Perched at the end of one of Sydney’s most celebrated streets is a grand residence with spectacular harbour views and an even more colourful past.
Today the prime piece of real estate in the city’s inner-west is being presented for sale for the first time in 37 years with a price guide of $12million.
But four decades ago it was home to an outlaw motorcycle gang that outraged the nation when it engaged in a public gun battle with a rival club most of its members had once called brothers.
The origins of the 1984 Milperra massacre, in which six bikies and a teenage girl were killed in a pub car park in Sydney’s south-west, can be traced to this address at 150 Louisa Road, Birchgrove.
This grand residence in Louisa Road, Birchgrove, in Sydney’s inner-west was once home to the Bandidos outlaw motorcycle club, and before that to the Comanchero. It is being offered for sale for the first time in 37 years with a price guide of $12million
The peace of Louisa Road was routinely shattered by wild parties and sporadic gunfire before the Bandidos and Comanchero went to war in what became known as the Milperra massacre. Bandidos are picture after that gunfight in which six bikies and a 15-year-old girl were killed
The origins of the 1984 Milperra massacre can be traced to 150 Louisa Road. A city chapter of the Comanchero moved into the house then ‘patched over’ to become Bandidos. Comanchero members are pictured after 30 bikies from both clubs were convicted of murder or manslaughter
It was here that the Comanchero set up their first city clubhouse in 1983 and where disaffected members of that gang broke away to establish the inaugural Australian chapter of the Bandidos.
For just over a year the peace of this idyllic street was routinely shattered by wild parties and sporadic gunfire before the Bandidos and Comanchero went to war.
When the Milperra massacre participants were jailed and the house went up for sale its new owners were greeted by floorboards ripped up by police and bullet holes around the back door.
Over an archway in what would eventually once again be a graceful living room someone had scrawled ‘Virgin Converting Room’ in crayon.
Louisa Road, which occupies its own peninsular, has long been home to some of Sydney’s most famous creative identities who appreciate the privacy it affords.
Residents have included film director Bruce Beresford, playwright David Williamson, novelist Peter Carey, and actors Georgie Parker, Judy Davis and Colin Friels.
Louisa Road, which occupies its own peninsular, has long been home to some of Sydney’s most famous creative identities who appreciate the privacy it affords. The house known as Yurulbin is pictured when it was up for auction in November 1985
No one in Louisa Road had seen anything quite like the tenants who leased the Federation pile at No 150 whey they rode into the neighbourhood.
Certainly the street was not familiar with wet T-shirt competitions, rock bands playing on Saturday nights and the constant roar of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
In late 1983 there were ructions within the Comanchero and a faction split from the Granville-based chapter to go out on their own.
The Granville clubhouse was a single-storey bungalow where the club’s self-styled ‘supreme commander’ Jock Ross drilled his men in military tactics in the backyard.
A breakaway group was sick of Ross’s overbearing ways and wanted somewhere more glamorous to gather. It is likely they were also interested in dealing drugs.
Residents of Louisa Road have included film director Bruce Beresford, playwright David Williamson, novelist Peter Carey, and actors Georgie Parker, Judy Davis and Colin Friels
When Stephen and Barbara Penfold bought the house in 1985 they found someone had scrawled ‘Virgin Converting Room’ in crayon over an archway in what would become their dining/living room
Plenty of Sydneysiders aspire to a waterfront property and so did the Comanchero, who were lucky in their search for a spot on the harbour.
The house at 150 Louisa Road, known as Yurulbin, had been bought by advertising agency owner Lionel Hunt for $420,000 in 1981 but the investment had not gone as he wanted.
A man calling himself Mr SJ Curtis, who was really Comanchero Stephen ‘Opey’ Cowan, signed a 12-month lease on August 26, 1983, having provided false references.
A Mrs Ross from J&B Fencing told the Balmain real estate that Opey was ‘reliable’. His previous landlady, a Mrs King, stated: ‘Tremendous, always on time paying his rent’.
On the day Opey inspected the then five-bedroom, two bathroom property he pulled his long hair back neatly in a plait and wore a cream sports coat.
The owner was happy to accept $300 a week rent, with a $1530.45 bond. The place had been hard to lease; it needed a paint job and there were stains on the carpets.
The Sunday afternoon the gang moved in was memorable for everyone.
A retired kindergarten teacher called Mrs Proudman was having a cup of tea with a friend in her loungeroom as she watched the bikies pull up next door.
‘Look at this,’ she said from her window, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Bikes blocked the turning circle outside the house as three utes arrived and a trio of men in leather vests carried two poker machines through the front door.
Two other men carried a large neon sign that said ‘Comanchero Motor Cycle Club’ up the steps. Space Invaders machines followed.
Later, the pastel-painted dining room would be redecorated in the Bandido’s yellow, black and red colours and murals of men on motorbikes adorned other walls.
The living room was turned into a disco and a statement of intent went on display: ‘If it’s white, sniff it, if it’s female or it moves f*** it, if it narks kill it.’
The bikies would throw a party every Saturday night, sometimes inviting women they had met in local hotels including the William Wallace, London Tavern and the Commercial.
The rest of Louisa Road was unimpressed with the new residents and complained to council and police but little was done.
On party afternoons vans would pull up at the house delivering meat and bread rolls. Philip ‘Knuckles’ McElwaine would bring another van loaded with Tooheys and Jack Daniels.
Visitors cold buy a plate of steak, chops and salad for three bucks. Whisky drinkers were served Johnnie Walker while only gang members got Chivas Regal.
The Bandidos threw a party every Saturday night at the house, sometimes inviting women they had met in local hotels including the William Wallace, London Tavern and the Commercial
When the Milperra massacre participants were jailed and the house went up for sale its new owners were greeted by floorboards ripped up by police looking for drugs and bullet holes around the back door
The rent was duly paid each week by Lance Purdie – known as Kid Rotten – but trouble far worse than noise complaints was around the corner.
Hostilities between the Birchgrove and Granville chapters of the Comanchero had led to the city members ‘patching over’ to become Bandidos.
The new Bandidos chapter elected Anthony Mark ‘Snodgrass/Snotgrass’ Spencer (pictured) as their president
The new Bandidos burnt their Comanchero club colours at the Louisa Road house and the bar engraved with the mother club’s name was cut up with a chainsaw.
There are varying theories about why the group broke away but some members were unhappy with Ross’s autocratic style and desire to take over smaller clubs. Ross was also not interested in dealing drugs.
The new Bandidos chapter elected Anthony Mark ‘Snodgrass/Snotgrass’ Spencer – usually known as Snoddy – as their president, and friction increased with Ross.
In August 1984 three Comanchero were badly beaten up by Bandidos at the Bull and Bush Hotel in Baulkham Hills. Two days later Ross declared war.
The Comanchero had moved to a new base at Harris Park and the gangs committed tit for tat drive-by shooting attacks on the rival clubhouses.
Tensions exploded on September 2 – Father’s Day – when the two clubs met in the car park of the Viking Tavern at Milperra.
A 20-minute battle waged with guns, baseball bats and knives killed two Bandidos, four Comanchero and an innocent bystander, 15-year-old Joanne Walters.
On September 2, 1984, the Comanchero and Bandidos met in the car park of the Viking Tavern at Milperra. A 20-minute battle waged with guns, baseball bats and knives killed two Bandidos, four Comanchero and an innocent bystander, 15-year-old Joanne Walters
The massacre was followed by what was then Australia’s longest-running criminal trial. Six bikies were convicted of seven murders and got life while three others received terms of 18 or 20 years.
Twenty-one more were convicted of seven counts of manslaughter and sentenced to terms ranging from ten to 14 years.
Jock Ross (pictured) was the founder and self-declared ‘supreme commander’ of the Comanchero club
Justice Adrian Roden found Ross bore ‘prime responsibility’ for the massacre but some Comanchero still blame the Bandidos for being the aggressors.
Shortly after the massacre the Bandidos were served a notice to quit for not paying rent and the club vacated the premises in late September 1984.
Lionel Hunt put the house on the market in November 1985 and it immediately attracted the attention of Barbara Penfold, wife of Stephen Penfold from the WC Penfold stationery family.
Mr Penfold said his wife had grown up across the harbour at Hunters Hill and admired the house as a child. Later as a university student she caught the ferry to Yurulbin wharf, then known as Long Nose Point.
‘When she saw it she thought that was always a beautiful house, we should live in it,’ Mr Penfold told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The Milperra shootout happened and they went to jail. And Lionel Hunt, who hadn’t had a very good experience with his ownership of the property, decided to get the heck out.
Comanchero Ten Commandments
Jock Ross (pictured) laid down the rules for the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang
1. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Comanchero.
2. Any member found guilty of cowardice will be thrown out of the Club.
3. Any member found guilty of stealing from a member of the Club itself will be thrown out of the Club.
4. Any member found guilty of screwing another member’s Real Ol’ Lady or taking advantage of a rift between them for future ‘conning up’ will be thrown out.
5. Any member found guilty of breeding dissension in the Club (ie Running down the President of the Club or Club policies in any way, shape of form – or bad s*** rumours) will be thrown out.
6. Any member found guilty of selling, distributing or using hard drugs will be thrown out.
7. Any member found guilty of using their superior ability to ‘con’ another member or nominated member out of their bikes, money or valuables will be severely dealt with.
8. Any member found guilty of not helping another member who is in genuine trouble, not bulls*** trouble, will be severely dealt with.
9. Any member found guilty of divulging Club business to anyone not a member, unless directed by the President, will be severely dealt with.
10. Any member found guilty of wearing his Colours on or around anything other than a British or American motorcycle of 500cc or more will be severely dealt with.
Source: Document seized by police after the Father’s Day Milperra massacre
‘We were looking for something on the harbour and my wife saw a picture of this house in the Sydney Morning Herald saying it was to auction the following Tuesday.
‘She came and looked at it on Saturday, she brought me down on Saturday afternoon, on Tuesday we went to auction and bought it.’
The Penfolds paid $490,000 and moved into the house in July 1986 after six months of renovations. ‘When we came it was Bandido-land,’ Mr Penfold said.
‘There was an arch between what is now our lounge room and dining room and across the top of the arch in crayon was written ‘Virgin Converting Room’.
‘Barbara said, “That’s got to go”. It didn’t stay very long.’
Mr Penfold, who brought the first Kwik Kopy franchise to Australia in 1982, said the Bandidos had undertaken their own unorthodox renovations which had to be undone.
‘The Bandidos had I think 13 or or 14 people living in the property, and so they had subdivided lots and lots of rooms to make other bedrooms and kitchens,’ he said.
When the Bandidos occupied 150 Louisa Road, the pastel-painted dining room was redecorated in the club’s yellow, black and red colours and murals of men on motorbikes adorned other walls
‘We bulldozed all that out and went back to the original rooms because it’s always been an elegant house.
‘It’s got 13-foot ceilings and the Bandidos had not damaged any of the original architraves and ceiling decors.
In fact, the Bandidos had done no real structural damage to the place. The bones of the house were intact and good.
‘The police had done most of the damage lifting floorboards looking for drugs,’ Mr Penfold said.
‘It was probably terribly messy the way they lived but the police had ransacked it trying to find evidence and it was still in that ransacked state when we bought it.’
The Penfolds knocked down a long, narrow tin shed with diagonal lines painted on the concrete floor for the Bandidos to park their bikes and turned it into a car port.
‘It was fascinating when the builder came to do the job,’ Mr Penfold said. ‘He kept coming down off the roof saying, “There’s another tile with a little round hole in it”.
‘The tiles and the whole back of the property and the back fence were riddled with bullet holes.’
Owner Lionel Hunt put the house on the market in November 1985 and it immediately attracted the attention of Barbara Penfold, wife of Stephen Penfold from the WC Penfold stationery family
The Penfolds were nonetheless delighted with their purchase, as were the other residents of Louisa Road.
‘It’s an understatement to say that the neighbours were pretty happy when we moved in and they moved out,’ Mr Penfold said.
The Penfolds spent 37 years in Louisa Road but it was now time to move on.
‘It’s quite a beautiful house,’ Mr Penfold said. ‘Every window looks over the park or the water.
‘I has to be one of the prime houses in the inner-west. It’s so elegant and so special.
‘I’m quite happy to have the story about the house and its history told because it’s a fabulous house and it’s got a really interesting history.’
McGrath Estate Agents has set a $12million price guide for Yurulbin ahead of a March 16 auction.
What the Milperra massacre judge said about bikies and bikie culture
Six bikies and a 15-year-old girl were shot dead in the Milperra Massacre in 1984
Six of the Milperra massacre bikies convicted of seven murders were sentenced to life in prison while three others received terms of 18 or 20 years.
Twenty-one more were convicted of seven counts of manslaughter and given sentences ranging from ten to 14 years.
All the murder convictions were reduced to manslaughter on appeal. Only Comanchero president Jock Ross served more than five years.
Below are some of Justice Adrian Roden’s remarks on sentencing:
‘Throughout the sentence hearing, I sought a greater understanding than I was able to obtain of the nature of the clubs and the relationship between their respective members.’
‘There was, I thought, a very good reason for that. Some are in their thirties and forties, have no significant prior convictions and have good family and work backgrounds. I felt that there had to be some explanation for the marked and perplexing difference between their behaviour in other contexts.
‘I also wanted to know more about the clubs themselves and what it is about the way of life that they offer that led these people, many of whom would in all other respects be regarded as law-abiding and responsible citizens of commendable character, to indulge in what on the face of it is irresponsible, anti-social behaviour of extreme violence, bringing with it obvious danger to human live, and in the facts of this case, the tragic consequences of seven deaths.
‘It is not possible to sit looking at these men for more than one year, as I have a done, without feeling that there is more to them than the popular image of bikie gang members. It is unfortunate that so many of them have chosen to play no part in the sentence hearing, although years of their lives are at stake.
‘A fierce loyalty and a propensity for violence, which rightly or wrongly typify the popular image of such clubs are clearly indicated by the almost intimidatory appearance adopted, and the emphasis on strength and power to be found in man and machine alike.
‘A need to belong and enjoy a close relationship and bond with others can be readily understood. So can a pride in physical strength and courage. But like most admirable qualities, these can be carried to excess. The ugly side to loyalty seems to demand enemies against whom the loyal can be united and the ugly side to physical strength and courage is when when violence is unleashed against those enemies. When you have two groups like these in conflict with one another, a ‘Viking’ is always likely.
‘As patriotism can lead to jingoism and mateship can lead to cronyism, so bikie club loyalty, it seems, can lead to bikie club war.
‘In assessing sentence, it is appropriate to treat all the offences of which any accused was convicted of as part of the one transaction. It is proper to have regard to the totality of the criminal conduct of which each had been convicted and then sentence accordingly. The fact that seven people were killed is itself a significant, aggravating circumstance as is the fact that there were hundreds of people whose lives were put at risk.’
