Tale from Sydney murderous past brings history, theatre and true crime to life
Journey through Sydney’s dark past in the crypt below the historic St James’ Church with the true crime, immersive theatre experience DEADHOUSE: Tales of Sydney Morgue
Inner West
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The latest instalment of dark stories from Sydney’s past, served up as part of DEADHOUSE: Tales of Sydney Morgue, looks at the story of Kevin Simmonds and Les Newcombe who fled Long Bay Penitentiary in the 1950s and led police on one of the largest manhunts in the state’s history.
After killing a guard the pair eluded police for weeks and gained some notoriety while on the run.
This true-crime, immersive theatre experience comes to life in the Crypt underneath St James’ Church in Sydney as audiences are guided through the eerie, neo-gothic tunnel and side rooms, coming within a couple of metres of the cast of actors including Chris Miller who plays Simmonds.
Miller said Simmonds & Newcombe: The Deadly Run by Liviu Monsted, that runs from November 20– 30, takes us back to 1959. The prisoners escaped through a ventilation duct in the roof of the prison chapel and spent their first night of freedom huddled in a freshly dug grave in Botany Cemetery.
“They then went out to Emu Plains where they had been held in a low level correctional facility,” Miller said.
“They were going to steal some weapons but they ran into a guard and they hit him on the head with a cricket stump and killed him.
“They were now on run for murder. Detective Sergeant Ray Kelly launched a manhunt and they had nearly 500 policemen, armed with guns and bulletproof vests, chasing them down.”
Newcombe was captured first, with Miller stating he was “put in a straitjacket and beaten within an inch of his life” but he refused to give up his mate. While Simmons was hiding out in the national park and digging a huge hole, big enough to hide a caravan in, but in the last moments of digging he was captured.
Due to their ability to elude capture and outfox police, the two men gained some notoriety and fame during their time on the run. Five weeks later, crowds greeted Simmonds when he was brought to Sydney’s Central Criminal Court for trial.
Miller said this fascinating story put a spotlight on NSW’s brutal prison system and led to real change with Grafton prison being downgraded to a holding prison in an effort to stamp out the rampant human rights violations.
“Les Newcombe, for example, was beaten every day for 11 years; It was a daily affair,” Miller said.
“They just demoralised these men, not just these two, but everyone who was in there.”
DID YOU KNOW
For centuries, city morgues were known as ‘deadhouses’ because bodies could not be buried in the frozen ground of winter, so were stored in these deadhouses until the thaw. Between 1854 and 1972, Sydney’s deadhouse was the Sydney Morgue and Coroner’s Court located in George St. Thousands of grim cases of murder and unexplained death passed through these sites and into Sydney’s history.
SHOW DETAILS
WHAT: DEADHOUSE Tales of Sydney Morgue: Simmonds & Newcombe: The Deadly Run
WHERE: The Crypt – St James’ Church, West Courtyard
TICKETS: General admission $80.21, Eventbrite or purchase at the door
FOR: Ages 12+. Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult