1979 Luna Park fire: Coroner makes formal request for investigation
The State Coroner has made a formal request to NSW Police to investigate the 1979 Luna Park Ghost Train fire, which killed seven people, including six children.
NSW
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A mother who lost her husband and two sons in the 1979 Luna Park Ghost Train fire has welcomed a fresh investigation into the disaster.
Jenny Poidevin (nee Godson) was visiting the harbourside park with her husband John and their boys Damien, 6, and Craig, 4, when she went to get an ice-cream.
When she returned she saw smoke pouring out of the ride her entire family had just entered.
Her 29-year-old husband, two boys, as well as four others died in the fire.
“It’s pretty horrific. The pain never goes away – it’s just how you manage to live with it day by day,” she told The Sunday Telegraph.
On Saturday NSW Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan said the State Coroner has made a formal request to NSW Police State Crime Command to “conduct a review into all evidence concerning the cause and origin of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the deaths as a result of the fire”.
“Once the review has been received from NSW Police, the State Coroner will make a determination,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
Ms Poidevin said “it’s certainly a positive step in what we were hoping for but it needs to go much further”.
“I want this to become a royal commission but we have to follow procedures,” she said.
“That’s what I have been hoping for and that’s what I want.
“The truth of this has been kept hidden for 42 years. I want this truth to come out.”
The blaze was swiftly blamed on an electrical fault, however an inquest at the time delivered an open finding because of a lack of evidence for that theory.
A recent ABC investigation revealed overlapping accounts from witnesses about youths or bikies seen on the night, as well as the smell of kerosene at the popular ride.
There were also accusations that deceased crime boss Abe Saffron was involved.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said police “will consider any new and compelling evidence with the New South Wales Coroner and the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission if required”.
“It is very important to acknowledge that any major investigation conducted in 1979 would be deficient in many respects if viewed through the lens of modern investigative and forensic practices employed by NSW Police Force in 2021,” Mr Fuller said.
“That point should in no way be construed as an attempt to deflect any allegation of corruption or malpractice by NSW police officers in connection with the Luna Park fire.”
Mr Fuller said the NSW Police Force has a strong recent history of criminal investigations and arrests in respect of offences committed decades ago.
“I feel great sympathy for the families of those lost in the fire and completely understand their collective search for justice,” he said.
“They need to know that if NSW Police Force believes there is a way to take a criminal investigation forward then it will happen.”
According to the Coroners Act, only “persons of sufficient standing” can make an application for an inquest.
That may only be done by a police officer or by a person who was granted leave to appear or be represented at a previous inquest or inquiry.
Opposition Leader Jodi McKay said “Labor would have preferred a special commission of inquiry which allowed for all evidence to be aired publicly”.
“However the Coroner’s involvement is welcome,” she said.
“Our thoughts are with the families.”
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