The bitterness between the Bandidos and the Comanchero grew to such an extent that on 10 August 1984 a bikie war was declared. The presidents of both gangs spoke abrasively to each other over the telephone. The war declaration was officially ratified...If ever the two gangs met, a full-scale confrontation could be expected. The bikies armed themselves for the inevitable bloodshed that accompanies any war. On 2 September 1984, Father's Day, the Comanchero and the Bandidos bikie gangs waged war against each other at a bike swap meet in the Sydney suburb of Milperra. Seven people, including a 14-year-old girl, were killed in the car park of the Viking Tavern. The members of the rival gangs arrived at the swap meet prepared for the battle, with firearms and baseball bats strapped to their bikes. They lined up at opposite ends of the car park crowded with 500 people, and the bloodshed began when Comanchero president, Jock Ross, raised a machete and shouted 'Kill 'em all!' Police officers rushed to the scene to bring the war under control, seizing weapons before ambulances could move in to treat the injured where they lay. Preliminary investigations into the massacre revealed that the Comanchero were angered by the defection of their members to the Bandidos, with the hostility escalating to war. Three weeks later, NSW Police mounted the highly organised but perilous Operation HardWalk to simultaneously arrest 43 bikies at their homes and charge them with murder. The resulting trial at Penrith Courthouse was the largest joint trial in NSW judicial history
The bitterness between the Bandidos and the Comanchero grew to such an extent that on 10 August 1984 a bikie war was declared. The presidents of both gangs spoke abrasively to each other over the telephone. The war declaration was officially ratified...If ever the two gangs met, a full-scale confrontation could be expected. The bikies armed themselves for the inevitable bloodshed that accompanies any war. On 2 September 1984, Father's Day, the Comanchero and the Bandidos bikie gangs waged war against each other at a bike swap meet in the Sydney suburb of Milperra. Seven people, including a 14-year-old girl, were killed in the car park of the Viking Tavern. The members of the rival gangs arrived at the swap meet prepared for the battle, with firearms and baseball bats strapped to their bikes. They lined up at opposite ends of the car park crowded with 500 people, and the bloodshed began when Comanchero president, Jock Ross, raised a machete and shouted 'Kill 'em all!' Police officers rushed to the scene to bring the war under control, seizing weapons before ambulances could move in to treat the injured where they lay. Preliminary investigations into the massacre revealed that the Comanchero were angered by the defection of their members to the Bandidos, with the hostility escalating to war. Three weeks later, NSW Police mounted the highly organised but perilous Operation HardWalk to simultaneously arrest 43 bikies at their homes and charge them with murder. The resulting trial at Penrith Courthouse was the largest joint trial in NSW judicial history
Über den Autor
Ron Stephenson served in the NSW Police Force for 40 years, attaining the rank of Detective Superintendent in Charge of Operations at the CIB. He was the officer in charge of the investigation into the Milperra Massacre. In 1988, Ron was awarded the Australian Police Medal for out- standing and distinguished service.
