answer: A Mack truck was deliberately driven into a motel bar killing five people

For those that chose the dingo answer, it was a trick option. Sorry! Azaria Chamberlain was (allegedly) taken by a dingo in August 1980. Her mother, Lindy, was tried for her murder and convicted. After serving a number of years in jail the conviction was overturned and Lindy was released. For those that chose the lone bushman answer - that was the basic script for the fictional movie, 'Wolf Creek'.

What actually happened was that a truck driver called Douglas Crabbe was refused any more alcohol at the 'Inland Motel' based on his intoxication level (that is the law in Australia, too drunk and you get cut off). He was rather angry about this so he returned to his 25 tonne Mack truck and trailer and drove it back to the motel. Within seconds he had ploughed the big rig into the motel killing five people and seriously injuring sixteen. He was tried and convicted of murder.