Sydney Hilton bombing

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Sydney Hilton bombing
Location	33°52′19″S 151°12′26″E / 33.87194°S 151.20722°E / -33.87194; 151.20722Coordinates: 33°52′19″S 151°12′26″E / 33.87194°S 151.20722°E / -33.87194; 151.20722 Hilton Hotel, Sydney, Australia
Date	13 February 1978 12:40am[citation needed]
Attack type	Bomb
Death(s)	2 garbagemen, 1 policeman
Injured	11
Perpetrator(s)	Unknown

The Sydney Hilton bombing occurred on 13 February 1978, when a bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia. At the time the hotel was the site of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting (CHOGRM), a regional off-shoot of the biennial meetings of the heads of government from across the Commonwealth of Nations.

The perpertrators have never been found. However, accusations that the Australian security forces may have been responsible have led to the New South Wales parliament unanimously calling for an inquiry in 1991^[1] and 1995.^[2] The commonwealth government vetoed any inquiry.

Contents 1 The bombing 2 Inquiries, trials and Royal Commission 3 Accusations of conspiracy 4 Political effects and significance 5 30th anniversary of Sydney Hilton commemoration ceremony 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading

[edit] The bombing

The bomb, planted in a rubbish bin, exploded when the bin was emptied into a garbage truck outside the hotel at 1:40am^{[citation needed]}. It killed two garbage men, Alec Carter and William Favell, and a police officer, Paul Birmistriw, guarding the entrance to the hotel lounge died later.^[3] It also injured eleven others. Twelve foreign leaders were staying in the hotel at the time, but none were injured. Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser immediately called out the Australian Army to guard the remainder of the CHOGRM meeting. ^[4]

[edit] Inquiries, trials and Royal Commission

A coronial inquest was not held until four years later in 1982 (they are normally held within a few weeks). Stipendiary Magistrate Walsh found a prima facie case of murder against two members of Ananda Marga – Ross Dunn and Paul Alister (but not Tim Anderson) – based on evidence by Richard Seary, which was later discredited.^[1]

The Hilton bombing charges against Dunn and Alister were soon dropped.^[1] But Anderson, Dunn and Alister had been convicted on different charges of conspiracy to murder Robert Cameron, Sydney leader of the Australian National Front.^[5]

It was alleged that Richard Seary, a police informant, convinced Dunn and Alister to plant a bomb at Cameron's home. Anderson was to provide a press release. Dunn and Alister stated that they only intended writing graffiti at Cameron's home, and had no knowledge of the bomb. Seary was an unreliable witness, having already given discredited evidence accusing Dunn and Alistair at the initial Hilton bombing inquest, being a drug addict and a "mentally disturbed fantasizer".^[6] However, there was also some police evidence. The prosecution had strongly associated the matter with the Sydney Hilton bombing.^[6]

A Royal Commission, headed by Justice Wood was established into the conviction of the three, and recommended their pardon, and they were released in 1985.^[5] (This case did not directly cover the Hilton Bombing.)

Anderson was then re-arrested for the Sydney Hilton bombing, but this time he was acquitted in 1991 after the evidence of the main prosecution witness, Evan Pederick, was completely rejected by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.^[1]

Pederick had confessed to the bombing and so was convicted without detailed scrutiny of his confession. However, in the Anderson appeal Chief Justice Gleeson said Pederick's account of the bombing was "clearly unreliable".^[1] Pederick's later appeal was rejected when he produced no evidence to explain why he had falsely confessed.^[7]

Coronial enquiries were limited in the scope. No person apearing before the coroner has a right to subpoena evidence without permission from the coroner, and in this inquest Walsh rejected all applications.^[8]

[edit] Accusations of conspiracy

The Indian prime minister Morarji Desai claimed that Ananda Marga had attempted to kill him due to the imprisonment of the organisation's spiritual leader, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. (There had been other alleged attacks by Ananda Marga, namely on 15 September 1977 the military attaché at the Indian Embassy Colonel Singh and his wife were attacked in Canberra. Just over a month later an Air India employee in Melbourne was stabbed.)^[9] ASIO had infiltrated the Ananda Marga and were monitoring it.^[10]

There were a number of unusual circumstances surrounding the bombing, namely:

• The driver of the truck, Bill Ebb, stated that "someone official" had prevented several earlier trucks from emptying the bin which was overflowing with rubbish.^[5]
• The garbage bin had not been searched for bombs. Searching bins is normally a high priority, and is specified in New South Wales police permanent circular 135.^[1]
• The entire truck and all bomb fragments were dumped immediately afterwards at an unrecorded location. This prevented forensic evidence to be gathered.^[1]
• Army dog handler Keith Burley said that his dogs could smell very small quantities of explosives, and were expected to be used for event. He said that were unexpectedly called off a few days prior without explanation.^[1][11]
• The officer-in-charge of police immediately after the bombing, Inspector Ian MacDonald, claimed there had been a "cover-up"^[1]
• NSW Attorney General Frank Walker and others had been told by a CSIRO scientist that under pressure from ASIO they had made two fake bombs in the week prior to the bombing. The bombs were designed not to explode but could explode in a garbage truck compactor.^[2]
• Terry Griffith stated that William Reeve-Parker said that an army officer had admitted planting the bomb by switching rubbish bins 24 hours earlier.^[12]

Many of these issues were identified by Terry Griffiths, a former policeman who was seriously injured in the bombing, who has called for an inquiry.^[1] Barry Hall QC, counsel for Griffiths, argued that ASIO may well have planted the bomb in order to justify their existence.^[5] The 1982 Walsh inquest had been terminated prematurely due to finding of the prima facie case of murder, which was based on discredited evidence by Richard Seary. This prevented Terry Griffith from presenting his evidence.

In 1991 the NSW Parliament unanimously called for a joint State-Federal inquiry into the bombing to examine whether there had been an official conspiracy.^[1] However, the Federal government vetoed any inquiry, and none has been held.

[edit] Political effects and significance

Before the inquiries it was described in Parliament as the first and only domestic terrorist event in Australia.^[1]

Prior to the bombing the security forces had been under considerable pressure. In South Australia, the White inquiry into their police special branch was very critical, and ties with ASIO were cut.^[1] New South Wales was about to have a similar inquiry. After the bombing, the NSW inquiry was never held, and the Commonwealth increased support for the anti-terrorism activities of the intelligence services.^[5]

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was common to see the graffito "Anderson Is Innocent" or "Free Tim" in parts of Sydney.

[edit] 30th anniversary of Sydney Hilton commemoration ceremony

A new plaque was unveiled in Sydney's George Street on 13 February 2008, at the site of the bomb blast outside the Hilton Hotel 30 years ago.

Former New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma commended Sydney City Council for restoring the memorial plaque to its original home, and says he hopes there will never be a need for any more.^[13]

[edit] See also

• List of disasters in Australia by death toll
• Terrorism in Australia

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Conspiracy: Australian Broadcasting Commission documentary, Daryl Dellora, 1995 (shown on True Stories series). Reviews most of the evidence. Easily available articles reviewing the documentary include:-
  • You Tube copy of film
  • ABC George Negus discussion with Dellora.
  • filmartdoco review, includes enumeration of the key issues. Documentary can be purchased from this site for $50.
  • shootersnews Good review of the main points made by Griffiths.
  • Sydney Morning Herald, The Hilton bombing, Jane Freeman, 6 February 1995. Provides a review and summary.
• 30 years since the Sydney Hilton Hotel Bombing - The Unanswered Questions
• Humphries, David (January 1, 2008). "How ASIO was caught on the hop". Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/how-asio-was-caught-on-the-hop/2007/12/31/1198949746451.html. Retrieved 2008-03-17.  Questions why ASIO could not stop Ananda Marga.
• Hills, Ben. "Scams and Scoundrels, the Hilton Fiasco". http://www.benhills.com/articles/articles/SCM38a.html.  Also questions why ASIO could not stop Ananda Marga.
• Malloy, Sean (February 3, 1993). "Hilton bombing victim calls for inquiry". Green Left. http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1993/86/86p7.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-17.  Long quote of Terry Griffiths.
• Hills, Ben (October 25, 1990). "The path of bliss...". Sydney Morning Herald.  Discusses pardon of the Ananda Marga three, and the relationship to the Hilton bombing.
• Molomby Tom, (1986). SPIES BOMBS AND THE PATH OF BLISS - Ananda Marga and the Hilton bombing. Potorooo Press. 
• "NSW Hansard". September 19, 1995. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/lc/lcpaper.nsf/0/A35B61EF7D39A87ECA256EEF00396A93. Retrieved 2008-03-17. Questions from Ms Kirkby and replies from the minister of police. (Search for "Hilton").
• Tim Anderson (1992). Take Two: the criminal justice system revisited. Bantam. ISBN 1863590552. http://lorikeet.and.com.au/t2/t2.htm. 
• John Jiggens. "The 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing". http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=88905.0. Retrieved 2008-04-25.  Well written coverage of background and inquest, including Griffith's evidence.
• John Jiggens (1991). The Incredible Exploding Man: Evan Pederick & the Trial of Tim Anderson. Samizdat Press. 

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