The 'Belly
Pinocchio and his family survived in the belly of a whale on the fish it consumed. If you were stuck in the belly of a giant beast, how would your character pass the time? (How) would they survive the experience? How would they make their escape?
In 1977, I remember Daddy Cool’s Eagle rock playing a lot on Australian radio. The year was also the time Donald Mackay - an anti drug campaigner from Sydney, was murdered. That set off the whole Mackay/Trimbole/Mr Asia affair, which would shake up the Underbelly of Australian crime. The Underbelly was like some massive, monstrous creature, which fed on crime and consumed people who wanted to be devoured by it.
They say, if you got sucked into the ‘belly you might be lucky to be chewed up and spat out with a limb missing. You might wonder if I am embellishing, dramatising and just plain making bits up about it all. I could even be promoting it heavily as a true story, but it is history that much is true.
History says Mackay murder was solved. It wasn't. While the bloke who pulled the trigger was caught and jailed, as were some of the middlemen, the Calabrian mafia bosses who cold-bloodedly ordered the murder have never been charged, some are still alive and still flourishing.
History got a lot of things wrong when it comes to the Underbelly, but one thing it didn’t get wrong was claiming Mr Asia was Terrence James Clark. Clark, was and to some respect the Mr Big of Mr Big’s and his power at the time was unstoppable. He offered cunning and corruption to fight the combined drug police forces of Australasia. Between him and “Aussie Bob” Trimbole, Mackay was a thorn, an anti-drug campaigner who ended up having to have something ‘done about him’; Mackay’s death just had to happen.
Nobody could fight against Clark. He had found wealth in an evil trade and he once boasted he couldn’t even spend the interest on his massive multi-million dollar fortune he had amassed during the seventies. Clark got fat off the ‘belly and enjoyed it. Like all things there must be an ending, Clark was caught and ended up in Jail. But even in Jail he was a category ‘A’ prisoner. Not for him prison food; he had food from the top restaurants delivered. He paid for it all, along with the best wine and cigars.
They say the Underbelly got Clark, chewed him up and spat him out --- he died mysteriously in Jail. No one witnessed his death. Or those who did weren’t talking.
In 1977, I remember Daddy Cool’s Eagle rock playing a lot on Australian radio. The year was also the time Donald Mackay - an anti drug campaigner from Sydney, was murdered. That set off the whole Mackay/Trimbole/Mr Asia affair, which would shake up the Underbelly of Australian crime. The Underbelly was like some massive, monstrous creature, which fed on crime and consumed people who wanted to be devoured by it.
They say, if you got sucked into the ‘belly you might be lucky to be chewed up and spat out with a limb missing. You might wonder if I am embellishing, dramatising and just plain making bits up about it all. I could even be promoting it heavily as a true story, but it is history that much is true.
History says Mackay murder was solved. It wasn't. While the bloke who pulled the trigger was caught and jailed, as were some of the middlemen, the Calabrian mafia bosses who cold-bloodedly ordered the murder have never been charged, some are still alive and still flourishing.
History got a lot of things wrong when it comes to the Underbelly, but one thing it didn’t get wrong was claiming Mr Asia was Terrence James Clark. Clark, was and to some respect the Mr Big of Mr Big’s and his power at the time was unstoppable. He offered cunning and corruption to fight the combined drug police forces of Australasia. Between him and “Aussie Bob” Trimbole, Mackay was a thorn, an anti-drug campaigner who ended up having to have something ‘done about him’; Mackay’s death just had to happen.
Nobody could fight against Clark. He had found wealth in an evil trade and he once boasted he couldn’t even spend the interest on his massive multi-million dollar fortune he had amassed during the seventies. Clark got fat off the ‘belly and enjoyed it. Like all things there must be an ending, Clark was caught and ended up in Jail. But even in Jail he was a category ‘A’ prisoner. Not for him prison food; he had food from the top restaurants delivered. He paid for it all, along with the best wine and cigars.
They say the Underbelly got Clark, chewed him up and spat him out --- he died mysteriously in Jail. No one witnessed his death. Or those who did weren’t talking.