They've had all sorts of feuds. I've had trouble with him all along big
trouble. To meet Paddy you wouldn't think he had an enemy in the world.
That's what makes it all so unusual that anybody would want to harm him. Like I
took him to court over poisoning the garden. Everything is still on the
table, it's an unsolved homicide, nothing's been ruled out at this stage.
Well I first ran through in 1978 when I was hitchhiking up there from
Brisbane to Darwin, kept coming back. Here we are Andrew here's your favourite
drink. Thank you Fran. I try and get down here three times a year just to find out
what's happening with the civil war and who's on whose side.
Is that too strong? That's great. Bingo! Yeah well keep you on your
toes.
I've been banned from the pub down here that many times it's not funny. Why are
you banned from the pub? Oh I got blamed for doing something I never done, I got
blamed for pinching Mar bars and I got sugar diabetes, now what the bloody hell would
I want to pinch Mars bars for? So I got blamed for pinching stuff
down there so I thought nah, jam it. I don't want nothing to do with you you're a
pack of arseholes, so I just left it at that. When I first came here it was
a very close-knit community, everybody got along really well but over time
that drifted away from that for some reason or other and now we well we don't
really associate like what we used to. What do you think is at the heart of the
disagreements? A lot of things a lot of things I don't really feel like saying a
lot about it I know why but I don't really want to say.
Paddy done a bit of shit stirring there and Fran got pissed off or
whatever but then again Fran's a bit of a troublemaker too don't worry about
that but she's not a bad person in her in her own right but it's just
little towns they're all the same its so-and-so did this.
It's a factional, fascinating environment the changing of allegiances.
Paddy didn't really have any enemies. The only one he used to argue with was the
lady in the pie shop. Who is his neighbour. Who's his neighbor yeah.
I stay here on my little four corners on my little oasis. Here's the two pies for
you darling. I was the first one ever to make pies in the territory. Buffalo,
camel, pork. I mince my own meat here I mince my own
pork and chicken. Fran's had her pies going for 20 years also. Who would like a pie?
Now the pub was making pies and there's arguments as to who's got the recipe for the famous
Larrimah pies. And they're a you know good assortment of parties, camel
pies and buffalo pies and crocodile pies. Everything but dog pies or mag
pies.
Fran's has got the worst pies and I'll fucking tell you that.
The feuding is very colourful. All these petty but very important things in a
tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
They was shit over there. True! I used to go over there and then the dog
wouldn't eat me pie. Fran's pies. True words, and these are chunky
meat and everything like that here and I tell people, I'll tell them the truth
Bloody oath. When they pull up at my place up the road I tell them fair dinkum.
That's what happens and Fran is the worst gasbagger in town.
I've had trouble with him all along. Big trouble.
Like last year I took him to court for poisoning the garden. He threw an old
dead kangaroo under my bedroom I've had so many things and it's all been
reported to the police they got it on record
He started stirring shit around town about what I was doing in the kitchen
and how much I was selling my pies for and I was this and it was that, because
he was very jealous you see very jealous of what I've got here and and plus I'm
opposition to the pub. Yeah I knew he was doing that never really took
it serious it was more humorous than anything else maybe we should have taken
maybe we should have taken it a bit more serious.
So I stopped him coming here and that's when all this trouble started he's done
a pinching stuff, pinching umbrellas from here and damaged me property and
giving me cheek and telling customers here not to come in
putting broken glass under under car wheels you know over the parking bay
because he didn't he didn't want them parking over there and they'd pull up
over there in front of his place and he'd tell them not to come in
here that nothing was home made and I mean I'm not rubbishing the man I'm only
telling you it's all being reported to the police right through.
The disagreements in Larrimah, the feuds as they've been called by some and the hatreds that
exist there have formed part of your investigation are they still part of
your inquiries or have you been able to rule them out. Everything is still on the
table it's an unsolved homicide nothing's been ruled out at this stage
You can go into any roadhouse anywhere and buy a pie there's no claim to say no
well I sell pies you can't sell cause it would be like saying I sell soft drinks
so you can't sell soft drinks yeah I look ridiculous. Paddy's never been over
here and bought a pie he's never had a pie here he wouldn't know what my pies
taste like
What do you know about the gardener wholives at the tea house do you have any...
Never met him I wouldn't even know what he looked like
I saw him from the waist down once because I was sitting in a car. I've heard stories about him
he used to be a tent boxer or something. Owen Laurie has never done an
interview with anybody why is that? I don't know because it's just the way he
is he I don't know it's just him you know I can't make somebody do something
that they don't want to do you know and that's his prerogative I know that he
never left here and I know that he wouldn't hurt anybody like that I know
he's got a temper but no I don't know I really don't know.
The forensics mob went through my house they found nothing they pumped out my septic they didn't find
anything they scraped out my incinerators they didn't find anything
they poked holes in all the garden they didn't find anything
the detective went in the shed and found a couple of hammers and they of course you
find hammers in every shed and he put the torch on the hacksaw and found blood
on it of course he said to Owen is this yours and Owen said yes and they took it
away we knew it was was some turkey chicken meat we always cut up our meat
for our dogs you know we always keep our meat frozen you know that in the
territory but nothing has been found it was all put through testing nothing was
everything was negative. Fran Hodgetts has taken down a sign from
outside of Larrimah which had taunted her and advertised Sweeney Todd's pies being
sold at her tea house what investigations have police made about
whether or not in fact there was any truth to that kind of accusation. So
we've searched the premises in question we've forensically
examined the location in question and there's no evidence to
support that theory whatsoever. Did you actually do any tests on the meat pies?
We've forensically examined the premises and there's nothing to support that
theory whatsoever. I think he's been taken off somewhere in my opinion either
that it's a bad thing to say but wild pigs
you know wild pigs, dingoes, somebody knew what they were doing when
they got rid of him they figured the pigs because pigs don't leave any
evidence so I believe, crocodiles and this plenty of ways to get rid of a body.
Among your responsibilities you also help feed the animals at the back can
you give me a sense of what that involves and what kind of animals you're
dealing with out there? A lot of birds, specialised birds, couple of crocs out
there, we got some pythons, wallabies emus which are always fun. There is a
crocodile at the back of the pub what investigations or what efforts did you
go to to try and establish whether there was any truth to that?
So we've searched animal enclosures at the back of the pub we've also inspected
Sneeky Sam's enclosure and there was nothing there to warrant any drastic
action to be taken in relation to that
I don't know where he is I don't know who done it I don't know if he's alive I
don't know if he's out hiding trying to get me into trouble which entered my mind
I swear on my grandkids on my life that I don't pull through this cancer that I
know nothing about
you