Just as he had given Hodges a piece of his mind, so, too, was he forthright with Joh.
Understandably, they instantly clicked. Lewis had come from the school of hard knocks, and though self-educated – he would use his downtime in Charleville to complete his degree in public administration – he had a simultaneous suspicion of and an attraction to society’s various stratums. He could mix with political leaders, academics, the wealthy and the railway fettler. It was Lewis’s genius to be able to quickly read a person’s political and social leanings, empathically tune in to that and not only connect with it but use it to his advantage.
Behind everything, though, was Lewis’s fascination with power.
‘He didn’t bung on any airs,’ he says of Bjelke-Petersen and their first real conversation in Cunnamulla. ‘We talked quite easily . . .’
Had Lewis, in Bjelke-Petersen, found another father to impress, just as he had with Frank Bischof?
Within days of that meeting, Lewis sent the premier a dossier. It bore the hallmark of Lewis’s now familiar habit of disseminating not only lists and check sheets that bolstered his own reputation, but snippets of gossip and observation designed to charm the recipient of his meticulous paperwork.
Included in the dossier were his constantly updated police and academic achievements, especially his bravery award and his Churchill Fellowship, a list of officers who had bypassed Lewis on promotion, and some tittle-tattle about Whitrod possibly being affiliated with the Australian Labor Party. This, he knew, would register with the National Party premier.
The dossier was subsequently received by Wilcox and filed.
Driving back to Charleville on that autumn afternoon after the Cabinet visit, with the premier flying back to Brisbane, what went through the mind of Inspector Lewis?
During that two and a half hour journey north along the Mitchell Highway, did he hope for any outcome whatsoever, having had the ear of the premier? Would his frankness contribute to the undermining of his enemy, Whitrod? Would he be considered for a promotion that he believed he deserved? Or would it all come to nought?
Conversely, what was Bjelke-Petersen mulling over, flying above St George and Dalby and on to Brisbane at four hundred kilometres an hour with pilot Beryl Young in the cockpit, and private secretary Stan Wilcox in the aircraft cabin tying up the paperwork for the 36th Country Cabinet Meeting?
The premier knew that morale in the state’s police force was at an all-time low. He believed Whitrod had made a mess of things after six years, and was aware that even Liberal–National Party members were tired of the police commissioner.
Bjelke-Petersen may not have given the tall, gangly Inspector Lewis another thought. But they had now met twice and had developed at the very least a tentative rapport.
With Whitrod’s lie about the ‘kill sheets’ still fresh in Bjelke-Petersen’s mind, and having yarned with Inspector Terry Lewis in the autumn sunshine – the man so highly regarded by rank and file across Queensland – the way to solve the Whitrod problem must have started to form in his mind.
The premier needed a catalyst to set in train the removal of the Queensland police commissioner.
And within months of meeting Lewis, Joh would be gifted not one but two scandals that would see Raymond Wells Whitrod resign and, in fear of his life, flee Queensland forever.
The story continues in All Fall Down, coming in late 2013.
Author’s Note and Acknowledgments
Three Crooked Kings and its forthcoming sequel, All Fall Down, would not have been possible without the cooperation of former Queensland Police Commissioner Terence Murray Lewis. He decided, at the age of eighty-three, that he wanted his story told.
On 1 February 2010, we began what would become almost three years of interviews at his home in north Brisbane, and he was always convivial, courteous, and helpful. Three Crooked Kings and its sequel incorporate some of that interview material. In addition, hundreds of other people were interviewed in an attempt to accurately recreate an important period in Queensland history. On several occasions, Lewis’s version of events and my own research took different paths. In these instances, he was always given a right of reply.
Several leading figures in the narrative, since deceased, were not afforded that opportunity. Through my personal interviews and documentary evidence I have made every effort to present a balanced story.
Lewis’s collection of documents and memorabilia was also invaluable. His personal archive is an astonishing record of events not just with regard to the Queensland police force going back to the 1940s, but as social history more generally. The Fryer Library at the University of Queensland now holds the bulk of it.
I am greatly indebted, also, to writer and friend Doug Hall for his important role in the early stages of this journey.
I would like to thank the many people I spoke to in an attempt to piece together the narrative of Lewis’s career and the careers of his contemporaries. They included many retired police officers, former politicians, lawyers, ordinary citizens, and the relatives of men and women who were directly and indirectly involved in this drama.
Apart from Lewis’s own contacts, I offer my appreciation to Mick O’Brien, state president of the Queensland Retired Police Association, for helping me get in touch with numerous former officers, who were generous with their time and memories. They include: the late A.B. ‘Abe’ Duncan, Ron Edington, Ken Hoggett, Ron Lewis, Ross Beer, John Meskell, Don Braithewaite, Bruce Wilby, Janet Brady, Noel Creavy, Fred Collins, Ian Hatcher, Cliff Crawford, Pat Glancy, Jim Shearer and John Morris. A special thank you to Greg Early for his valuable contribution. Additionally, my thanks go to Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey and former Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.
Three Crooked Kings was also crucially informed by dozens of former Queensland police who anonymously offered their observations and insights. My thanks to you.
I (and the state of Queensland) owe a great deal to Nigel Powell, former Queensland Licensing Branch officer, whose bravery in speaking out in the late 1980s played a key role in the establishment of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, and who persevered with me over a number of years. Thank you, Nigel, for your generosity of spirit and your friendship.
In addition, my thanks to former New South Wales police officers Clive Small and Roger Rogerson for their recollections.
In the federal police arena, I am enormously grateful to former narcotics agent John Shobbrook, another dedicated policeman who suffered for his sense of right, and who gave of his time, recollections and superb memoir to fill in some gaps in this narrative. Thank you, John. Your contribution has been immense. I am also thankful to Brian Bennett, Max Rogers, Bob ‘Doc’ Gillespie, and Ian Alcorn.
I also offer my thanks to: Terry Lewis’s family; Maureen Murphy and her family; Des Sturgess; Allen Callaghan; Mary Bennett and Judith Murphy; Terry White; Sir Llew Edwards; Sir Leo Hielscher; Mike Ahern; Peter Beattie; Judy Spence; Paul Wilson; Malcolm Cummings; Jim Birrell; Richard Bentley; John Corrie; Peter Grose; Andree Look; Ken Lord; the Reverend Roy Wright; Hagen Bahnemann; Carmel Bird; Robin and Ellen Russell, Les Hounslow, William ‘Billy’ Stokes and John Wayne Ryan.
One of the central narratives of this book is Shirley Margaret Brifman’s tragic story. It could not have been told without the help and cooperation of her eldest daughter, Mary Anne Brifman. Thank you, Mary Anne, for your patience with innumerable questions both face to face and on the telephone. And thank you to others who chose to remain anonymous in the telling of Shirley’s story.
The bedrock of this book was, of course, put in place by some of the country’s most accomplished journalists, and their groundbreaking work not only contributed to the infrastructure of the narrative but is the reason for it existing in the first place.
I am indebted to Phil Dickie, my former colleague at the Courier-Ma
il newspaper, whose work contributed to the establishment of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption in Queensland in 1987, and whose book, The Road to Fitzgerald and Beyond, was for me an ever-present guiding template. In addition, thank you, Phil, for giving me permission to explore your papers held by the State Library of Queensland and the John Oxley Library and for keeping me on the right track as I worked through this labyrinth.
I owe an equal measure of gratitude to that other instigator of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, Chris Masters, whose ‘The Moonlight State’ report on ABC’s Four Corners in 1987 changed the state’s history. Thank you, Chris, for your generosity.
Many other journalist colleagues have contributed to this book. I offer a sincere thank you, in particular, to two trusted mates, Des Houghton and Hedley Thomas. Thank you, Des, for reading the page proofs and offering your valuable insights. And Hedley, your advice on portions of the manuscript was gratefully received and implemented.
My gratitude also goes to: Ken Blanch; Alex Mitchell, who, along with Phillip ‘the Captain’ Knightley, has been a mentor for more than twenty-five years; Judith White; David Hickie; Julianne Schultz; Peter Hansen; Evan Whitton; Gerald Stone; Quentin Dempster; Paul Weston; Alan Hall; Michael Praine; the crew, past and present, at Qweekend magazine, the Courier-Mail, including Susan Johnson, Matthew Fynes-Clinton, Trent Dalton, Francis Whiting, Leisa Scott, Amanda Watt, Alison Walsh, Phil Stafford, Anne-Maree Lyons, Sandra Killen, Genevieve Faulkner, David Kelly, Russell Shakespeare, Bruce McMahon, Kylie Lang, Sandy Bresic and Christine Middap. To Mike Colman, friend and colleague, thanks for listening to the hundreds of uninvited reports on the progress of the book. I would also like to pay tribute to Greg Chamberlain. Additional thanks to colleagues Rose Brennan, Ellen-Maree Elliot, and Kara Billsborough. I also offer my gratitude to my friend Tony Reeves, investigative journalist and author, for his wisdom and generosity. I would like to acknowledge, as well, the late Brian ‘the Eagle’ Bolton, Ron Richards and Ric Allen.
The writing of Three Crooked Kings and its sequel was aided and abetted by the understanding and generosity of my senior colleagues at News Queensland. The book would still be in manuscript stage if it wasn’t for the faith and guidance of David Fagan, Queensland editorial director of News Queensland, Michael Crutcher, the editor of the Courier-Mail, and Sue McVay, managing editor, News Queensland. And thank you to all the staff of News Queensland for your forbearance.
I owe a great deal to the library staff at News Queensland for being so welcoming and helpful. The same applies to the staff at the John Oxley Library and the State Library of Queensland. Again, I am indebted to the National Library of Australia’s online digitisation repository, Trove.
Several important books were repeatedly referenced, or directly quoted, throughout these pages, and I would like to thank the authors and publishers for permission to reproduce extracts in Three Crooked Kings:
In Place of Justice by Peter James, The Shield Press, 1974
The Prince and the Premier by David Hickie, Angus & Robertson, 1985
The Road to Fitzgerald and Beyond by Phil Dickie, UQP, 1989
The Hillbilly Dictator by Evan Whitton, ABC Books, 1989
Don’t You Worry About That! by Johannes Bjelke-Petersen, Angus & Robertson, 1990
The Sundown Murders by Peter James, Boolarong Publications, 1990
A Life of Crime by Paul Wilson, Scribe, 1990
Honest Cops by Quentin Dempster, ABC Books, 1992
The Long Blue Line by W. Ross Johnston, Boolarong Press, 1992
Trial and Error by Don Lane, Boolarong Press, 1993
Reform in Policing: Lessons from the Whitrod Era by Jill M. Bolen, Hawkins Press, 1997
The Tangled Web by Des Sturgess, Bedside Books, 2001
Before I Sleep by Ray Whitrod, UQP, 2001
It’s Only Rock’n’Roll But I Like It by Geoffrey Walden, QUT, 2003
The Bagman by Jack Herbert with Tom Gilling, ABC Books, 2004
Quotes were also taken from an extensive interview conducted with Ray Whitrod by Robin Hughes for the Australian Biography project in 2000. Thanks to the National Film and Sound Archive for permission to reproduce extracts from the interview transcript in Three Crooked Kings. I would also like to acknowledge use of quotes from an interview with Sir Thomas Hiley by Andrew Philp in 1987. Additionally, I came late to The Most Dangerous Detective: The Outrageous Glen Patrick Hallahan (ebook, 2012) by Steve Bishop, a superlative piece of investigative journalism.
I owe a great deal to all at the University of Queensland Press for coming on this journey with me. As publishers of books by Dickie and Whitrod, it made sense that Three Crooked Kings and its sequel should find a natural home at UQP. Thank you to CEO Greg Bain for being such a powerful supporter of both Queensland (and national) writing, and the cultural future of the state. Publisher Madonna Duffy, your courage drove this book to completion and I offer you my professional thanks and an enormous personal admiration. Thank you, Rebecca Roberts, for a superb edit; Teagan Kum Sing, for great work on the permissions; and Meredene Hill for your attention to detail, professional support and the laughs. Thank you, John Hunter, for your early engagement with, and enthusiasm for, the project.
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to my wonderful wife, Katie Kate, and our children, Finnigan and Bridie Rose, for putting up with my long absences and hours locked away in the study. All that I do is for you.
Index
The page numbers in this index refer to the page numbers of the printed book and are reproduced here for reference only. Please use the search facility of your device to find the relevant entry.
abortion investigation 46–8
Adelaide 11, 62
Adelaide CIB 21, 64
Albert Street brothel 68
Alice Springs 62
Allan, Police Commissioner Norm 207–8, 252, 263–4
Allen, Ric 278, 279
Anderson, James ‘Paddles’ 307
Arantz, Phillip 262–3
Arkins, Karl 300, 307
Armstrong, T.N. 136–7
Askin, Premier Robert 208, 263
Athenian Club 41
Atherton 2, 11, 24, 68, 284
Austin, Len 102
Australian National University (ANU) 125
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) 22, 36–7
counter-espionage 22–3
Bahnemann, Ada Louise Ruby 50, 51–2, 70, 76, 77, 80, 82–3, 197
Bahnemann, Gunther ‘Gunner’ 50–2, 58, 76–82, 92, 127–9, 160
Hoodlum 128–9
I Deserted Rommel 127
Bahnemann, Vera 51
Bailey, Patricia 63–5
Bailey, Raymond John 63–6
Bakhash, Bob 61
Bakhash, Joe 61
Barlow, Val 215, 244, 253
Bauer, Norwin ‘Norm’ 19, 29, 60–1, 64, 66, 74, 85, 87, 108, 133, 135, 138, 146, 162, 178, 201–3, 204, 218, 229
Beattie, Peter 246
Becker, Don 60–1, 250, 275, 276
Beer, Ross 193–4, 204
Behm, Calliope Claire 118–19
Behm, Clyde 118–19
Belfast Hotel 221, 287–8
Bell, John 101, 298–9
Bennett, Brian 241–3, 289–90
Bennett, Colin 35–6, 38, 93–7, 104–7, 112–13, 120–1, 136, 162, 170, 177, 200, 224, 226, 238, 239, 254, 263, 264, 264–6, 268, 276, 277–8, 279, 285, 288, 296
Bischof/Fels allegations 119–22, 124
‘Brifman briefcase’ 143, 239
corruption evidence 142–7, 149
Murphy letters 264–5
Bennett, Colin (son) 94–6
Bennett, Eileen 93, 94–6, 107, 279
Bennett, Mary 94–7, 106, 144, 2
36, 277–8
Birdland 102
Bischof, Dorothy 56, 120, 223
Bischof, Francis (Frank) 11, 12, 16, 19, 20–1, 27, 30, 31, 33, 35–6, 39, 41, 43, 45, 48, 49, 54–7, 60, 65, 66, 70–5, 83–4, 86–8, 92, 93, 102, 104–5, 107, 108, 109–11, 112–13, 117–18, 125–6, 135, 138–40, 143–4, 146, 148, 156–8, 162–5, 170, 175–6, 181, 200, 213, 219, 238, 311
appointment as police commissioner 55–6, 61
Bodgie Squad 75, 101
bribes 41–2, 49, 70–1
defamation suit against Fels 123–4, 153, 176–7
Father of the Year 93, 119, 139
Fels’s allegations 119–24
gambling 110
health 197–8
‘Mr Baystone’ betting scam 110, 130
retirement 200–2, 222–4
shoplifting charge 313–15
Bjelke-Petersen, Johannes 12, 199, 200–2, 214, 226, 229, 240, 243–4, 245, 248–9, 320, 322, 324, 325, 326, 327–34
Blanch, Ken ‘Digger’ 71, 86, 140, 205, 220–1, 243–4
Boggo Road gaol 27, 48, 82, 92, 127–8
Bolton, Brian ‘the Eagle’ 278, 296, 298, 301, 304
Borg, Joe ‘the Writer’ 197
Bowman, Marian 62
Bowman, Peter 61
Bowman, Thyra 61–2
Bowman, Wendy 62
Brifman, Helen 238, 280, 282
Brifman, Mary Anne 2, 69, 180, 196, 226, 227, 228, 234, 238, 278–9, 280, 281–3
boyfriend Graham 279–84
Brifman, Shirley Margaret (nee Emerson) 12, 23–5, 39, 52, 68, 69–70, 87–8, 92, 107–9, 111, 133, 143, 148–9, 156–8, 160–1, 162, 163–4, 191, 194, 207–9, 277–82, 288
addiction to sedatives 204
brothel madam 195–7, 204, 207, 225
cancer claims 277, 278, 279
childhood 12
Corrie, relationship with 188
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