Dark Stories True Crime Blog

Does Your Mum Have a Dark Side?

Does she never miss a murder documentary? Treat her to a True Crime Tour this Mother’s Day.

If your mum’s the type who has opinions on Ted Bundy, or quietly suspects she’d have made a pretty decent homicide detective, it might be time to skip the flowers this year.

Does Your Mum Have a Dark Side?

Book her in for something with a bit more edge – a Dark Stories True Crime Tour.

And yes, word on the street says crime drops every year on Mother’s Day.

If that’s true, it tells us a lot about how many crimes mums commit the rest of the year. Please try to stay safe out there, folks.

This Mother’s Day, share a few tales of crime, mystery, and murder – and give Mum a story she won’t forget.

Tours run weekly in cities across Australia. Or, if you’re unsure on timing, a gift card lets her schedule her own night delving into the darker side of history.

Mothers Day True Crime

Here’s hoping that if anyone could plan the perfect crime and still be home in time for dinner, it’s your mum.

Book for this Sunday, or grab a Gift Card and let Mum choose her own date with darkness.

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The Dark History of the Sydney Opera House

The nation’s most iconic building, considered the gateway to Australia, hides a dark secret rarely discussed in polite society.

You may know the official story – the bare facts that construction began in 1959 – but the creation of a national icon proved to be an expensive and deadly business.

By 1960, the Sydney Opera House had become so costly that the New South Wales government introduced a series of public lotteries to raise the funds needed to continue construction.

The Dark History of the Sydney Opera House

On 1st June 1960, travelling salesman Bazil Thorne – almost as an afterthought – was one of the last people to buy a ticket. Against all odds, he won first prize: £100,000, the equivalent of $3 million today.

Bazil and his family’s financial fortunes were solved overnight, and his face was splashed across the front pages of newspapers. Back then, lottery winners had no right to privacy. Transparency came first; secrecy was not an option.

The newspapers also revealed the prize would be paid out five weeks later – Thursday, 7 July 1960. A detail that created an unfortunate date with destiny for the Thorne family.

Exactly five weeks later, Bazil’s son made history for all the wrong reasons. His 8-year-old boy became the first person in Australia to be kidnapped for ransom. On the 7th of July – the very day the prize money was due – he vanished on his way to school.

His disappearance was quickly noticed, and it wasn’t long before the kidnapper rang the household and demanded £25,000, stating, “I have your son. If you don’t get the money, I’ll feed the boy to the sharks.”

A policeman, unaware of the family’s lottery win and posing as Bazil, took the call. He expressed doubt that such a large sum could be gathered. The kidnapper promised to call back before 5 pm with further instructions.

Lotto Exhilaration to Grief

The police responded immediately, holding a press conference that same day. By afternoon, the kidnapping was front-page news across the country.

The kidnapper rang back in the evening and demanded two paper bags full of cash, but gave no instructions and hung up. That would be the final call with this story not destined for a happy ending.

Over a month later, the boy’s body was found. Forensic analysis indicated he had died on the day of the kidnapping – the 7th of July. With the help of cutting-edge forensics and a crucial tip-off, police traced the crime to a man named Stephen Bradley. But by the time they reached his home on 3rd October, he had already made his escape, sailing for England.

His getaway was short-lived. When his ship reached Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), Bradley was arrested and extradited to Sydney to stand trial. The jury pronounced him guilty, prompting wild excitement, with one woman shouting, “Feed him to the sharks!”

Sydney Opera House Darkness

New South Wales had abolished the death penalty for murder in 1955, so Bradley’s sentence of life imprisonment was expected to last just 14 years, but he died in jail seven years later of natural causes, likely to everyone’s relief.

At the time, Australia had no legislation covering abduction or kidnapping for ransom, and the case prompted a complete overhaul of the law.

The Sydney Opera House undoubtedly remains a striking icon on Sydney Harbour. But like many of the city’s most admired landmarks, much of what you see is a beautiful facade that conceals all manner of dark stories that lie buried deep in the core of Sydney’s foundations.

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To uncover more Sydney Crime History, consider booking tickets to Sydney’s True Crime Tour here @ https://darkstories.com.au/sydney-true-crime-tour/.

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Death By Chocolate: The Last Sip

Tucked away in the heart of Christie Park, at the corner of King Street and Christie Street in Newcastle, stands an ornate relic of the city’s colonial past — the Shortland Centenary Fountain.

Originally unveiled in 1897 to commemorate Lieutenant John Shortland’s 1797 exploration of the Hunter River, the fountain first graced the promenade at Newcastle Beach. In 1937, it was carefully dismantled during the construction of Shortland Esplanade and relocated to the outskirts of Fletcher Park, near the intersection of Church Street and Pacific Street (now connected via a pedestrian walkway), standing close to the shoreline.

On a cold July night in 1946, Beryl and her 20-year-old companion, John, had spent the evening visiting two picture theatres. Later, they wandered through Fletcher Park and eventually sat near the memorial fountain.

There, Beryl consumed a piece of chocolate laced with cyanide, given to her by John. This historic fountain would deliver its most tragic legacy when Beryl, no doubt feeling the first effects of cyanide poisoning, took what would be her final sip of water. She collapsed shortly afterward being rushed to Newcastle Hospital by a passing motorist, but died within ten minutes of arriving.

Death By Chocolate

Police charged John with murder. But as the case unfolded, a more complicated picture emerged. John claimed Beryl had persuaded him to purchase the chocolate and the cyanide as part of a suicide pact. He said he had also intended to consume the poison — but spat his piece out before swallowing.

Freinds spoke of Beryl’s despair and recalled her saying she wanted to die — but never alone. At the time, Beryl was an unmarried pregnant woman — a source of deep shame and societal pressure in the 1940s and didn’t want to disgrace her family. John, it was said, had offered to marry her, but she declined, believing she was too young.

At the inquest, the coroner found that Beryl had willfully poisoned herself — but that John had encouraged her, having sourced the cyanide and helped plan the act. Still, the court could not definitively confirm the existence of a mutual pact.

John ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The court acknowledged his claims that he had tried to dissuade Beryl — but these were undermined by his encouragement and failure to prevent her death. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with a recommendation for release after just six months for good behavior.

Death By Chocolate

Today, the fountain — silent witness to Beryl’s final moments — now nestled in Christie Park, stands today as a quiet relic of Newcastle’s layered history and a subtle monument to a tragedy long forgotten.

What do you think? Did John truly intend to die? Or did he handle the poison with care, knowing exactly what it would do? Was this a tragic suicide, a mutual death pact, an act of manslaughter — or did John get away with murder?

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Postscript 1:
Five years later, now living in Islington, John Byrnes made the news again — this time for accidentally shooting himself in the abdomen with a .22 calibre rifle. He claimed he had been cleaning the gun in a shed when a cartridge exploded, with the bullet entering his stomach and exiting near the backbone. His condition at the Royal Newcastle Hospital was serious for a time — but once again, he survived. John eventually passed away in 1965.

Postscript 2:
During the fountain’s relocation in 1937, a time capsule was discovered — a glass jar filled with coins was found hidden within a concrete enclosure at its base. This was a popular practice in memorial installations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries — a practice which continues to this day.

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To uncover more Newcastle Crime History, consider booking tickets to Newcastle’s True Crime Tour here @ https://darkstories.com.au/newcastle-true-crime-tour/.

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Behind the Tour: A Guide’s Perspective

What’s it like to be a tour guide? To meet strangers every day, share stories, and see the country over and over again — always through new eyes?

One of our Sydney hosts explores just that in his new podcast: A Tour Guide’s Tour of Australia.

Personal stories, insights, and a peek behind the curtain of guiding life. Listen out for it here:-

🎧 A Tour Guide’s Tour Of Australia Podcast

A Tour Guide's Tour of Australia Podcast

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