Darren ‘Razzle’ Thornburgh’s daughter reveals Boutique heartbreak and financial pain
The daughter of Melbourne nightclub king Darren “Razzle” Thornburgh has told of her heartbreak and frustration, speaking out for the first time as she unravels the messy business empire her father left behind.
Fiona Byrne
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The daughter of Melbourne nightclub king Darren “Razzle” Thornburgh has told of her heartbreak and frustration as she unravels the messy business empire he left behind.
Zoe Thornburgh, 24, has spoken for the first time since her father’s death after learning the famed Boutique nightclub in Prahran is for sale.
Instead of being a testament to her father’s legacy, the club had instead become a reminder of a harrowing 15 months of sadness, loss and struggle for her and her family.
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“I’ll allow myself to grieve properly once this is sorted,” Ms Thornburgh said.
“My dad left no will and with me being the oldest child, my parents divorced, (that) meant it was up to me to detangle all of the mess that he left, and try and salvage together a financial future for me and my sister.
“Initially, I was given advice to walk away as it was a very big mess and inevitably going to be extremely stressful.
“Being the administrator of this estate has been a job in itself and that is how I had to look at it, as a job.
“Without removing the emotional aspect, I would have fallen apart.”
Mr Thornburgh, who founded and ran the Prahran nightclub, was found dead on the front porch of his rural property near the NSW and Victorian border on November 13, 2017.
Boutique was the ace in the pack of Melbourne’s nightclub scene, defining the city after dark for well over a decade from 2001.
It was the destination of choice for TV stars, footballers, tennis players, music chart toppers and socialites, as well as international celebrities including Paris Hilton, Michael Schumacher, Danny Cipriani, Usain Bolt, Mark Philippoussis, Kimberly Stewart and Tommy Lee.
Ms Thornburgh said she and her 16-year-old sister Mia discovered they had no claim to the business following her father’s passing after her defaulted on the lease three weeks before his death.
“When he first passed away, Boutique was what we were relying on for financial stability,” she said.
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“Much to our shock and dismay, we quickly learnt we had no entitlement to Boutique at all because my dad had breached his lease by not being open to trade.
“Legally as it stands, me and my sister are entitled to nothing, which is a really hard thing to come to terms with.
“He put his heart and soul into that business. Boutique was quite literally his third child, and now to be told that legally my sister and I will receive no financial benefit from any of it … is a very bitter pill to swallow.
“The money would of course make a dramatic change to our lives at this point — despite what people think we are in financial ruins.
“But also mentally, it is a very hard fact to face that my sister and I are entitled to nothing of our father’s lifetime of work and legacy.”
The club was bought by Jono Sherren and Sam Prosser and renamed The Greville, but three months after it reopened, it’s for sale again.
Because of the absence of a will, Ms Thornburgh applied to the Supreme Court in November to access her father’s estate which, according to court documents, includes property valued at $1.7 million and cash and assets of $148,000.
His debts were estimated to be more than $125,000.
She said she was frustrated, hurt and angry that the business that had cost her family so much was now for sale.
“The reality that someone would be making a 100 per cent profit off my dad’s years and years of hard work made me feel quite sick,” she said.
Ms Thornburgh said she hoped her father to be remembered for his role in Melbourne’s nightclub scene and creating a venue as iconic as Boutique.
“It’s hard for me and my sister to grasp the extent of his success as we were so young (at the time) … but I love when I go out, that people come up to me and tell me how incredible he was and that he started the nightclub scene in Melbourne and (that he) was always going to be the most successful at it,” she said.
“A lot of people are so shocked when I tell them him he grew up in Dandenong and started off as a tradie.
“He quite literally worked his a--- off for everything he accomplished.”
Ms Thornburgh, a functions manager, said she would dearly like her family to reclaim her father’s belongings and sentimental items from the club, including the brass Boutique nameplate that discreetly flagged the entrance.
“I specifically asked the landlord when this first happened if I could have the Boutique sign,” she said.
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“He told me that should be fine once the new owners take over and they start renovations.
“A few months ago (current owner) Jono gave it to an employee in exchange for wages.
“This again, makes me feel quite sick and I don’t need to say how disrespectful and disgusting that is.”
Club owner Jono Sherren said on Saturday the business was still for sale.
“If somebody wants to buy it they can buy it,” he said.
He offered to help the family reclaim any personal items that remained on the premises.
“If there are any sentimental fittings or items that Zoe wants she just has to call me and I will give them to her,” he said. “I know it (Boutique) means a lot to Zoe and her family.”
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