| Conflict: | Milperra massacre |
| Place: | Milperra, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Combatant1: | Comancheros |
| Combatant2: | Bandidos |
| Casualties1: | 4 dead |
| Casualties2: | 2 dead |
| Casualties3: | 1 dead bystander 28 wounded |
| Strength1: | 19 |
| Strength2: | 34 |
The Milperra Massacre, Milperra bikie shoot-out or Father's Day Massacre[1] was a gunfight between rival motorcycle gang members on 2 September (Father's Day in Australia) 1984, in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The gunfight had its roots in the rivalry that developed after a group of Comancheros broke away and formed the first Bandidos Motorcycle Club chapter in Australia. Seven people were killed and twenty-eight injured and the event was a catalyst for significant changes to gun laws in New South Wales.
Police believe that the war began over turf, drugs or a combination of both. The clubs had a no drugs policy and Colin "Caesar" Campbell, Sergeant-at-Arms of both Comanchero chapters and Sergeant-at-Arms of the Bandidos after they were patched over, 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 the Comancheros' president (and founder) William George "Jock" Ross, in a compromising position with the member's wife. As Sergeant-at-Arms, he ordered Ross to face charges of breaking one of the ten club rules. If found guilty, Ross would have been expelled from the club. Ross failed to appear at the first two meetings and after arriving at the third, simply announced that the club would be split into two chapters and walked out. Those who supported bringing charges against Ross, the six Campbell brothers, the three McElwaine brothers, Anthony "Snodgrass" Spencer (Snoddy) and Charles "Charlie" Sciberras remained at the Birchgrove clubhouse that overlooked Yurulbin Park[2] while Ross and the remaining Comancheros set up a new clubhouse in Harris Park.[3]
During the club's 1983 Christmas run fighting broke out between the two chapters, prompting the Birchgrove chapter to break away and form a new club. Spencer had visited several outlaw clubs in America two years earlier and remembered how much respect U.S. Bandidos showed to him, so he contacted their National President Ronnie Hodge. After much correspondence, he received approval to form the first Australian Bandidos chapter and become its national president. The new Bandidos members then incinerated their Comanchero colours in a ceremonial act. Clubhouse attacks and other violence continued until August when Campbell alleged that Spencer and Ross "declared war" in a phone call.
An advertisement for a British motorcycle club swap meet was placed in a few local press releases, to be held at the Viking Tavern, with a scheduled start at 10 am on Sunday, 2 September 1984. On that day at around 1 pm, 19 armed Comancheros entered the car park of the Viking Tavern during the swap meet and took up positions in hiding. Using walkie-talkies for communication, Comanchero leader "Jock" Ross, a military enthusiast, intended to stand in the open to give the appearance he was alone, hoping to draw the Bandidos into a pincer movement that was based on the "Bullhorn Ambush" that he read had been used in the Anglo-Zulu War. 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 the opposing gang was not coming, some Comancheros went into the Viking Tavern bar. About 20 minutes later, 34 equally armed Bandidos members arrived. Caught off guard, the Comancheros were scattered around the car park. The Bandidos pulled up in a group at the western end of the car park and, after distributing guns and other weapons, moved to confront the Comancheros president. The Bandidos led by their sergeant-at-arms Colin "Caesar" Campbell marched down to confront the Comancheros led by their sergeant-at-arms, Phillip "Leroy" Jeschke. Joining Campbell were his brothers along with his "adopted brother" Mario Cianter while Spencer remained in his car. As Campbell marched up to Jeschke, another Comanchero Ivan ""Sparra" Romcek stepped into his path and forced a shotgun against Campbell's chest. The initial confrontation between the clubs was verbal, involving the brandishing of "non-lethal" weapons and challenges to drop the guns and settle it like men but ended with the accidental discharge of a shotgun into the air. The involuntary discharge was the catalyst for pitched battle involving fists, guns, and other weapons. Campbell was able to grab Romcek's shotgun from him before he could fire it, but was knocked down by a blow from behind by the Comanchero Ian "Snow" White. As White aimed his shotgun at the Bandido George "Zorba" Kouratoras, the latter was hit from behind by one of the girlfriends of the Comancheros. As Kouratoras struck the woman with his fist, knocking her down, Romcek hit him with the butt of his rifle in the stomach. Jeschke fired the first shot, apparently by accident as he was pointing his gun upwards. Contrary to some newspaper reports, there was no charge toward one another, nor were formal battle lines drawn. Although never mentioned by the media or charged, several wives and girlfriends of the club members took part.
Once the first shot was fired, it evolved into a series of bashings and kickings with sporadic gunfire. The Bandido Lance Wellington used his skills with karate to knock out White. Geoff "Snake" Campbell was hit with a shotgun blast, leading to his older brother "Caesar" Campbell to come to his aid and in turn "Caesar" Campbell was hit with a shotgun blast. The by-stander Linda Motton had been reading an Agatha Christie novel in her car while she was hit by shotgun pellets fired by Gregory "Shadow" Campbell who was attempting to kill the Comanchero Glen Eaves. Besides for the pain, being struck with the pellets caused Motton to lose control of her bowls. Motton recalled: "There were shots coming from everywhere. There was people ducking for cover, people reaching into cars for firearms. It wasn't very long before the windscreen of the car I was sitting in got smashed by a bullet and I had bits of lead pellet in my face and glass, I was covered in glass from the windscreen. The noise was incredible. It wasn't just the shots which were coming from everywhere. There was people smashing each other with lead pipes, with baseball bats, with chains, people screaming in agony. It all happened so quickly that you'd blink and suddenly there was three bodies on the ground. There were so many children there, there was people throwing their children over the fence. There was a pregnant woman lying in the middle of the car park with her husband who was with me and he was wanting to, to go and get her".[4] Motton recalled feeling angry that the bikers had decided to turn the parking lot of the Viking Tavern into a battlefield and used her camera to take photographs of what was happening.[5] Her photographs were to be key evidence for the Crown at the trial as the pictures she took showed who was where.[6]
Eaves, a reservist with the Australian Army who was on leave fought with much energy as he loaded and reloaded and darted from car to car, which he used as cover. Bandido member Gregory "Shadow" Campbell was shot in the throat by a shotgun and bled to death. Because of the number of charges, Campbell's brother was charged with the murder as it was the policy of the police to charge all involved in the affray with first-degree murder regardless of whom the victim was.
Bandidos vice president Mario "Chopper" Cianter caught the Comanchero vice president Robert "Foggy" Lane in the sights of his .357 Magnum Rossi rifle and killed him with a shot to the chest, which severed the arteries to his heart, killing him within a minute. Cianter caught in his sight Jeschke, who he killed with a single shot to the heart. Cianter attempted to shoot the Comanchero Raymond "Sunshine" Kucler and instead killed the by-stander Leanne Walters. Rather than taking cover, Walters had watched the violence in fasciation.. The bullet struck her in the face, severed the lower part of her jaw from the rest of her body and killed her instantly when it severed her spinal cord.. Apparently not realising he just killed Walters, Cianter continued to shoot at Kuclear and wounded him. Taking cover behind a car, Kucler shot Cianter with his shotgun twice with the pellets severing his aorta while other pellets struck him in the head. Despite being outnumbered and taking greater losses, the Comacheroes were able to push the back the Bandidos who retreated behind the Holden lorry of Philip "Bull" Campbell. The para-military training imposed by Ross on the Comancheroes made the difference as the Comancheroes had been taught to advance under fire. Philip Campbell assisted by Lance Wellington, James "Roach" Posar and Charlie Scibberas attempted to place his badly wounded brother John "Whack" Campbell into the lorry with the aim of taking him to the hospital. At that point, Kucler and Eaves appeared and opened fire on the lorry, wounding Wellington who was struck in the face with broken glass. With the lorry disabled, the Bandidos dragged their wounded into the bushes under fire. Geoff "Snake" Campbell and his brother, Gregory "Shadow" Campbell, were bleeding badly and were both dragged out under fire. As Eaves continued his hunt for Bandidos to shoot, he was surprised by Grant "Pig" Everest who struck him with a water pipe. Eaves aimed his gun at Everest's chest and then lowered it to shoot him in the knee. As Everest lay helpless on the pavement, the girlfriend of a Comancehro came by to strike him with a metal bar and in the process she broke his nose.
The patrons inside the Viking Tavern remained ignorant about what was happening as they watched The Blues Brothers film on the bar's television until the Comanchero Kevork "Kraut" Tomasian, stumbled in with his left arm almost severed into two because of a shotgun blast. 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 hit again in the head and chest and collapsed. Spencer did not take part in the battle and instead cowered in fear inside of his car despite having a gun on him, a decision that led his men to label him a coward.
Police responded after receiving reports that a man had gone berserk with a rifle at the Viking Tavern in Milperra, and that 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.
Ron Stephenson, who led the police investigation into the shoot-out, stated in 1994: "In the middle of it all, the pub staff were still selling beer. People actually sat in the hotel drinking while the war was going on outside. I will never forget the sight when I arrived that day. The car park was packed with leather-clad bikies, police and ambulance officers treating the injured. One sergeant arrived with a young constable and commented, ‘Take a look at this son because you’ll never see anything like it again.’ The bikies appeared to be quite proud of what they had done."[7] Constable John Garvey who arrived at the scene stated: "The wounds on the men were horrific. I mean, those sorts of weapons can do some terrible damage."[8] Garvey was confronted by Raymond “Sunshine” Kucler of the Comancheros who was armed with a shotgun.[9] Gavery recalled: "Kucler was covered in blood and appeared to have a wound below one eye. He was very pent-up; you could see the anger and emotion in his eyes. The situation had suddenly changed, and I knew it was a critical moment in which my life was in danger. Here I was armed with a shotgun facing a very angry man with a shotgun he had obviously used; it was not something I could walk away from. Kucler wanted me to get ambulances to help his injured mates, but I told him we couldn’t until he surrendered his weapon. We argued, and finally he said he would give up his gun if I did the same."[10] Both men placed their shotguns on the ground and Kucler surrendered to be arrested.[11]
Bandidos sergeant-at-arms, Colin "Caesar" Campbell, was shot six times and spent six weeks in intensive care before checking himself out. Four shotgun pellets remained in his body, which were dug out by his wife before he fled to Western Australia.[12] Campbell later claimed that the wife of one of the Comancheros had shot him several times with a handgun.
Mark Pennington, one of the first police officers on the scene, was later awarded $380,000 (2011: $1,026,500) compensation for psychological damage. Bandido member John "Whack" Campbell never fully recovered from the injuries he received and, in 1987, died in jail from complications. Jock Ross suffered a brain injury after being shot in the head. He lost much of his vision as well as the ability to read and write. The Viking Tavern has since been renamed the Mill Hotel.
One man who took part in the shoot-out in the Viking Tavern who wished to be anonymous stated in 2014: “Milperra was catastrophic; it was a ridiculous and terrible thing to happen. We have all paid a terrible price, and we will never be allowed to forget it or escape from it...Milperra changed everything. We came from all walks from life — optometrists, engineers, clerks, and blue collar workers — and all had our reasons for being there (in a motorcycle gang). Many of us just wanted to escape our dreary lives; escape for one night a week, dress up like Marlon Brando, and be a wild one."[13] Stephenson dismissed the later claims made by both the Comancheros and Bandidos that no violence was planned for the swap meet as he stated: "I simply can’t accept that. They knew it was going to happen, and both gangs were prepared for the fight. They had declared war on each other, and once that happens, you can be assured a full-scale battle will take place if they meet in public. "[14]
| +Casualties and bystanders | |||
| Name | Allegiance | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leanne Walters | None | bystander | |
| Mario "Chopper" Cianter | Bandidos | Bandidos Vice President | |
| Gregory "Shadow" Campbell | Bandidos | ||
| Robert "Foggy" Lane | Comanchero | Comanchero Vice President | |
| Phillip "Leroy" Jeschke | Comanchero | Comanchero Sgt-at-Arms | |
| Ivan "Sparra" Romcek | Comanchero | ||
| Tony "Dog" McCoy | Comanchero |
The court case following the "Milperra Massacre" was at the time one of the largest in Australian history. In total 43 people were charged with seven counts of murder under the doctrine of "common purpose" charges against 10 were dropped before trial and Bernard "Bernie" Podgorski, secretary of the Bandidos, was granted immunity after turning Queen's Evidence. Solicitor Christopher Murphy acted for the Bandidos' members charged over the incident. Greg James QC represented all but one of the Bandidos' members during their trial, the exception being Colin Campbell, who was represented by Greg Woods QC. Greg James QC was Juniored by a number of Juniors, including John Korn, Kenneth Rosin, Andrew Martin and Philip Young. Anthony "Snoddy" Spencer, the Bandidos National President, hanged himself in prison before he could stand trial. Michael Alan Viney QC was the lead Crown Prosecutor for the committal hearing and the trial.[15]
During the longest joint criminal trial in New South Wales 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 ineligible, causing presiding judge Justice Adrian Roden to dismiss all five and order 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 12 June 1987, the jury delivered 63 murder convictions, 147 manslaughter convictions, and 31 of affray. Justice Roden 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. Four other members of the Comancheros gang received life sentences for murder, and 16 Bandidos received sentences of seven years for manslaughter. 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 brother. Another Campbell brother, John "Wack" Campbell, died three years later from his injuries. Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer Philip "Knuckles" McElwaine was found guilty only of affray; he was the only motorcycle club member to be acquitted of the manslaughter and murder charges that were brought against him. In 1989, three Comancheros appealed their murder convictions with the charge quashed and reduced to manslaughter. In 1992, Ross was the last to be released after serving five years and three months.
The Comancheros were notorious for carrying registered shotguns openly while riding. As a result of the massacre, the New South Wales Firearms and Dangerous Weapons Act 1973, which allowed registered owners the right to carry firearms in public, was subsequently amended to require "a good reason for the issue of a [firearm] licence".
In a repetition 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. New South Wales Police set up Operation Ranmore to stop the violence escalating, which resulted in 340 people arrested on 883 charges as of January 2008.
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, former superintendent Ron Stephenson, Comanchero president "Jock" Ross, Bandido vice president "Bullets," and several other Milperra survivors.[16]
A television mini-series , 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. It stars Callan Mulvey, Matt 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 criticised the series for not consulting with those who were there, presenting an incorrect chronology of events and motives, and portraying "lazy stereotypes."