Milperra massacre

The Milperra Massacre was a firearm battle between rival motorcycle gang members on September 2 (Father's Day) 1984, in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney. The massacre had its beginnings after a group of Comancheros broke away and formed the first Bandidos Motorcycle Club chapter in Australia resulting in intense rivalry between the two chapters. Seven people were killed: six motorcycle gang members and a fourteen year old female bystander.

Prelude

Bandidos colours

Comanchero colours

Police believe that the war began over turf or drugs, however, the clubs at that time had a strong no drugs policy and Colin Ceasar Campbell, former Sergeant-at-Arms of the Harris Park based Comancheros and then President of the Birchgrove chapter until they were "patched" as Bandidos, points to the acrimony of the split as the sole reason. According to Campbell, in late 1983, one of his brothers and another Comanchero had called on another member and caught Comanchero president Jock Ross in a compromising position with the members wife. As Sergeant-at-Arms, he ordered Ross to face charges of breaking one of the 10 firm rules the club observed. If found guilty, Ross would have been expelled from the club. Ross failed to appear at the first two scheduled meetings and after arriving at the third, simply announced that the club would be split into two chapters and walked out. Campbell, his four brothers, the three McElwaine brothers, Anthony Snodgrass Spencer (Snoddy), Charles Charlie Sciberras and several others who supported bringing charges against Ross set up a new Comanchero chapter in Birchgrove.

During the club's 1983 Christmas run fighting broke out between the two groups prompting the Birchgrove chapter to break away and form a new club. Spencer, who had visited several outlaw clubs in America two years earlier, contacted the president of the Bandidos' Albuquerque chapter and within 10 days received approval to form an Australian Bandidos chapter with Spencer as President. Clubhouse attacks and other violence continued until August when Campbell alleged that Spencer and Ross "declared war" in a phone call.^[1]

The massacre

An advertisment for an annual "British motorcycle swap meet" was placed in a few local press releases, to be held at the Viking Tavern, with a scheduled start at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 2, 1984.

On Sunday September 2, 1984 at around 1 pm, 19 heavily armed Comancheros entered the carpark of the Viking Tavern during the motorcycle swap meet and took up positions in hiding. Using walkie-talkie's for communication, Comanchero "Supreme Commander", William George "Jock" Ross, who had founded the Comancheros in 1968, intended to stand in the open to give the appearance he was alone, hoping to draw the Bandidos into a "Bullhorn Ambush" based on one he read about that had been used in the Boer War. However, he was distracted by the presence of members of a rival club: the "Mobshitters" and went to the back of the tavern to ensure they were not going to get involved. The Bandidos were late, and thinking that they were not coming, some of the Comancheros went into the Viking Tavern bar. Approximately 20 minutes later, 34 Bandidos arrived with a back-up car carrying weapons following close behind. Caught off-guard, the Comancheros were scattered around the car park when the Bandido's arrived. The Bandido's pulled up in a group at the western end of the car park and after distributing guns and weapons, moved to confront the Comancheros present. The initial confrontation between the clubs was verbal, involving the brandishing of "non-lethal" weapons and challenges to "dump the guns and settle this like men" but ended with the involuntary discharge of a shotgun into the air. The accidental discharge was the catalyst for the battle, contrary to some newspaper reports, there was no "charge toward one another", nor were formal "battle lines" drawn. Once the first shot was fired it evolved into a series of bashings and kickings with sporadic gunfire. Bandido Gregory "Shadow" Campbell was killed almost immediately. After realising he'd been caught off-guard and not having had the chance to set up a formal battle plan, "Jock" Ross ran from the back of the tavern holding a machete in one hand and a pick handle in the other. Almost immediately he was hit in the foot by shotgun pellets. Staggering on he was then hit again in the head and chest and collapsed. ^{[2] [3]}

Police responded after receiving reports that "a man" had gone berserk with a rifle at the Viking Tavern in Milperra and "a few shots" had been fired. The fighting continued for at least 10 minutes while police helicopters circled overhead with members of the public fleeing to the tavern and nearby properties as soon as the shooting started. The first of more than 200 police arrived 15 minutes after the fighting ended and cordoned off the area. Two Comancheros had died from shotgun wounds, another two Comancheros died after being shot with a Rossi .357 magnum rifle, two Bandidos died from shotgun wounds and a 14-year-old bystander, Leanne Walters, also died after being hit in the face by a stray .357 bullet. A further 28 people were wounded with 20 requiring hospitalisation.

Mark Pennington, one of the first policemen on the scene, was later awarded $380,000 compensation for psychological damage. Bandido John "Wack" Campbell never fully recovered from the injuries he received and died in 1987 from complications. Comanchero president William "Jock" Ross suffered a brain injury after being shot in the head, losing much of his vision he also lost the ability to read and write.^[4]

Victims

Comancheros

• Tony "Dog" McCoy
• Robert "Foghorn" Lane (Foggy)
• Ivan "Sparrow" Romcek
• Phillip "Leroy" Jeschke. Comanchero "Sergeant At Arms"

Bandidos

• Mario "Chopper" Cianter
• Gregory "Shadow" Campbell

Bystander

• Leanne Walters

Aftermath

As a result of the massacre, the New South Wales Firearms and Dangerous Weapons Act 1973 was subsequently amended. The court case following the "Milperra Massacre" was at the time one of the largest in Australian history. In total forty-three people were originally charged with seven counts of murder under the doctrine of "common purpose".^[5] Christopher Murphy, Solicitor, acted for the Bandidos' members charged as a result of the incident. Greg James QC, as he then was, represented all but one of the Bandidos' members during their trial, that being Colin Campbell. Greg James QC was Juniored by a number of Junior including Kenneth Rosin, Andrew Martin, and Philip Young. Mr. Campbell was represented by Mr Greg Woods QC, as he then was. Anthony Spencer, the Bandidos president, hanged himself in prison before he could stand trial.

During the longest joint criminal trial in NSW history, 58 policemen provided security including armed members of the Tactical Operations Unit who were stationed in the courtroom and witnesses required armed guards from the Witness Security Unit to escort them home. With 31 accused, each by law able to reject 20 jurors without giving a reason, 1,500 jurors were called up and housed at the Penrith Leagues Club to await selection. The first day of selection saw only five jurors accepted from 208 presented, the following day it was found that two were inelligible with justice Roden dismissing all five and ordering that jury selection begin again. Eventually some 1,000 jurors were presented before 12 were found acceptable to sit on the case. More than two years later, on June 12, 1987, the jury delivered 63 murder convictions, 147 manslaughter convictions and 31 of affray. The judge in the case named the instigator of the violence as William "Jock" Ross, the "supreme commander" of the Comancheros, saying "Ross was primarily responsible for the decision that members of his club go to Milperra in force and armed". Ross received a life sentence for his role in the violence.

Eight other members of the Comancheros gang received life sentences and 16 Bandidos received sentences of seven years for manslaughter. Interestingly, as the Bandidos arrested were charged in regards to all the deaths, this resulted in Colin Campbell being found guilty of the manslaughter of his own brother. Another Campbell brother, John "Wack" Campbell, died three years later from the injuries he received that day. Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer Philip McElwaine was the only motorcycle club member to be acquitted at trial of the manslaughter and murder charges that were brought against him.^[6]

2007

In a repeat of the circumstances that led to the Milperra massacre, in early 2007 more than 60 members of the Parramatta and Granville chapters of the Nomads, previously affiliated with the Comancheros, defected to the Bandidos. The defection resulted in a new eruption of violence between the Comancheros and Bandidos involving fire-bombings and drive-by shootings.^[7] New South Wales Police set up Operation Ranmore to stop the violence escalating, which has resulted in 340 people arrested on 883 charges as of January 2008.^[8]

Movie plans

In 2002, Australian film maker Martin Brown produced a documentary titled 1% One Percenters Search For A Screenplay in an effort to raise interest for a big budget movie of the massacre. The documentary, first aired on 2 February 2003, follows Brown as he looks for screenwriters, funds and a director for his movie. It includes interviews with the police investigating officer, ex superintendent Ron Stephenson, Comanchero president "Jock" Ross, Bandido vice president "Bullets" and several other Milperra survivors.^[9]

Books

• Lindsay Simpson, Sandra Harvey Brothers in Arms Allen & Unwin 2001 ISBN 9781865085012
• Colin "Caesar" Campbell, Donna Campbell Wrecking Crew Macmillan Publishers 2011 ISBN 9781742628325
• Felicity Zeiher Milperra Massacre: Through the Eyes of Snake Rukus Industries 2009 ISBN 9780980633504

Television mini-series

A television mini-series Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, based on the book Brothers in Arms by Lindsay Simpson and Sandra Harvey, screened on Australias Network Ten in May 2012. The screenplay was written by Greg Haddrick, Roger Simpson and Jo Martino. It is directed by Peter Andrikidis.^[10] It stars Callan Mulvey, Matthew Nable, Susie Porter, Maeve Dermody, Anthony Hayes, Todd Lasance, Luke Ford, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Damian Walshe-Howling, Nathaniel Dean and Luke Hemsworth.

Colin Caesar Campbell has critisized the series for a lack of consultation with those who were there, its incorrect chronology of events, errors in motives and the portrayal of "lazy stereotypes".^[11]

See also

City of Bankstown portal

• List of disasters in Australia by death toll

References

External links

• NSW Police History of Firearms legislation