Journals - October 2001 - Page
10
Norman Foorde disappeared in 1979. Newspapers of the day said he was
murdered because he 'yapped' too much re a bank robbery that had taken place at Murwillumbah which was said to have netted several million dollars. Keith Briggs turned up in Brisbane with a union book from the Melbourne branch of the union sometime before 1972. Foorde's last known words were to other residents of his boarding house, that he was off to see 'Stewie'.
The scab Ian Stuart Bridges, nee Briggs did
a
heap of time in Pentridge
Prison. While
in
prison
he
formed an acquaintanceship with Foorde, he had ceased by that time to use the moniker
Ian preferring to use his middle name shortened to Stewie. When his brother arrived in Brisbane with a crook union book and a desire to establish a new identity, he began using Ian's commonly used name Stewie, changed Briggs to Bridges thus Stewie Bridges came into being. He is a sociable and kind human being, however work on the docks was not up his alley so he returned to his trade which was plumber.
He did not however cease his association with the union, he was seldom seen in the workplace but was a daily attendee at the union rooms, as were any union men that wanted to go to work and an army of 'outies', non union members who were temporarily inducted into the union for employment when all the union men that wanted
to
go to work had jobs. Thus the scheme was that the union was always kept under manned, thus trainees called outsiders shortened to outies, would make up the shortfall, which meant that any man and his dog who turned up, no matter what his background would in his turn go to work, if he had the will to keep turning up.
No man was ever turned away, or was ever denied the opportunity to gain honest employment in this fashion. Thus many people from the prison system or the mental health system, with little or no training or work experience, found their way into the workforce via the docks. Periodically the union would 'open the books' inducting the most experienced outsiders into the union. Countless men gained confidence and self esteem in this way. Including the author of this document.
When Foorde, who was an outie, disappeared the police questioned Stewie
Bridges.
He was
grilled
by then Assistant Commissioner for Crime Tony Murphy, the same officer Jim Finch said had persuaded him to bomb the Whisky Au Go Go night club. He said he knew nothing and was never charged. We believe that the Stewie Foorde was off to see was in fact lan Stuart Briggs, who had arrived at the docks in Brisbane in the late seventies, unable to use the name Stewie, his brother had appropriated he resumed calling himself lan and he too changed Briggs to Bridges, still known as Stewie by Foorde
however,
the police questioned the wrong brother. It was the two card trick as well since the yapping that Foorde did re the Mur'bah bank job was to the police, who were crooks and who tipped off whomsoever told him, Ian Bridges it seems. Suggesting that K. Briggs got wind of what went on at Mur'bah via his own criminal connections, he passed that on to his brother who passed it on to Foorde who passed both it and its source ie I Briggs on to the police who passed back to I Briggs that Foorde had informed on him, whereupon he passed down to Foorde that he desired his company and when he came over murdered him.
Mark Redding was struck by
a
motorcycle as he was crossing Main Street
Kangaroo Point
in
about
1981 when he was ten years old. He suffered severe head injuries which left his speech slurred and affected his gait. Through the normal course of events he made a third party claim against the motorcycle's insurer and was awarded some seven hundred thousand dollars in compensation. In 1990 his uncle Joe, the same bloke Ian Bridges buggered with a broom handle in 1988, said he was missing, said he had not been seen for about a week and was very distressed.
Joe said he had gone
into
a sports car yard and had priced a couple of vehicles then had rung his mother saying that he wanted to obtain some of his compensation money to purchase a car, Joe said no communication had been received since. When one stated that perhaps the young man was with friends since he had only been gone a few days and it may not be entirely out of character for him to be a bit
sulky
particularly if his mother had refused to entertain the notion that he should be buying an expensive sports car.
Joe shook his head. At work a bit later one runs into Artie,
Joes brother and Marks dad. With all the very best intentions one asked questions. Arthur said that the sports car yard was no longer the last place Mark was seen and that witnesses had seen the young man in company on a train on the evening of the day he had gone to the car yard, that he said he proposed to go to a party with some people he met that day. A most sinister development one supposed.
Later, maybe a couple of weeks one is working with Artie again, asking if there was any news he says, Mark was positively identified by bar staff at a pub some place in the Four Rivers Shire half way between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. That he was in the company of an older man who was distinguished by being short, well dressed and well spoken, one conjectured that this person was some filthy murderous pery who had enticed the young man from the party. Arthur says maybe not, says there is a lot of money involved since once Mark was declared dead the seven hundred G's would revert to his care,
said the police had told him that he should get a lawyer, since he was well spoken, well dressed, below average height and appeared to have a motive to murder his son thus making him the prime suspect. In the union rooms one asked John Burke, who knew the young fellow well whether the injuries he sustained in the accident had a particularly visible affect, at this point Ian Bridges chimed in obsequious in his denial that Mark was impaired, pressing the point one says all the news reports stated he was severely physically impaired, "no no no" he says, Burke says he was.
I reckon Bridges murdered him at his old man's behest. And the aborted trial for murder of a young man allegedly in possession of an item of Marks clothing he apparently found on a river bank, was a sham
organized by crook lawyers in for their cut of the money.
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