Donald Mackay
Encyclopedia
Donald Bruce Mackay was an Australian anti-drugs campaigner who came to fame in 1977 through the circumstances of his murder.
Mackay was born in Griffith
and raised in Sydney
. He and his family ran a local furniture business called Mackay's Furniture.
His wife Barbara (1935–2001) was an active member of the Uniting Church in Griffith and directed a great number of musicals for young children in Griffith, including Spindles and the Lamb and It's cool in the Furnace. Today, the Mackay family still has a property in Griffith. Donald Mackay's son, Paul, runs the family furniture store.
In 1974, Mackay stood as a Liberal Party
candidate for the House of Representatives
against Al Grassby
. He also stood for political office in 1973 and 1976 but was never elected. However, his preferences went to the Country Party
candidate John Sullivan, allowing him to unseat Grassby.
in his local area, and learning of a large crop
of marijuana
in nearby Coleambally
, Mackay informed Sydney drug squad detectives, resulting in several arrests and the conviction of four men of Italian descent. At the trial of the arrested men, Mackay was identified as the whistleblower
.
An attempt was made to lure Mackay to Jerilderie
by a "Mr Adams" who wished to make a large order of furniture from Mackay's family business. Mackay, busy with other matters, sent employee Bruce Pursehouse to meet "Adams", who did not approach Pursehouse. This is believed to have been an attempt to assassinate
Mackay. Pursehouse later identified a man he had seen at Jerilderie as a suspect in the Mackay killing.
On 15 July 1977, Mackay disappeared from a hotel car park after having drinks with friends and has never been found. Stains from his blood group were evident on his van and the ground nearby, and his car keys were underneath. Nearby were drag marks, hair, and three spent .22 calibre cartridges. Mackay's disappearance made headlines around the nation and many, such as Griffith supervisor of detectives James Bindon, drew the conclusion that gangland figure Robert Trimbole
was responsible for the apparent contract-style killing. Trimbole had previously made death threats against Mackay. The killing fuelled the perception of Griffith as full of mobsters and "Australia's marijuana capital".
The Mackay case led to the then-premier Neville Wran
appointing Justice Philip Woodward
to lead the Woodward Royal Commission into the illegal drug trade in New South Wales
. In 1979, Woodward found that Mackay had been murdered by a hitman acting on instructions from the "Honoured Society
", a Griffith-based cell of the 'Ndrangheta, a Calabria
n criminal organisation. Justice Woodward requested for police to search Griffith's "grass castles" but this was denied.
In 1980, Al Grassby
was charged with criminal defamation when it was alleged that he had asked New South Wales state politician Michael Maher
to read in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
a document that imputed Mackay's wife Barbara and her family solicitor
were responsible for Mackay's disappearance. An inquiry by John Nagle Q.C. found that "no decent man" could have spread the "scurrilous lies" that Grassby had. Grassby maintained his innocence and fought a 12-year battle in the courts before he was eventually acquitted on appeal in August 1992 and was awarded A$180,000 in costs. Grassby had already lost a civil suit filed by Barbara Mackay, forcing him to unconditionally apologise.
In 1984, the coroner ruled Mackay had died of "wilfully inflicted gunshot wounds".
In 1986 hitman James Frederick Bazley was charged over the death. Bazley claimed he was innocent, blaming allegedly corrupt former Sydney detective Fred Krahe
as the killer, but was convicted of conspiring with Gianfranco Tizzone, Robert Timbole, George Joseph and unknown other persons to murder Mackay, as well as the murders of Douglas and Isabel Wilson. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The annual Donald Mackay Churchill Fellowship was inaugurated in 1987. The Churchill Trust awards a Donald Mackay fellowship annually for journalists and detectives to study methods of investigating and bringing to light organised crime.
In late 2008, the Rotary Club of Griffith erected a memorial in Banna Avenue, the main street of Griffith, to honour the 30th anniversary of Donald Mackay's murder.
Australian actor Andrew McFarlane portrayed him in the 2009 television series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
.
Mackay was born in Griffith
Griffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...
and raised in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He and his family ran a local furniture business called Mackay's Furniture.
His wife Barbara (1935–2001) was an active member of the Uniting Church in Griffith and directed a great number of musicals for young children in Griffith, including Spindles and the Lamb and It's cool in the Furnace. Today, the Mackay family still has a property in Griffith. Donald Mackay's son, Paul, runs the family furniture store.
In 1974, Mackay stood as a Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
candidate for the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
against Al Grassby
Al Grassby
Albert Jaime Grassby, AM , Australian politician, was Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam Labor government. He initiated sweeping reforms in immigration, human rights, and is often known as the father of Australian "multiculturalism".-Early life and state politics:Born Albert Grassby in...
. He also stood for political office in 1973 and 1976 but was never elected. However, his preferences went to the Country Party
Country Party
Country Party may refer to* Country Party of Australia, now called "National Party of Australia"* In Great Britain:** Country Party , opponents of the Court Party and the government, late 17th early 18th century** Ultra-Tories, active 1829–32...
candidate John Sullivan, allowing him to unseat Grassby.
Missing person
Concerned about the growing drug tradeIllegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
in his local area, and learning of a large crop
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
in nearby Coleambally
Coleambally, New South Wales
Coleambally is a small town in the Riverina of New South Wales, Australia, in Murrumbidgee Shire.Coleambally is one of the newest towns in the state of New South Wales, officially opened in June 1968, with the Post Office opening on 1 April 1970...
, Mackay informed Sydney drug squad detectives, resulting in several arrests and the conviction of four men of Italian descent. At the trial of the arrested men, Mackay was identified as the whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
.
An attempt was made to lure Mackay to Jerilderie
Jerilderie, New South Wales
Jerilderie is a town of 768 people in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the only town in the Jerilderie Shire Local Government Area....
by a "Mr Adams" who wished to make a large order of furniture from Mackay's family business. Mackay, busy with other matters, sent employee Bruce Pursehouse to meet "Adams", who did not approach Pursehouse. This is believed to have been an attempt to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Mackay. Pursehouse later identified a man he had seen at Jerilderie as a suspect in the Mackay killing.
On 15 July 1977, Mackay disappeared from a hotel car park after having drinks with friends and has never been found. Stains from his blood group were evident on his van and the ground nearby, and his car keys were underneath. Nearby were drag marks, hair, and three spent .22 calibre cartridges. Mackay's disappearance made headlines around the nation and many, such as Griffith supervisor of detectives James Bindon, drew the conclusion that gangland figure Robert Trimbole
Robert Trimbole
Robert Trimbole was an Australian businessman, drug baron and organised crime boss whose alleged involvement in the disappearance of anti-marijuana campaigner Donald Mackay and involvement in drug trafficking in the Griffith, New South Wales area, led to a royal commission, a Coroner's inquest and...
was responsible for the apparent contract-style killing. Trimbole had previously made death threats against Mackay. The killing fuelled the perception of Griffith as full of mobsters and "Australia's marijuana capital".
The Mackay case led to the then-premier Neville Wran
Neville Wran
Neville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986...
appointing Justice Philip Woodward
Philip Woodward
Philip Woodward is a British mathematician, radar engineer and horologist. He has achieved notable success in all three fields. Before retirement, he was a Deputy Chief Scientific Officer at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment of the British Ministry of Defence in Malvern,...
to lead the Woodward Royal Commission into the illegal drug trade in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. In 1979, Woodward found that Mackay had been murdered by a hitman acting on instructions from the "Honoured Society
Honoured Society
The Honoured Society was a Calabrian 'Ndrangheta criminal group that operated in Melbourne, Australia. In 1963, it was reportedly involved in the Victoria Market Murders. It was led by gangster Frank Benvenuto until his slaying in 2000...
", a Griffith-based cell of the 'Ndrangheta, a Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
n criminal organisation. Justice Woodward requested for police to search Griffith's "grass castles" but this was denied.
In 1980, Al Grassby
Al Grassby
Albert Jaime Grassby, AM , Australian politician, was Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam Labor government. He initiated sweeping reforms in immigration, human rights, and is often known as the father of Australian "multiculturalism".-Early life and state politics:Born Albert Grassby in...
was charged with criminal defamation when it was alleged that he had asked New South Wales state politician Michael Maher
Michael Maher (Australian politician)
Michael John Maher, OAM is a former Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he attended De La Salle College, Ashfield and the University of Sydney and became a solicitor. A member of the Labor Party, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1973, representing the seat of...
to read in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
a document that imputed Mackay's wife Barbara and her family solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
were responsible for Mackay's disappearance. An inquiry by John Nagle Q.C. found that "no decent man" could have spread the "scurrilous lies" that Grassby had. Grassby maintained his innocence and fought a 12-year battle in the courts before he was eventually acquitted on appeal in August 1992 and was awarded A$180,000 in costs. Grassby had already lost a civil suit filed by Barbara Mackay, forcing him to unconditionally apologise.
In 1984, the coroner ruled Mackay had died of "wilfully inflicted gunshot wounds".
In 1986 hitman James Frederick Bazley was charged over the death. Bazley claimed he was innocent, blaming allegedly corrupt former Sydney detective Fred Krahe
Fred Krahe
Frederick Claude "Fred" Krahe was a New South Wales police officer and detective.Krahe is often referred to as having been one of the most feared NSW police officers of his day. He made many successful arrests for which he received commendations and awards for bravery and outstanding detective...
as the killer, but was convicted of conspiring with Gianfranco Tizzone, Robert Timbole, George Joseph and unknown other persons to murder Mackay, as well as the murders of Douglas and Isabel Wilson. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The annual Donald Mackay Churchill Fellowship was inaugurated in 1987. The Churchill Trust awards a Donald Mackay fellowship annually for journalists and detectives to study methods of investigating and bringing to light organised crime.
In late 2008, the Rotary Club of Griffith erected a memorial in Banna Avenue, the main street of Griffith, to honour the 30th anniversary of Donald Mackay's murder.
Australian actor Andrew McFarlane portrayed him in the 2009 television series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...
.
External links
- The Hit, Courtroom TV Crime Library.
- The Assassination of Mr Donald Mackay, Legislative Council Hansard (Extract).
- Mafia killers escape justice as new Mackay inquiry rejected, Adelaide Now.