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Did Ronald Ryan fire the shot that killed the warder, George Hodson, at Pentridge Gaol,
Melbourne, in December, 1965? The courts said yes and sentenced Ryan to hang.
But the last-minute production of what purports to be new evidence about the shooting
has brought new doubts. The events of December 19, 1965, are reviewed below.
MELBOURNE, Tuesday. — George Henry Hodson was shot dead outside
Pentridge Gaol about 2.20pm on December 19, 1965. The bullet was never
found.
Evidence was given by three witnesses at Ryan's trial about what
happened at the No 1 sentry post at Pentridge Gaol during the escape
by Ryan and another prisoner, Peter Walker.
A prison officer, Helmut
Lange, told the court last
March 16 that he had been
on duty at the No 1 post
at the time of the escape.
At 2pm on December 19
he had watched prisoners
putting out milk bottles in
the yard below him some
distance away from the
post.
Lange said that when he
had turned he had found
Ryan standing behind him.
"He had his right arm
raised and was holding a
water pipe", Lange said,
Ryan had got hold of
Lange's rifle, which was in
the rack on the post, poin-
ted the rifle at Lange and
tried to pull a lever to open
the gate.
Then Ryan had asked
Lange which lever opened
the gate. Lange had pointed
to a lever which opened the
door at the bottom of the
sentry post, but not through
the outside gate.
Lange said that Ryan
then had marched him at
gunpoint towards the stairs
leading to ground level,
where he had seen Walker
hiding.
When they got to the
outside gate, Walker had
found it was locked. Ryan
had told Lange to return
and push the right lever
this time.
Hodson chased
Ryan
Lange said that Ryan had
prodded the carbine into
his kidneys as they went
back. When Ryan had
pulled the right lever,
Walker had called out "the
gate's open".
Ryan had backed along
to the stairs, covering him
all the time. As soon as
Ryan had reached the
stairs, Lange said, he had
turned and run down them.
After raising the alarm,
Lange said he had seen a
scuffle between the two
prisoners and Brigadier
James Hewitt, a Salvation
Army chaplain.
Hewitt had fallen to the
ground, and Lange had
seen Ryan kneeling beside
him holding the rifle.
Lange had told Warder
Hodson, who was coming
out of the officers' mess,
that two prisoners had es-
caped and Lange said he
had then seen Ryan stop-
ping a car at gunpoint.
The car had driven off
without Ryan, and he had
then seen a prisoner run-
ning up from Bell Street
towards North Coburg with
Hodson chasing him, close
behind.
"I saw Ryan lifting his
rifle and aiming it in that
direction", Lange said.
"I looked up at the No.
2 post because I felt rather
helpless, then looked down
at Ryan again.
"The next thing I heard
one shot. I saw Hodson
raising his arm above his
head and fall to the
ground".
Three times in the trial,
Warder William James Ben-
nett denied that he had
fired a shot at all on the
day of the escape.
Bennett told the court he
had been on duty at the No.
2 post.
A prison officer, Robert
Paterson, who was on duty
at the main gate, said at
the trial that he had seen
Ryan holding two warders
at bay with a rifle.
Affidavit on
shot
Paterson said he had
aimed his rifle at Ryan, but
had not shot when he had
found he would have to
fire between the two war-
ders.
He had then jumped over
a small wall on to the pave-
ment and taken aim a
second time.
"I took the first pressure.
Then as I was beginning to
squeeze, a woman came into
my sights", he said.
Paterson said he had lifted
his rifle and fired into the
air.
In evidence, none of the
warders spoke about another
warder named Patterson.
In the Supreme Court last
night John Henry Tolmie,
of Dandenong, said that a
warder known as Mr Pat-
terson had fired a shot
from the No 1 post at the
time of Ryan's escape.
Tolmie, who said he had
been serving a 12-month
sentence in Pentridge at the
time, said that Mr Patter-
son was not the Mr Robert
Paterson who had given
evidence during the trial.
At the trial the defence
made the point that, al-
though 14 witnesses had
heard only one shot, War-
der Robert Paterson had
agreed that he had fired
one, but the Crown claimed
that Ryan had fired the fatal
shot that killed Hodson.
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