Top 10 times Warwick made national headlines, from murder to major disasters and more
From shockingly gory crimes to disease outbreaks and even royal visits, the Rose City has no shortage of massive stories that have captured Australia’s attention.
Warwick
Don't miss out on the headlines from Warwick. Followed categories will be added to My News.
From major crime and court cases to shocking natural disasters, the Rose City has no shortage of events that earned the town a spot in national news.
These are the top 10 times Warwick made headlines across the country, capturing the attention of thousands of Australians.
1. Confirmed COVID case
Warwick became tied up in the early stages of the state’s COVID outbreak when one of its own tested positive for the virus.
Rose City Premium Meats owner Peter Wright told The Australian he was “Mr Corona” in Warwick when he caught the virus after he and wife Michelle attended a party at a Noosa restaurant in March last year.
One of the party guests was suspected to have unknowingly had the virus after recently returning from Aspen in the US, with another 30 cases traced back to the same event.
The butcher wasn’t the only resident to be caught up in the COVID crisis, with a number of Warwick schools also having students tested following potential contact with the virus.
2. Town united by grief
The devastating story of Warwick schoolgirl Amy “Dolly” Jayne Everett, captured hearts across Australia after the 14-year-old tragically took her own life after relentless bullying.
The Warwick community was rocked by the heartbreaking loss, with Dolly’s father Tick Everett saying he believed bullying convinced his daughter she had to “escape the evil in this world”.
The Scots PGC student’s family launched the passionate anti-bullying campaign #DoItForDolly, and Dolly’s Dream is now one of the nation’s most prominent organisations for youth mental health and suicide awareness.
3. Jockey death at Allman Park
Tragedy struck when jockey Heidi McNeich, 24, was killed while racing at Allman Park in July, 1996.
She was thrown from the saddle when her horse, Little Cavalier, fell during a 1.1km sprint.
The 24-year-old was taken to Warwick Hospital before being flown to Brisbane for further treatment, but sadly died later that night.
Heidi remains the only jockey to die from a fall at the Warwick racetrack.
4. McCulkin family murders
Warwick man Vince O’Dempsey will spend the rest of his days behind bars after he was found guilty of killing Barbara McCulkin and her daughters Vicki, 13, and Leanne, 11.
The then-34-year-old and his accomplice Garry Reginald “Shorty” Dubois lured the woman and her daughters from their Highgate Hill home and drove them to an unknown bush location.
O’Dempsey strangled Mrs McCulkin a short distance from where Dubois raped Vicki and Leanne, before they were also killed.
The 78-year-old was convicted of the three murders in the Brisbane Supreme Court in May, 2017, and his co-accused the manslaughter of Mrs McCulkin and the rapes and murders of her two daughters.
Both men were sentenced to life in jail without eligibility for parole.
5. Floods put Warwick underwater
The Rose City and its extreme weather events have made national headlines on multiple occasions, especially when floods sweep through the area.
The 2011 floods claimed 38 lives across Queensland, including 21 across Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, and were some of the most devastating to hit Warwick.
Southern Downs Regional Council were left with more than $100 million in damages, and dozens of businesses, homeowners, and sports clubs also footed hefty repair bills.
Warwick also recorded three of its highest flood levels throughout the 1950s.
6. Babysitter charged with toddler’s murder
Warwick woman Lisa Rose Halcrow was charged in February last year with the murder of little boy Connor Horan.
Police allege the 41-year-old was babysitting the two-year-old in August, 2018 when she drove the unconscious boy to hospital, saying he fell down the stairs.
CPR was performed on Connor for more than half an hour, but he sadly died from serious head and internal injuries.
Ms Halcrow is charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possessing dangerous drugs and utensils, contravening a police direction, and drug and unlicensed driving.
She is yet to indicate a plea on any charges, and has been in police custody since her arrest.
7. Royalty comes to town
Warwick has rolled out the red carpet for multiple members of the Royal Family in the past century.
Princess Alexandra paid a visit to the Rose City and its surrounds in 1959 as part of a wider tour of Queensland marking the state’s centenary.
The royal departed Brisbane for Risdon homestead on August 22, undertaking recreational horse riding and attending multiple functions in Warwick and Toowoomba.
Princess Alexandra then wrapped up her tour of the region on September 4.
Almost 40 years earlier in 1920, Prince Edward visited Warwick as part of his tour by royal train through Australia on behalf of his father, King George V.
8. Famed egg throwing incident
Colloquially labelled the “Warwick incident” among those in the know, this cracking act by a local larrikin proved crucial to the establishment of the Australian Commonwealth Police.
Then Prime Minister William Morris Hughes was addressing the crowd at a Warwick railway station in 1917 when one man threw an egg at him, knocking off the national leader’s hat.
Hughes’ order to arrest the man was allegedly refused by the Queensland Police Service. The first commissioner for the Australian Commonwealth Police was appointed only eight days later.
The ACP was one of the founding bodies of what is now the Australian Federal Police.
9. Youths front court over ‘satanic’ rituals
One of the Rose City’s goriest court cases shocked communities across the country in the 1980s when two teenagers were charged with the slaughter of dozens of sheep and goats.
The two 17-year-old boys were each charged with unlawfully killing, wounding, and maiming 42 sheep and eight goats in August, 1986.
The bodies of dead and wounded animals had been found at a Warwick property and nearby high school.
An undercover policeman told the Warwick court at the time that one of the teenagers confessed to drinking the blood of a sheep.
10. Warwick men responsible for Fraser Island fires
Four men from the Warwick area fronted court over their roles in the devastating bushfires that decimated 86,000 hectares of protected bushland on Fraser Island (K’gari).
The 24-year-old was camping in with friends at the World Heritage-listed site on October 24, 2020 when he lit a small campfire, which was covered with sand but not extinguished completely.
Cheshire expressed his remorse for his actions in a letter to the court. He was fined $1334 and no conviction was recorded.
They were each fined $667 and no convictions were recorded.
Police close road after elderly man trampled by bull
A LifeFlight rescue chopper has been called in after a man was trampled by a bull on a farm south of Warwick.
Luxe Queensland rentals raking in up to $9k a night
Some of Queensland’s top Airbnb hosts have turned their short-stay accommodations into more than just a side hustle.