John Ure, born and raised in Adamstown, was a NSW Police detective in the Hunter throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Here's his latest crime file.
I recently wrote about a horrific motor vehicle collision south of Swansea and its impact on the families involved.
Not long after that I investigated another fatal motor vehicle collision which, while not as horrific, had similar tragic consequences for one of the families.
One evening, back in 1980, a young man left his work at the Newcastle Post Office, mounted his low-powered motorcycle and began the short journey to his elderly parents' home at Kahibah.
He rode down Union Street towards The Junction and when he was crossing the intersection of Parkway Avenue a car came out from his left, without stopping at the stop sign, and struck the motorcycle before continuing on through the intersection and colliding with the brick wall of a block of Housing Commission flats. The young man was killed instantly.
The car was driven by a 16-year-old girl, unlicensed. The car was her boyfriend's. She told police that when she approached the stop sign, she accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
I was working late that evening, at the Newcastle CIB (Criminal Investigation Branch). I went to the scene of the collision and spoke to the uniformed police there then, after visiting Royal Newcastle Hospital and confirming that I would not be formally interviewing the young girl that night, I drove to the address at Kahibah shown on the deceased motorbike rider's licence.
At this stage it was quite late and I woke the occupants, a couple in their 70s. I then had the unenviable task of advising them that their only son, a man in his 40s, had been fatally injured. From recollection, he had worked for Australia Post (or whatever it was called then) and was on his way home from work. He was unmarried and had lived with them most of his life.
This lovely old couple were obviously shattered, but stoic. They offered me a cup of tea and I stayed and talked with them for a long time about their son, his life and what he had meant to them. It was clear that they had been relying on him to look after them as they grew older.
Before I left I raised the painful but, unfortunately, essential question of formal identification of their son. It was agreed that I would pick up the father the next morning and drive him to the morgue at the back of the Newcastle Courthouse for the identification. I bade my farewells, however the father followed me out and asked if he could speak to me privately. He told me he had enlisted in the army during World War II and one night, somewhere (in Australia), was arrested for urinating in a laneway.
It only resulted in a small fine, but he had carried the shame ever since. I clearly remember what he then asked me: "Will this have to come out now? I could never tell my wife about it."
This poor, gentle man - I had just told him that his only son had been killed and he was concerned that his wife would now hear that he had a criminal record for urinating in the street. This might be hard to understand now, but back in the 1970s people were different and many still carried scars and memories - and shame - from wartime.
I assured him that not only should he be unconcerned about his wartime indiscretion being brought to light now, but that any trace of it would have been expunged from the records years ago. I then left him and his wife to their grief.
All these years later, whenever I drive through that intersection (and unfortunately that is quite often) I think of that poor motorcycle rider, senselessly killed while making his way home to his parents. His parents - a dignified old couple who lost everything that night.
And the poor father who, although still coming to grips with the loss of his son, was concerned that a meaningless lapse during the war years might be made known to his wife of many decades.
So utterly futile. An innocent life lost, an elderly couple's life shattered - and their future welfare compromised - all because a 16-year-old girl, with virtually no driving skills, decided it would be fun to have a go at driving her boyfriend's car.
How Very Kind of You
Crime files aside, we have this from the Topics desk: A kind person will walk in an elephant suit between Merewether and Dixon Park surf clubs on Sunday at 8am.
Michelle Boundy, Merewether resident and founder of Be Kind Newcastle, will do the walk to mark World Kindness Day.
"Being kind to each other, especially to people experiencing mental ill health, can make a positive difference to people's lives."
Michelle will chat to people about kindness and her new mental health initiative - The Elephant in the Room.
It aims to reduce the stigma of mental health and support Lifeline Hunter, which urgently needs 20 new crisis supporters.
