Whiskey Au Go Go inquest resumes after six-month hiatus

Thirty witnesses will give evidence as an inquest resumes into Brisbane’s infamous Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing, amid fears the two men convicted were not the only offenders.

An inquest into the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub inferno has resumed in the Brisbane Coroners Court.

Fifteen people were killed in 1973 when the popular Fortitude Valley nightclub was firebombed.

The original inquest into the fire in the 1970s was adjourned when James Finch and John Stuart were charged with the nightclub arson and the murder of the youngest victim Jennifer Davie, a 17-year-old waitress.

The pair were later convicted of the arson and murder.

The long-awaited inquest resumed for two weeks of evidence in June last year before being adjourned.

Dozens of witnesses are expected to be called in the second block of the inquest, which resumed today in the Brisbane Coroners Court before coroner Terry Ryan.

The court will remain closed to the public and media during today’s session, which will hear evidence from two protected witnesses who cannot be identified.

The Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub ablaze in the early hours of March 8, 1973

Counsel assisting the coroner Stephen Keim, SC, said more than 30 witnesses would be called to give evidence over the next three weeks, with many to appear via audiovisual link due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Keim told a pre-inquest hearing the inquest would hear evidence that raised concerns Stuart and Finch were not the only ones involved in the firebombing and the focus of the police investigation was not directed at finding all those responsible.

The arson attack occurred at 2.05am on March 8, 1973, at the nightclub on the corner of St Paul’s Terrace and Amelia St.

Fifty to 60 patrons, staff and entertainers had been in the first-floor nightclub on the night of the attack.

Two petrol drums were found at the ground-floor entrance of the building.

Mr Keim said there was no explosion, but fuel vapours and smoke were quickly dispersed into the nightclub by airconditioning units, which operated as a chimney, pumping smoke from the building foyer to the nightclub rooms.

The reopening of the inquest into the Fortitude Valley firebombing was ordered by then attorney-general Yvette D’Ath in 2017.

The inquest is seeking to identify whether anyone other than Finch and Stuart played a role in the attack and will assess the adequacy of the investigations into the inferno.