The Victorian Bar Home
HOME
Francis Charles Francis AM RFD QC
Opas Philip Opas AM OBE QC
Gaynor Judge Liz Gaynor
Bourke Brian Bourke
S.E.K. Hulme QC S.E.K. Hulme AM QC
raising_the_bar Raising The Bar
For the Defence nav image "For the Defence"
speaker icon Four Judges & a Silk (audio)
WBA Logo "Even It Up"
WBA Logo First 25 women barristers slideshow
John Coldrey QC John Coldrey QC
JV Barry JV Barry - book launch slideshow
Peter O’Callaghan QC Peter O’Callaghan QC
Francis Xavier (Frank) Costigan QC Francis Xavier (Frank) Costigan QC
Jeff Sher QC Jeff Sher QC
Profile: Brian Bourke Back
Transcript
Getting close to crims

Brian Bourke interview 10 October 2005


You knew a lot of criminals as you've mentioned, you knew the Morans, you knew the Caines, you've known quite a number over the years (like) Graham Kinniburgh who was murdered not long ago in the gangland war. Is there ever a danger, perhaps not for you but for others in your profession of getting a little too close?

Yes, there is.

To such people?

Jack Cullity told me once, "Never get too close to them". Kinniburgh and I used to have lunch now and again and I got to know him pretty well and a few other blokes that I've known, they're just names now. Blokes like Mousey Baker. I mean you'd have to know Mousey Baker. I did a trial for this bloke once he was charged with some factory breaking in at East Richmond, right down on the river. It's all changed now and we had to have a view on the morning of the trial and we're driving down this little narrow street in East Richmond and we were in a truck. He says to me, "Do you like pizzas?" I said, "Yes, Mousey, I do" (I'd appeared for this bloke 10 times). He stops the truck beside another truck - just completely blocked the street. He hops up, chucks 6 or 8 pizzas down into the truck, knocked them off and then on we go.

You can't steal other people's pizzas, I suppose, but there's nothing really bad about that fellow and I got to know him pretty well. I liked him a lot.


Conducted for the Bar Oral History project by Juliette Brodsky in Owen Dixon Chambers East and filmed by Stewart Carter (People Pictures)

 

 
   
© The Victorian Bar Inc - Reg No. A00343046 | Privacy | Contact us | Help | Acknowledgments