Loving father and father-in-law of Mark and Bronwyn, Stephen and Sue, Terry and Sue, Joe and Bronwyn, Anne-Marie, Kate and Richard, Jenny, Lisa and Peter.
Cherished grandfather of fourteen and great-grandfather of seven.
Brother of John (Jock), Patrick (Paddy) Mary (Francie), Lawrence (Lawrie), Sheila (Peg) and Dorothy (Dot) (all deceased).
Always in our hearts.
Liturgy of the Word for Mr William Broderick will be offered in the Holy Cross Catholic Church, Humphreys Road, Kincumber on Monday, February 3, 2025 commencing at 11.00am.
The funeral will leave the church at the conclusion of the Mass for Wamberal Cemetery, Ulamba Avenue, Wamberal.
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald on Jan. 29, 2025.
New South Wales Historic Police Museum 29 April 2021 NSW Police Department, this is almost the full complement of Hornsby STP 1964 ( there are always a few missing ) From the right – Harvey Juergens – Graeme Fraser – Barry Dening – Peter McCloskey – Bill Broderick – Ron Savage – Bob Dick Jim Stokes (OIC) Allan Pollock and then they get a bit hard to recognise. Courtesy Dave Morris
Dave Morris 29 April 2021 Another gem. This one from Harvey Juergens. Hornsby STP 1964 – from the left Bob Dick – Jim Cavanagh – Bill Broderick – Graeme Fraser – Peter McCloskey – Barry Dening and Harvey on the end. There were 22 bikes at Hornsby plus the boss had an outfit – prior to the Coopers. These appear to be Thunderbirds and a Matchless on the end. The screens are non issue at that time – booked out to the OIC’s outfit and fitted up by the troops themselves.
* Story behind any Nickname:
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Formerly of Campbelltown & Broken Hill, NSW Late of Kiama, NSW
Relations in ‘the job’:
“possible” relation in ‘the job‘: ?
NSW Police Training College – Penrith – Class # “possibly” 036
NSW Police Cadet # 0674
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 6673
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy as a Police Cadet on Monday 28 July 1947 ( aged 16 years, 1 month, 24 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed Sunday 4 June 1950 ( aged 19 years, 0 months, 0 days )
Constable – appointed 4 June 1951
Constable 1st Class – appointed 4 June 1957
Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( NO )
Senior Constable – appointed 4 June 1962
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( N/A )
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1 July 1967
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 1 April 1974
Sergeant 1st Class – appointed 7 March 1977
Inspector – appointed 13 July 1981
Chief Inspector – appointed ? ? ?
Superintendent – appointed ? ? ?
Chief Superintendent – appointed 8 May 1985
Final Rank: = Chief Superintendent
Stations:
Police Cadet Lindsay John GORDON, a former Assistant Mechanic, and Rubber worker, entered the Police College at Penrith and joined the NSW Police Cadets. Following his induction he was station at 20 Division ( HQ ) in July 1947 at the Motor Vehicle Yard ( later called Four Wheels ).
In January 1948 he was transferred to # 10 Division ( Paddington ).
In May 1948 he was transferred to the C.I.B. Modus Operandi Section ( M.O. )
In October 1948 he was transferred to # 15 Division ( Daceyville ).
In January 1949 he was transferred to # 3 Division ( Darlinghurst ).
In April 1949 he was transferred to the Police Recruiting Office ( 20 Division H.Q. ).
In October 1949 he was transferred to # 19 Division ( Wollongong Traffic Office ). ( Wollongong was later to become 82 Division )
He then returned to the Police College, Penrith, to commence his Initial Training.
Police Officer Lindsay John GORDON was then Stationed:
Wollongong Police Station ( 19 Division )( ProCst – Cst )( June 1950 – 1954 ),
Wollongong Solo Cyclist on the S.T.P. ( Cst )( 1954 – February 1956 ),
Wollongong GDs & the Inspector’s Clerk, ( 19 Division )( Feb 1956 – August 1960 )
Unanderra GDs ( O.I.C. )( 19 Division )( August 1960 – May 1974 )( Cst 1/c – Sgt 2/c ),
Dapto GDs,
Campbelltown GDs ( 35 Division )( May 1974 – September 1977 )( Sgt 2/c – Sgt 1/c ),
Camden GDs ( O.I.C. )( 35 Division )( September 1977 – August 1980 )( Sgt 1/c ),
Fairfield GDs ( 34 Division )( August 1980 – August 1981 )( Sgt 1/c – Inspector ),
Broken Hill ( Assistant Officer )( August 1981 – July 1983 )( Inspector – Divisional Officer-in-Charge ),
Broken Hill ; Divisional Officer-in-Charge )( July 1983 – )
Liverpool District Commander ( 22 Division )( 1987 – October 1989 )( C/Supt. ),
Retirement ( Optional Retirement )
Source: Liverpool Time Line by Joe Stanioch.
Time employed ( Paid ) with NSW Police: From: 28 July 1947 to ? October 1989 = 42 years, ? months, ? days
Service ( From Training Date ) period: From 28 July 1947to? October 1989= 42 years, ? months, ? days Service
Retirement / Leaving age: = 58 years, 3 months, ? days
Time in Retirement from Police: 35 years, ? months, ? days
Awards: Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal – granted April 1973
Australian Police Medal – granted 26 January 1989 ( C/Supt )
Commendation: with Constable C.G. GARDINER for their actions on the 24 December 1961, whilst off duty, at Wollongong in effecting the arrest of two youths who had alighted from a motor vehicle and attempted to molest a girl and place her in the vehicle. Signed N.T.W. ALLAN, Commissioner of Police.
Commendation: for Good Teamwork on the 9th December 1962 in effecting the arrest of Allan Atela PAPP and Andrew Herbert STODDARD, two very active criminals who were subsequently charged with break, enter and steal at the Wollongong Bowling and Recreation Club. Signed N.T.W. ALLAN, Commissioner of Police.
Commendation: for courage and initiative displayed at Port Kembla on the 28th March 1972 when he approached a mentally disturbed man armed with a loaded automatic pistol with which he was threatening persons seated in dining room. After momentarily surprising the man, he effected his arrest. Signed. L.F. NEWMAN, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police.
THURSDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2014 RETIRED POLICE DAY HELD AT LAKE ILLAWARRA POLICE STATION, OAK FLATS. LINDSAY GORDON HIS WIFE, GLORIA, DIED ON MONDAY 7 DECEMBER 2015 – AGED 81
Passed away peacefully on Friday 31st January 2025.
Beloved husband of the late Gloria.
Dearly loved father and father-in-law of Lynne and Phil, Julie and David, and Raylene.
Cherished Pa to Daniel, Natasha, Josh, Kirsten, Amy, and
great Pa to Jack, Penny, Amelia, Luke, Fletcher, Remy, Olive, Tyson and Ryan.
Lindsay will be sadly missed by his loving family and many dear friends.
Re-united with Gloria
Forever in our Hearts
Relatives and friends are invited to attend Lindsay’s funeral service to be held at H Parsons Funeral Home, 125 Manning Street Kiama on Friday 7th February 2025 at 10am.
THURSDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2014 RETIRED POLICE DAY HELD AT LAKE ILLAWARRA POLICE STATION, OAK FLATS. LINDSAY GORDON HIS WIFE, GLORIA, DIED ON MONDAY 7 DECEMBER 2015 – AGED 81 https://www.australianpolice.com.au/gloria-gordon/
1979 : Camden police were out to ‘cop the lot’ in local sporting events this year after winning back the “Albert Baker Shield” in the annual inter-service club relay swimming competition recently. Competing against Camden Rotary, Camden Apex Club and Macarthur Apex, the Police won the eight-a-side relay by about a metre from the Rotarians. The relay event, consisted of two laps across Camden pool by each teamster. The Shield was established 13 years ago. Previously won by the Police in 1975 and 1976. The victorious Camden Police team back row from left: SenCon Tom BOWMAN # 10876, Cst Bill SYMONDS # 17008, Cst Terry ISRAEL # 16308, Cst Mark WARREN # 17251 & P/Cst Paul DALEY # 18001. Front Row: SenCon Bill PICKERTON, Sgt 2/c Denis DACK # 7851, Sgt 1/c Lindsay GORDON # 6673, Cst Warren SHIEL # 17671? & Cst 1/c Brian LANNON pictured at the Camden Pool last week. Camden News – April 1979
A 20-years-old Corrimal carpenter who punched a policeman and thought he was still fighting another man was fined a total of £15 yesterday.
The carpenter; Eric Blain, of Robson Street, Corrimal, pleaded guilty to three charges in the Wollongong Petty Sessions.
He was charged with offensive behaviour in the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, Church Street, Wollongong, on November 23, assaulting Constable Lindsay John Gordon and resisting arrest.
Constable Gordon said he pushed his way through a crowd at the dance in the Soldiers’ Hall and found Blain and another man fighting. He said he told them to ” break it up: ‘
” COUPLE OF SWINGS “
Blain had taken a ” couple of swings at him and hit him on the side of the face and body, the constable added. When he attempted to arrest Blain, Blain had resisted violently, the constable said. The other man had disappeared into the crowd, he added.
The constable told Mr. E. Beale, for Blain, that investigations had revealed the other man had struck first. He agreed that Blain may have thought he was still fighting the other man. Mr. J. Fleeman, S.M., fined Blain £5 on each charge.
A thief forced a wardrobe of Constable Lindsay John Gordon last night and stole his pistol, eight rounds of ammunition, a pair of hand-cuffs, and a baton, Police say that the theft occurred between 8 p.m. and 11.50 pan. Const. Gordon, who is attached to Wollongong Police, lives in s boarding house.
* Story behind any Nickname: Snowy – due to his white hair.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
Det Course 2 of 1977 – grudge touch footie game for a keg – city v country. Belmore Park, Redfern. ( L – R ): ?, ?, ?, Bernie WOOD, ?, ?, ?, ?
* Story behind any Nickname:
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At this stage we are going to do a ( bicycle ) ride to celebrate the life of Kath Haines.
The plan:
Meeting at Thomas Humphreys Reserve at Swansea on Sunday 2nd March 2025 at about 7.30 am departing about 8 am and riding to Adamstown and back to Swansea along the Fernleigh Track.
Approximate distance 50 km
If you would like to join us for all or part of the ride please let me know.
Places I would suggest joining the ride if you don’t want to do the whole ride:
Belmont TAFE
Redhead car park (Liles Oval)
Whitebridge (near shops)
Approximate times for the different locations will post later on as we will do a couple of test rides to give people an idea of the time it takes to complete different sections.
This is a ride to celebrate the life of one of the most amazing people I’ve had the honour of meeting and calling my friend.
Kathryn Michelle HAINES AKA Kath HAINES, Kathryn HAINES, HAINSEY Bob Staddon 27 January 2025 This was the ride we did only few weeks before she died
This may not be the time but, I recall one afternoon shift working the truck at Toukley and The Entrance truck called urgent to a pool hall around the corner from the police station. We raced over and were met by a tattooed angry giant who had just got out of Long Bay and was fairly off his face on gear.
He spotted us, grabbed a pool cue and started towards us. He said through gritted teeth that he hated cops and was going to flog us.
Kath calmly pulled out the long baton and replied ”I hate loud mouthed shitheads so I will do the flogging! ” He stopped, put down the pool cue and put his hand out to be cuffed. “ Sorry miss ” was his reply and he walked to the truck.
Ballsy lady that one.
Luv you Hainsey
* Story behind any Nickname:
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It is with deep sadness we share that Doug Taylor, formerly of Cooma, passed away peacefully on Thursday 16 January 2025 aged 77 years at Caloundra, Queensland.
Husband to Heather, Father and Father-in-law to Rachel and Scott, Lyndon and Bec. Grand Father to Reece, Charlotte, Kane ( Dec ), Cameron and Abbey.
Doug was born in South Australia on the 10th February 1947. The family moved to Sydney when he was young and this is where he grew up. Sydney was where he met Heather and they were married in 1969.
In 1974 he was recruited to NSW Police, he then spent the next few years transferring between stations in Sydney as a General Duties Officer and then Highway Patrol. In the early 80s Doug moved his family to Rocky Plains Road near Berridale to continue his career with NSW Police in a quiet country town called Cooma. After a few short years the family purchased a small property in Bunyanvale.
In 1992 a major restructure occurred within NSW Police and he had to make a huge decision, to relocate back to Sydney to continue his career or call time after nearly 20 years as a Police Officer. An opportunity presented itself to purchase Cooma Fish Market from the Havu family, our family loved Cooma and we were established here, so the decision was made and his career as a police officer ended. From a career that involved escorting public dignitaries such as serving Presidents of the United States, members of the Royal Family, one of the first officers in establishing the NSW Police Trail-bike squad to now learning how to fillet fish and cook fish and chips.
Doug and family operated Cooma Fish Market for 10 years until it was sold in 2002. he then took up a job selling electrical appliances at Retravision / Betta Electrical in Cooma. His career had taken a full circle as this was his job prior to being recruited to NSW Police. He then worked there up until 2012 when the decision was made to finally retire. he and Heather packed up and moved to Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast of Qld to enjoy retirement.
In 2018 his health started declining and he was later diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, the last 3 years he has spent in the Bolton Clarke aged care facility in Caloundra which is where he passed away peacefully on the morning of Thursday 16 January.
Dad was a remarkable man, was always up for a yearn and was always willing to give his time to help others.
A private family memorial service will take place in February 2025 in Caloundra, Qld.
* Story behind any Nickname:
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Deputy Commissioner of Police, Neil TAYLOR # 9204 pictured with the Patrol Commander, Dennis WALPOLE # 11140 during the Deputy Commission’s visit to Picton Station.
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NSW Police Training college – Penrith – Class # 03?
NSW Police Cadet # 1008
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 8344
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy as a Police Cadet on Monday 2 June 1952 ( aged 15 years, 1 month, 30 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed Tuesday 3 April 1956 ( aged 19 years, 0 months, 0 days )
Constable – appointed 3 April 1957
Constable 1st Class – appointed 3 April 1962
Detective – appointed ? June 1963
Senior Constable – appointed 3 April 1967
Leading Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ? ( N/A )
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 20 July 1972
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? July 1979
Sergeant 1st Class – appointed 1 January 1983
Inspector – appointed 6 April 1988
Final Rank: = Detective Inspector
Stations:
As a Cadet: Newtown ( 5 Division )( June 1952 ), ( 20 Division )( September 1952 ), C.I.B. – M.O. Section ( Modus Operandi Section )( 20 Division )( March 1953 ), Campsie ( 13 Division )( Traffic Room )( June 1953 ), Darlinghurst ( 3 Division )( Plain Cloths room )( November 1953 ), Newcastle ( January 1954 ), Campsie ( 13 Division )( Plain Cloths room )( June 1954 ), Traffic Branch ( 20 Division )( September 1954 ), Petersham ( 11 Division )( Station Duties )( January 1955 ), Traffic Branch ( January 1956 ), Redfern Police Academy ( Redfern )( late February 1956 )( Initial Training )
As a Sworn Policeman: Phillip St ( 4 Division )( 4 April 1956 )( GDs and Station Reserve Constable ), 21 Division C.I. Duties ( June 1960 ), Burwood ( 9 Division )( C.I. Duties )( December 1961 ), Liverpool ( 22 Division )( Dets )( November 1965 ), Campbelltown ( 35 Division )( Dets )( November 1968 )( Was one of four Detectives transferred from Liverpool to Campbelltown ( which was a sub-station of Liverpool – 22 Division ) to open the initial Detectives Office where, in July 1972 he was promoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant 3/c. Jack went to Campbelltown with Det Sgt 3/c D.W. ‘Bill’ Newall, Det Cst 1/c Rodger Hall & Det Cst Dave McDonald ), Lidcombe ( 32 Division )( Dets )( December 1974 ), Public Transport Command ( Dets )( August 1976 ), Burwood ( 9 Division )( Dets )( March 1981 ), 9 Divisional Detective Sergeant-in-Charge ( September 1982 ), ( Fairfield )( 34 Division )( Dets – Divisional Det Sergeant-in-Charge, O.I.C. ), Liverpool District Office ( 22 Division ) – Optional Retirement
Time employed ( Paid ) with NSW Police: From: 2 June 1952 to 13 March 1990 ( Optional Retirement ) = 36 years, 9 months, 11 days
Service ( From Training Date ) period: From 2 June 1952 to 13 March 1990 ( Optional Retirement ) = 36 years, 9months, 11 days Service
Retirement / Leaving age: = 51 years, 11 months, 10 days
Time in Retirement from Police: 35 years, 10 months, 13 days
Awards: No Find on the Australian Honours system – however:
Police Long Service & Good Conduct Medal – granted November 1978
Commendation: for his actions as a member of the team investigating all aspects of the derailment and the collation and presentation of evidence following the Granville Rail Disaster on the 18 January 1977. Signed Mervyn T. Wood, Commissioner of Police
Born: Saturday 3 April 1937
Died on: Wednesday 15 January 2025
Age: 87 years, 9 months, 12 days
Organ Donor: No – Age prohibitive
Cause: ?
Event location: ?
Event / Diagnosis date: ?
Funeral date: Tuesday 4 February 2025 @ 10.30am
Funeral location: St Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church, 421 Ocean Dve, Laurieton, NSW
ALL Friends and colleagues and welcome to attend
the Mid North Coast Police District will provide an Officer the the Church
Back in the day (1970s) when I was doing my ‘A’ list at Lidcombe Detectives I was partnered up with a very ‘Old School’ Detective Sergeant named Jack Hilder. Never before and never since have I worked with anyone who could consume Alcohol like him.
Jack was suffering from a hangover from a stint at the Catholic Club the night before and we had to do an inquiry in the very posh suburb of South Strathfield where Big houses and money were the norm.
We were invited into this very big home by a very posh middle aged Lady who wore diamond earrings and pearls and stepped into a very large Hallway with cloakrooms and ‘powder rooms’ off to left and right. Jack says to the Posh lady “Can I use your Toilet please, the Constable will start taking the details”.
I take out my notebook as Jack enters the ‘Powder room’ but only half closes the door. As I’m talking to the lady I hear the sound of Jack peeing into the middle of the water in the toilet. It sounded like a Cart horse peeing into a bucket of water. The lady and I just looked at each other, she with her mouth open and suddenly her eyes opened even wider and she gasped as this extremely loud FART emanated from the Powder room and resonated throughout the hallway.
Jack then came out still zipping up his fly. I don’t know who was the more embarrassed, her or me.
Overview of Liverpool ‘I’ District Bulls Police Rugby League Football Club, later known as the Macarthur Bulls Police Rugby League Football Club.
Liverpool ‘I’ District Police Rugby League was an inaugural member of the NSW Police Rugby League Competition formed in 1970.
The teams later competed annually for the ‘Fred Hanson Shield’ – he was Police Commissioner 1972 to 1976.
The team was co-ordinated from the Liverpool Detectives Office by Detective Sergeants Leo Purcell, Jack Hilder and assisted by Detective Senior Constable Pat Casey.
Another local, Detective Sergeant Frank Owens was a keen supporter of the Police Rugby League, but sadly he suffered a heart attack and died whilst watching a game at Moore Park, in May 1970.
Liverpool Detectives decided to donate a ‘Shield’ honouring Frank Owens, which they named the ‘Frank Owens Memorial Best and Fairest Trophy’.
Mrs Owens attended the Clubs presentation nights for several years presenting the trophy in memory of her husband.
Around 1975, the Club was co-ordinated from Green Valley Police Station by Mel Clews, Fred Whitton, Barry Ryan, Alan Stephens, Mick Rees, Colin Cameron and Stephen Reeves.
The ‘Frank Owens Shield‘ remained until 1989, when a new shield was struck honouring Constable 1/c. Mark Burns, a former player who was tragically killed in a motor vehicle collision, whilst on duty.
The shield was donated by Stephen Reeves and named the ‘Mark Shrimpy Burns Memorial Best and Fairest Shield‘ and was presented until 2019.
Source: Liverpool ( NSW ) Police Time Line ( 1788 – 2022 ) by Joe Stanioch.
* Story behind any Nickname:
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Det Cst 1/c Graham CLARK, P.C. Cst 1/c Stephen GORDON, Det Cst 1/c John DAVIDSON, Det Cst 1/c Stephen McCLELLAND, Det SenCon John LARKIN, Det SenCon Dennis HOLDMAN, Det SenCst Ted McCARTHY
Middle Row
Det SenCon John BRENNAN, P.C. Cst Bill BRANDER, Det SenCon Stephen LIVERSIDGE, Det SenCon Bill SUTTON, P.C. Cst 1/c Rod BRYAN, P.C. Cst 1/c Peter WHALAN, P.C. Cst 1/c Shayne McANULTY
Front Row
Det Sgt 3/c Jim THORNTHWAITE, Det Sgt 3/c Ken WATERS, Det Sgt 2.c Allen HALLIDAY, Det Sgt 1/c Russ COOK , Det Sgt 3/c Ray HALLAM, Det Sgt 3/c Brian BORTHWICH, P.C. P/W Const 1/c Jenny COUPER
Mark DAVIDSON & John Stuart DAVIDSON
Daily Telegraph – 15 January 2025
Class 127
Al Sparkes
20 January 2025
I have done my best to copy this article from the Daily Mail, a UK News Paper. Its a story about many stories about Davo, the great man. Unfortunately, the actual article is behind a pay wall and I cannot share it from the web. Many thanks to Ray Lambie for his contribution to the story. Unfortunately I wasnt able to place the photographs in with the story but have attached them as best I could.
Two anecdotes repeatedly come up when old cops remember legendary detective inspector John Davidson, who died in a Sydney aged care facility last week aged 75.
One is how Davidson walked into an Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry hearing dressed in a bright red suit in the early 1990s.
‘If I’m going to a circus,’ the always colourful and wildly eccentric character said, ‘I’m going to dress like a clown.’
The second vignette is how Davidson seized a .357 Magnum revolver from Neddy Smith after arresting the notorious gangster in a foiled armed robbery and kept to it carry as his own sidearm.
The suit stunt, which occurred when ICAC was investigating the relationship between NSW police and criminals, showed Davidson’s disdain for dealing with what he once called the ‘complaint industry’.
The revolver story was part of a more significant narrative – how Davidson brought to an end one of Australia’s most infamous criminal careers by putting Smith permanently behind bars.
But the tale also has an intriguing twist: one of Smith’s accomplices claims the handgun Davidson took as a trophy that day was actually his and that Smith had been carrying a shotgun.
John Stuart Davidson – ‘Davo’ to his colleagues – was a genuine hard man of the NSW Police Force who served with particular distinction as a member of the ‘Breakers’, or Special Breaking Squad.
Tall and powerfully built, he instilled fear in the felons he pursued and gained a reputation for doing whatever it took to send serious wrongdoers to jail.
He further stood out due to his neatly clipped goatee and a sartorial style which sometimes saw his suits complemented by a pair of crocodile skin or red leather shoes.
Davidson was accused of fabricating confessions and planting evidence to secure convictions against suspects he knew or believed were guilty, earning the nickname ‘Front End Loader’ among some crooks and lawyers.
But unlike his corrupt decade-older contemporary Roger Rogerson – who Davidson dismissed as ‘a poisoned, evil little man’ – no one ever credibly claimed he took a bribe. His desire to deliver a particular version of justice was insatiable.
At the top of Davidson’s hit list of targets was Rogerson’s sometime partner in crime Arthur Stanley ‘Neddy’ Smith, a convicted rapist, major heroin dealer and prolific armed robber.
Smith, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in his mid 30s, claimed crooked cops including Rogerson had given him a ‘green light’ in the early 1980s to commit whatever offences he liked, except murder.
In October 1987, Smith and Glen Roderick Flack were accused of stabbing to death a man called Ronald Flavell during a drunken road rage incident at Coogee in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Both were granted bail and Smith spent much of the next year staging drug rip-offs and other small jobs before turning his attention back upon stripping payroll deliveries at the end of a gun.
‘I kept going back to the armed robberies,’ Smith wrote in his 1993 memoir Neddy. ‘Perhaps I had a death wish. Perhaps I just loved the adrenalin buzz. And perhaps it was just because it was so bloody easy.’
The last big score Smith planned was to intercept the Botany Council Christmas payroll – $160,000 in wages and holiday pay, all in cash – which was to be delivered on December 22, 1988.
Smith, then 44, asked 32-year-old Flack to take part in the robbery. They roped in clean-skin Richard John ‘Harry’ Harris, a 27-year-old boxer and bouncer who had impressed the pair by standing up to them one night in the city at the British Ex Services Club.
The afternoon the heist was to go down in Sydney’s inner-south, Smith cased the Botany Council chambers in Coward Street with Flack and Harris.
Unfortunately for Smith, the trio was spotted by then detective sergeant Davidson, who was driving home to the Sutherland Shire with fellow detectives Wayne Temby and Alan Conwell.
Davidson immediately recognised Smith and Flack but none of the Breakers knew Harris. Those involved have always insisted this random sighting was simply good police work and not the result of a tip-off.
The next morning, Davidson led a team of detectives backed up by the Special Weapons and Operations Squad who lay in wait for the robbers from dawn.
Four SWOS members including Davidson were inside the council chambers, with detective Allan Sparkes on the third floor in an over-watch position, while other police cars were stationed nearby.
Davidson instilled fear in the felons he pursued and gained a reputation for doing whatever it took to put wrongdoers behind bars. He is pictured in 1991 with a birthday cake featuring a likeness of the .357 Magnum he seized after arresting Neddy Smith three years earlier
Davidson would later say his men had ‘the adrenalin running out of their ears’ as they waited for the arrests to go down.
About 7.30am, Harris pulled up in Coward Street in a Ford Econovan with Smith and Flack in the back. Harris then left on foot and returned half an hour later in a Ford Falcon station wagon which he parked across the road behind a bank.
Smith and Flack could not see out of the van and were communicating by walkie-talkie radio with Harris, who was acting as their ‘cockatoo’ and had to be taken out before his accomplices.
When the payroll arrived, a fresh complication arose. Council staff eager to pick up their wages had begun appearing on the footpath and had to be ushered inside.
Once those employees were out of harm’s way, a prearranged signal was given and detectives Ray Lambie and Craig McDonald from the Armed Hold-Up Squad moved on Harris.
The getaway driver was sitting on a loaded .38 police-issue Smith & Wesson it was later revealed had been stolen from a cop’s house in November 1985 but caused little trouble.
In the station wagon police found a black balaclava, baseball cap, walkie-talkie and a kit bag containing a mouth guard – an unexpected item Lambie said Harris later explained.
‘When we were interviewing him he said, “Look, I know I had a gun but I would never have pulled you blokes on – I would have just put my mouth guard in and duked it out”,’ Lambie recalled.
‘He was not a massive bloke, so far as height was concerned, but he was so built that we couldn’t put his arms together at the back to handcuff him.’
McDonald had been amused by Harris’s take on what might have happened if he tried to fight his way out.
‘I told him, “It’s no good trying to punch on when I’ve got a Remington 870 shotgun in my hands”,’ McDonald said.
When Harris was secured, Davidson and the rest of the SWOS team came out of the council chambers to take down Flack and Smith in the van.
‘I ran out with a shotgun and said, “Police! Come out with your hands up”,’ Davidson later told a court.
Smith gave his own self-serving version of what happened in his book Neddy, starting with the armoured truck pulling up to the kerb.
‘The guards got out and started to get the tins,’ he wrote.
‘Just as I was about to pull the door open and take the money from the two guards – it would have been over in seconds – a voice called out: “You, in the back of the van. It’s the police here. Put down your weapons and come out of the van with your hands raised above your heads”.’
Smith said he paused for a second, stunned his plot had come undone, as a cop said: ‘Come out or we will commence firing into the van.’
‘It was the worst feeling I had ever had, like getting caught with your trousers down, so to speak,’ Smith wrote. ‘It wasn’t fear I felt, but disgust at being caught. Trying to escape was useless.’
Council staff watched from the windows – one even took photographs – as Smith slid open the van’s side door before he and Flack put their hands above their heads and stepped out.
‘Guns were pushed up against our heads,’ Smith wrote in Neddy. ‘One cop was nearly frothing at the mouth, he pressed his pump-action shogun up against my neck so hard. He was really uptight.’
Smith said that cop warned him, ‘You weak c***, why don’t you have a go so I can kill you?’ before he and Flack were thrown on the ground and their hands cuffed behind their backs.
‘A shotgun was again pressed against my neck and my hands pulled up as far as they would stretch,’ Smith wrote.
‘Then one low a***hole started to kick me in the face. He was screaming at me all the time: “You f***ing maggot, now I’ve got you. It’s taken me 10 years, now I’ve got you.’
Smith didn’t name that detective but he was referring to Davidson.
‘The boss of the SWOS came over and stopped the crazy cop from kicking me in the face,’ Smith wrote.
‘Then the police started going silly, hugging each other, jumping up and down, slapping their hands together and yelling: “You f***ing beauty, we have got Neddy Smith”.’
Smith, Davidson later said, was ‘rattling around like a a battery toy on the footpath and it wasn’t just his Parkinson’s disease’.
Davidson would claim a council clerk was asked at the scene if he had witnessed any police misconduct during the arrests. According to Davidson, the clerk told him he had seen Smith ‘trying to bite a police officer’s shoe’.
When journalist Neil Mercer was researching his recently published book The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop, which traces the criss-crossing careers of Smith and Rogerson, he asked Davidson if Smith had been given a good kicking at Botany.
‘He might have got a boot in the head – I didn’t see it happen,’ Davidson told Mercer.
A court would hear Smith wanted to know of one of the arresting officers: ‘Why didn’t you shoot me? I’d be better off dead.’ The officer allegedly answered: ‘Well, if you hadn’t dropped the gun, we may have.’
Years later, solicitor Chris Murphy – who despised Smith perhaps even more than Davidson – quoted the detective as having said that pinching Smith was ‘the best day of my life’.
In the van, police found two black balaclavas, a walkie-talkie and carry bag, as well as a sawn-off 12-gauge shotgun and a loaded Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum.
It was this stainless steel-barreled, wooden gripped, six-shot revolver which Davidson later checked into the SWOS armoury then signed out to use as his personal sidearm.
Smith faced further indignity back at the Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills where he was photographed wearing only a T-shirt and boxer shorts.
‘I took his freedom, his gun and then pulled his pants down and took a mugshot in his undies to humiliate him,’ Davidson told his son Mark, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Smith wrote in Neddy: ‘The police centre was like a zoo – and I was the only animal attracting visitors.’
‘The only difference between me and real animals was I didn’t get any peanuts for my performance. The police were continually photographing me.
‘One fool of a policeman tried to get me to pose for photo with him. He stood beside me, then went to put his arm on my shoulder. “F*** off fool, I’m not a f***ing trophy”.’
Smith’s solicitor Val Bellamy arrived at the police station but had almost nothing to do. ‘I knew I didn’t need him, I was finally at the end of my road,’ Smith wrote. ‘There was no way I could get this blue fixed up, no way at all.’
Smith pleaded guilty in September 1989 to conspiring to commit armed robbery and was sentenced to 13 years in jail with a minimum eight years. He also admitted possessing the .357 and sawn-off shotgun.
At the sentencing hearing Davidson had described Smith as ‘by reputation one of the most violent and feared criminals in the state’.
Flack had pleaded guilty a month earlier to his role in the bungled stick-up and got 12 years with a non-parole period of seven.
Smith would spend the rest of his life in prison. He was found guilty in February 1990 of Flavell’s murder and sentenced to life then refused to give evidence against Flack, who the Crown alleged inflicted the fatal wound.
The case against Flack fell apart and he walked on the murder charge. Flack has largely stayed out of the limelight in recent decades and has always tried to avoid publicity but has told associates the firearm Davidson took was his and not Smith’s.
Lambie had not previously heard that claim and said physical descriptions of a gunman wielding a similar weapon in previous robberies matched 195cm (6’5″) tall Smith rather than the much smaller Flack.
‘The issue with the silver pistol was that it turned up in a number of robberies,’ he said. ‘That was the signature for Smith as far as I was aware.’
Retired armed robber Graham ‘Abo’ Henry, who ran with Smith through much of the 1980s and was no friend of Flack’s, said he had not seen his onetime confederate carry such a fearsome handgun.
‘On most occasions if I ever did anything with him all he had him was usually a police .38,’ Henry said of Smith.
‘I’ve never ever seen him with a f***in’ Magnum, ever. I had one but he f***in’ didn’t. I had a big silver c***. That could have been mine for all I know.’
Whoever previously owned the revolver, its new custodian wore the weapon – far more powerful than a standard police .38 – tucked into the back of his belt.
Lambie insisted Davidson had approval from his superiors to carry the imposing hand cannon while he was at work.
‘I remember seeing the report he put in to take possession of it as his own personal weapon for protection purposes because he’d been threatened by organised criminals,’ he said.
Davidson would go on to command Task Force Magnum which was formed in 1991 to investigate a spate of hits on armoured vans and other armed robberies.
He was quizzed about the .357 while giving evidence at a murder trial in July 1995, a year after retiring with a stress-related illness, having spent a quarter of a century on the force.
Davidson said the revolver had been used in several robberies before the Botany Council payroll attempt and he had carried it for almost two years.
‘I wanted to show Neddy Smith he couldn’t beat me, couldn’t buy me, and when it was all over I took his gun,’ he said. ‘I hated and despised the man and it was the final thrust, if you like, of pulling him off his throne.’
Attempts were made during the trial to challenge Davidson’s credibility and portray him as something of a cowboy.
He agreed with Greg Woods QC, representing one of two men charged with murder, that he had fired two shots from the .357 into the air while arresting drug dealer Danny Landini.
Davidson denied such actions were irresponsible. ‘It got his attention,’ he said.
Dr Woods: ‘Burwood is fairly densely populated?’
Davidson: ‘Not in the sky it’s not.’
Davidson also told Clive Steirn, a former fraud squad detective turned barrister representing the other accused killer, he had never admitted giving perjured evidence.
Steirn: ‘You have admitted to being a mug lair.’
Davidson: ‘I’ve been called that’.
Stroking his trim white beard, Davidson added, ‘I’ve also been called the Kentucky Fried Colonel.’
Davidson might have left the police force – he spent much of his time pursuing his passion for fishing on the NSW north coast – but he continued to make headlines.
In 1996, a serial conman and fantasist named Danny Shakespeare (or Page, or Baxter, or McPherson) made wild allegations against him at the coronial inquest into the May 1985 disappearance of hit-man Chris Flannery.
Shakespeare ludicrously claimed he had seen Davidson shoot Flannery dead with a .38 revolver at Geelong racetrack six months after his last known sighting. After spouting this nonsense, Shakespeare got into his lawyer’s BMW and drove off.
Davidson attended Smith’s 1998 trial for the July 1983 murder of brothel keeper Harvey Jones, not as a witness but as interested observer.
Smith had told a cell-mate at Long Bay’s Special Purpose Centre of Jones’s last moments ‘I blew his heart out with a big .357’ – five years before the Botany attempted robbery.
Wearing a leather jacket with snake heads stitched on either side of his chest and one below the back collar, he offered to buy Smith’s wife Debra a cup of coffee from a stall run by volunteers at the Darlinghurst courthouse. She told him to ‘p*** off’.
Forensic analysis of two bullets picked out of Jones’s ribs when his remains were dug out of a beach at Botany in March 1995 had determined they could have been either .357s or .38s.
For what it’s worth, Henry – who detested Smith at least as much as Davidson by the time they parted ways – has long maintained of his erstwhile collaborator: ‘He never shot any c***.’
Smith was convicted of Jones’s murder and died in September 2021 at Long Bay jail aged 76, having been cleared of six other underworld killings.
Rogerson died in Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick on January 21 last year aged 83, while serving a life sentence for the May 2014 murder of drug dealer Jamie Gao.
Following the Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service (1995-1997) Davidson was charged with several criminal offences.
He was accused with three other cops of having fabricated evidence and faking the confession of a cabaret singer arrested over a 1991 robbery.
Davidson told this reporter the tension waiting for the jury’s verdicts was better than backing horses.
Upon his acquittal and that of his former colleagues in April 2002, Davidson attacked what he called ‘the complaint industry that has blown up over the last decade’.
In March the next year he and four others were cleared of assaulting and fabricating evidence against an offender known as the Kareela Cat Burglar who had been arrested in June 1984.
All five officers had originally been commended for their roles in convicting the thief, whose criminal record included the sexual assault of a five-day-old boy in a Melbourne hospital.
Chris Murphy, who often sparred with Davidson when he was in the witness stand, summed up his old adversary in a Sun-Herald column published in March 1995:
‘The unorthodox detective in the conveniently blood-red shoes thought he was doing God’s work for him. Even when God forgot.
‘When he couldn’t get a signed confession out of a tough guy, he usually had verbal admissions by the time he got his quarry to court. Not that they always stuck.
‘Among the pure and the putrid in the police, Davidson’s methods brought him a varied reputation but nobody denies him his hour of glory.’
Giving Davidson a slight promotion in rank, Murphy concluded: ‘While others held the gate open for murderer Neddy Smith to rampage through the 1980s, Chief Inspector Davidson had his teeth at his tail.’
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This afternoon we bid farewell to one of our retired officers, Al Lukes.
His service in Port Macquarie was one of the best I have ever attended.
The Rural Fire Service were well represented and their Chaplin conducted a wonderful service.
Retired Police from Taree, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie were also well represented.
Retired Chief Supt Ian Campbell gave Als eulogy on behalf of the Retired Police Port Macquarie Branch in which Al was the Chairman and leader for many years.
May you Rest In Peace Al, you are already sadly missed.
On Sunday he had dinner with is next door neighbour and went home early evening.
His neighbour rang him several times yesterday morning ( Monday ) but did not get a response so in the early afternoon he went down to Al’s house. He found him still in bed and unresponsive.
His cause of death is not known at this stage but it will be determined in the coming days.
I will advise of funeral arrangements when they are known but that will be later this week or possible next week.
I have spoken to his sister Kathy and offered her our assistance if she requires it.
Al lived alone and his sister is his only surviving relative as far as we can establish.
Al was a man who was committed to providing service to the community. Firstly as a Police Officer, then as Chairman of the Mid North Coast Branch of the RFPA. He was a dedicated RFS volunteer and for many years he ran a support service for emergency workers suffering the effects of PTSD and similar type work related medical conditions.
Al was a very selfless man.
RIP Al Lukes.
Class 146 – Redfern Police Academy. Sworn In on Monday 10 March 1975. They didn’t have a March Out because the Parade ground was flooded. They were Sworn In in one of the Class rooms. Martin BETCHER ( Back Row, 2nd from left )
Alastair Martin LUKES AKA Al LUKES Al is the 5th person ( from the left )
Al LUKES & C/Supt ?
Alastair Martin LUKES AKA Al LUKES
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Lionel passed away at home in Corowa on Tuesday January 14, 2025, aged 78 years.
He was the dearly loved father of Rosemary, Bernadette, Brendan, and Andrew and grandfather and great grandfather to their families.
Lionel was a dear friend to Angela and special brother of Annie.
Dearly loved, sadly missed.
The funeral service for the late Mr Lionel Smith will be held on Friday February 7, 2025, at St John’s Anglican Church, Federation Avenue, Corowa at 2.00pm.
Thereafter private cremation.
It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Lionel Leslie Smith. He was a loving father, grandfather, uncle, & friend who touched the lives of so many with his kindness, wisdom, and wit.
He will be greatly missed but forever remembered by all who knew him.
A funeral service to honour and celebrate his life will be held at 2pm Friday, 7/2/2025 at the St Johns Church in Corowa NSW.
Friends and family are invited to join us in remembering him.
Following the service, there will be a wake/celebration of life at Club Corowa, to share memories and support one another during this difficult time.
Dad wanted a more light hearted dress code at the service so, for the day it will be his favorite combo, blue denim jeans & white button up shirts.
For those who plan on attending the wake, could you please RSVP by messaging a thumbs up emoji followed by the number of people in your group to this Facebook account directly or, via text to either 0438447201 or 0427968905.
This will help us ensure we have adequate seating, food and alcohol for those attending.
At the service there will be a box for people to place letters in.
We ask that anyone who has a great/wild story with Lino please write it down so the family can enjoy them over the following funeral day.
We are incredibly grateful for the love and support we’ve received from family and friends, and we hope you can join us in celebrating his life.
It’d also be greatly appreciated if you could share this post around as Dad knew so many people however only has a few of them added on Facebook.
Rest in peace, Dad.
You will forever be in our hearts.
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