Murders In The Nightclub: Inside Queensland's Worst Firebombing Incident

The Whisky Au Go Go Fire is just as much a mystery today as it was in the hours after the tragedy that took the lives of 15 people in Fortitude Valley on March 8th 1973. Police would start a major investigation that would drag in some of Brisbane’s most well known criminals, gangsters, bosses and violent offenders who had spent time together in jails over decades, creating networks and ties that spread down the coast into Sydney. But the investigation would also expose police and political corruption, with a group of officers, who were on the take from those very criminals, potentially using this fire to help some club owners cash in. Was it meant to escalate as it did? Were those 15 people meant to be victims or were they just in the wrong place at the wrong time with an arson attack that went far more successfully than the perpetrators planned? THE END BITS Subscribe to Mamamia CREDITS Guest: Matthew Condon You can hear his podcast Ghost Gate Rd here.  Host: Claire Murphy Executive Producer: Gia Moylan Assistant Producer: Tahli Blackman Audio Producer: Scott Stronach GET IN TOUCH: Check out our TikTok here. Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]   Join our closed Facebook community to discuss this episode. Just search True Crime Conversations on Facebook or follow this link https://bit.ly/tcc-group  If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Just by reading our articles or listening to our podcasts, you’re helping to fund girls in schools in some of the most disadvantaged countries in the world - through our partnership with Room to Read. We’re currently funding 300 girls in school every day and our aim is to get to 1,000. Find out more about Mamamia at mamamia.com.auBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.