Man allegedly warned of ‘damage’ to nightclub days before Whiskey Au Go-Go arson

An inquest into the historic firebombing of a Brisbane nightclub has been told one of the men convicted issued a cryptic warning before the attack.

A chief investigator into the 1973 firebombing of a popular Brisbane nightclub has told a court that investigations were not properly carried out when the men involved were arrested.

The damning criticism from Detective Sergeant Virginia Gray – who began looking into the Whiskey Au Go-Go arson years after the disaster – came after a rival nightclub owner gave evidence one of the men convicted over the fire had issued a cryptic warning about a nightclub being “damaged”.

Dozens of witnesses have been called to the inquest, which is hoped to shed light on the truth behind the mass murder nearly 50 years ago.

The firebombing claimed the lives of 15 people after two petrol drums were ignited on the ground floor of the nightclub on the morning of March 8, 1973.

Two men, John Andrew Stuart and James Richard Finch, were convicted of murder and arson and have since died.

But questions have persisted for years as to the alleged involvement of others in starting the fire.

Fifteen people died of carbon monoxide poisoning after two ignited drums pumped toxic fumes through the Whiskey Au Go-Go nightclub in the early morning of March 8, 1973.

The inquest will examine whether the two men were the only people involved and determine the adequacy of the police investigation.

Detective Gray said she did not think investigators had looked closely enough at possible leads to see if more people were involved in the attack.

She had reviewed the brief of evidence from the initial investigation in the 1970s, concluding there were some leads of interest that had not been examined.

Detective Sergeant Virginia Gray (pictured in 2017) said she did not think the investigations into the Whiskey Au Go-Go firebombing had looked at all leads at the time.

Detective Gray told the court it appeared any investigations had stopped after the arrests of Stuart and Finch.

She said there had been a lot of discussion about a pre-planned attack on the nightclub in the days leading up.

“It clearly indicates there were more people in the know as to what was going to happen than the Whiskey brief suggests,” she said.

The transcript of Finch’s 1973 interview with police was also shown to the court, revealing he claimed he rolled the uncapped tins into the entrance of the Whiskey Au Go-Go after 2am, threw a lit packet of matches and ran.

Finch told police he got a cab to another location after that but did not disclose who drove or where he went.

Detective Gray cast doubt on his claim, questioning why a cab driver had not come forward.

Abraham Yasse, who managed the rival Flamingo nightclub at the time, told the court that Stuart “most definitely” said a nightclub would be damaged days before the Whiskey Au Go-Go was firebombed.

Mr Yasse said he saw Stuart at the Flamingo nightclub on the night of the arson attack until around 2.15am, but Detective Gray doubted the alibi.

On Wednesday, a former patron on the night of the fire told an inquest she saw a group of men move a barrel into the doorway of the nightclub.

Kath Potter, 71, claimed police tried to pressure her to change her statement when she saw three men acting suspiciously outside the club before stuffing “material” into the opening of a drum and igniting it.

Kath Potter leaves court after giving evidence at the Whiskey Au Go Go inquest.

Another witness claimed one of the owners, Brian Little, had told her he feared the nightclub would be bombed days before it went up in flames.

Survivors have also given harrowing evidence of how the devastating fire unfolded that night.

The inquest continues.